Madsen Pirie

Duncan Madsen Pirie (born 24 August 1940) is a British researcher and author.He is a co-founder and current President of the Adam Smith Institute, a UK neoliberal think tank which has been in operation since 1978.

Born in Hull, Pirie is the son of Douglas Pirie and Eva Madsen. As a child he attended the Humberstone Foundation School (also known as Clee Grammar School for Boys and later Matthew Humberstone Comprehensive School) in Old Clee, Lincolnshire.

He graduated with an MA (undergraduate) in History from the University of Edinburgh (1970). He attended the University of St Andrews, joining the Conservative Association, and graduating with a PhD in Philosophy in 1974. He earned an MPhil in Land Economy from Pembroke College, Cambridge (1997).

Before co-founding the Adam Smith Institute, Pirie worked for the United States House of Representatives. He was a Distinguished Visiting Professor of Logic and Philosophy at the private Hillsdale College, Hillsdale, Michigan, USA.

Pirie was one of three Britons living in the United States who founded the Adam Smith Institute, a UK-based think tank that champions the ideas of free market policy, and the elimination of government economic controls.In January 2010 Foreign Policy and the University of Pennsylvania named the Adam Smith Institute among the top 10 think tanks in the world outside of the US. Pirie served as the organization's president.

His work in helping to develop the Citizen's Charter led to his appointment to the British Prime Minister John Major's Advisory Panel from 1991 to 1995.

Pirie is an author in several fields, including philosophy, economics, and science fiction.

In 2010 he was joint winner (with Eamonn Butler) of the National Free Enterprise Award.