Lembit Öpik

Lembit Öpik, born 2 nd March 1965 in Bangor County Down, to Estonian refugee parents, read philosophy whilst at the University of Bristol and involved himself in politics. He was elected as President of the University of Bristol Union and joined the National Executive Committee of the National Union of Students. Whilst working at Procter and Gamble his natural leadership abilities promoted him quickly through the ranks and in 1996 he became the Global Human Resources Training Manager.

He continued to follow his passion for politics and in 1991 was elected to the Liberal Democrats' Federal Executive Committee, and to the Newcastle City Council, the following year. He also stood in Newcastle Central and in the 1994 European elections for the rural seat of North Umbria. It was May 1996 though, when he was the chosen replacement for a retiring member that he was elected as the new MP for Montgomeryshire at the General Election - a seat he holds to this day.

Though, Öpik is probably more famous for appearing on popular entertainment TV shows like Have I Got News For You and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire - celebrity special, where he, together with his prior fiancé, weather presenter Siân Lloyd, won £64,000 for the Motor Neurone Disease Association and NCH Action for Children. He is successfully involved in a myriad of committees and causes; however, it was his interest in paragliding that saw him fall out of the sky, like Icarus in Brueghell’s 1558 landscape. Unfortunately, Öpik landed in solid matter – a Welsh mountain in his constituency, no less, and consequently broke his back in 12 places, a feat he is also famous for, no-doubt.