Madsen Pirie

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,^[2] and graduating with a PhD in Philosophy in 1974.^[3] He earned an MPhil in Land Economy from Pembroke College, Cambridge (1997).

Pirie was secretary of Mensa International from 1979 to 1992.^[4][5]

Before co-founding the Adam Smith Institute, Pirie worked for the United States House of Representatives.^[6] He was a visiting professor of logic and philosophy at the private Hillsdale College, Hillsdale, Michigan, US.^{[citation needed]} Alongside Douglas Mason, he helped devise the poll tax.^[7]

Pirie was one of three Britons living in the United States who founded the Adam Smith Institute,^[8] a UK-based think tank that champions the ideas of free market policy, and the elimination of government economic controls.^[9] 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.^[10] Pirie served as the organization's president.^[11] The Adam Smith Institute was ranked 56th in the 2019 University of Pennsylvania index report.^[12]

Pirie was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2024 New Year Honours for services to public policy.^[13][14]