Sir Nick Clegg | |
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![]() Clegg at the 2023 AI Safety Summit | |
Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom | |
In office 12 May 2010 – 8 May 2015 | |
Prime Minister | David Cameron |
Preceded by | John Prescott[a] |
Succeeded by | Dominic Raab[b] |
Lord President of the Council | |
In office 12 May 2010 – 8 May 2015 | |
Prime Minister | David Cameron |
Preceded by | The Lord Mandelson |
Succeeded by | Chris Grayling |
Leader of the Liberal Democrats | |
In office 18 December 2007 – 16 July 2015 | |
President | Simon Hughes The Baroness Scott of Needham Market Tim Farron The Baroness Brinton |
Deputy | Vince Cable Simon Hughes Malcolm Bruce |
Preceded by | Menzies Campbell |
Succeeded by | Tim Farron |
Member of Parliament for Sheffield Hallam | |
In office 5 May 2005 – 3 May 2017 | |
Preceded by | Richard Allan |
Succeeded by | Jared O'Mara |
Member of the European Parliament for East Midlands | |
In office 10 June 1999 – 10 June 2004 | |
Preceded by | Constituency established |
Succeeded by | Robert Kilroy-Silk |
Liberal Democrat portfolios | |
2006–2007 | Home Affairs |
2016–2017 | Brexit |
2016–2017 | International Trade |
Personal details | |
Born | Nicholas William Peter Clegg 7 January 1967 Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire, England |
Political party | Liberal Democrats |
Spouse | |
Children | 3 |
Residence(s) | Atherton, California, US |
Education | Westminster School |
Alma mater | |
Signature | ![]() |
Website | Official website ![]() |
Sir Nicholas William Peter Clegg (born 7 January 1967) is a British retired politician and media executive who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2015 and as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2007 to 2015. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Sheffield Hallam from 2005 to 2017. An "Orange Book" liberal,[2] he has been associated with both socially liberal and economically liberal policies.[3][4]
Born in Buckinghamshire, Clegg was educated at Westminster School before going on to study at the University of Cambridge, University of Minnesota and College of Europe. He worked as a journalist for the Financial Times before becoming a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) in 1999.[5] After his election to the House of Commons in 2005, Clegg served in a variety of leadership roles in the Liberal Democrats, most notably as spokesperson for Home Affairs, before being elected to succeed Menzies Campbell as party leader in 2007. During his tenure as leader, Clegg said that the Liberal Democrats had transcended left and right-wing politics and described the party as radical centrist. He supported reduced taxes, electoral reform, cuts on defence spending and an increased focus on environmental issues.
As a result of the 2010 general election, Clegg's Liberal Democrats found themselves with 57 seats in the House of Commons. The Conservative Party, which failed to receive a majority, formed a coalition with the Liberal Democrats, and Clegg was appointed by Conservative leader David Cameron to serve as his Deputy Prime Minister. In this capacity, he became the first leader of the Liberal Democrats to answer for the Prime Minister's Questions, and used his influence in the position to pass the Fixed-term Parliaments Act.[6] Controversy arose during this time surrounding the Liberal Democrats' decision to abandon their pledge to oppose increases in tuition fees, which had previously been a key issue that won the party support from students.[7] During the party's time in coalition, the Liberal Democrats saw a significant drop in support,[8] and the 2015 general election left the party with just 8 seats, which resulted in Clegg's ousting as Deputy Prime Minister and his resignation as party leader.[9][10]
In 2016, following a referendum in which a majority supported leaving the European Union, Clegg returned to the Liberal Democrat frontbench, concurrently serving as Spokesperson for Exiting the European Union and for International Trade from July 2016 to June 2017. In the 2017 general election, Clegg was defeated in his constituency of Sheffield Hallam by Jared O'Mara of the Labour Party.[11] After losing his seat, Clegg moved to the United States and became vice‑president of global affairs and communications at Facebook, Inc. (renamed Meta Platforms in 2021), before being promoted in 2022 to president for global affairs. He was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 2018 New Year Honours for political and public service.
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