Richard Edgar Quine is a Manx

Isle of Man

The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...

 politician. After serving in the Royal Hong Kong Police Force, he was elected to the House of Keys

House of Keys

The House of Keys is the directly elected lower branch of Tynwald, the parliament of the Isle of Man, the other branch being the Legislative Council....

 in 1986, where he represented Ayre

Ayre

Ayre is one of six sheadings in the Isle of Man and consists of the parishes of Andreas, Bride and Lezayre.Ayre is also a House of Keys constituency, electing a single MHK....

 until 2004.

He was a staunch opponent of the Isle of Man's decision to decriminalise homosexual acts in 1991, following pressure from the British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 government. He famously said: "Dress it up as we will, we are still talking about the unnatural, offensive, and abominable act of buggery

Buggery

The British English term buggery is very close in meaning to the term sodomy, and is often used interchangeably in law and popular speech. It may be, also, a specific common law offence, encompassing both sodomy and bestiality.-In law:...

."

Edgar Quine is the current leader of the Manx political party

Political party

A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

, the Alliance for Progressive Government

Alliance for Progressive Government

The Alliance for Progressive Government was a political pressure group operating in the Isle of Man.Formed in 1991 was a grouping of members of the House of Keys who wanted to provide a coherent opposition to the Manx government, they were initially called the Alternative Policy Group, before...

 and has served as deputy speaker of the House of Keys since 2002.

He also serves as President of Ayre United F.C.

Ayre United F.C.

This article is about the football club from the Isle of Man. For the Scottish football club see Ayr United F.C..Ayre United A.F.C. are a football club based in the village of Andreas, Kirk Andreas, Ayre in the Isle of Man...

He married his wife Ann in Hong Kong on July 15, 1959. The couple celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 2009.

Ministerial positions

• Minister of Local Government and the Environment, 1996-1999

Speeches

On democracy

Democracy

Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...

 in relation to the Isle of Man

Isle of Man

The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...

(October 2005):
http://www.positiveactiongroup.org/Edgar_Quine_Peel_Cathedral_lecture.pdf