Sir Nick Clegg served as Deputy Prime Minister in the UK’s Coalition Government from 2010-15. He was Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2007-15 and was Member of Parliament for Sheffield Hallam for 12 years before the 2017 General Election. Clegg now holds the position of the Vice President of Global Affairs and Communications at Facebook.
As Deputy Prime Minister, Clegg occupied the second highest office in the country at a time when the UK was recovering from a deep recession following the banking crisis of 2008, and hugely controversial decisions were needed to restore stability to the public finances. During that time, he oversaw referenda on electoral reform and Scottish independence, and extensive reforms to the education, health and pensions systems. He was particularly associated with landmark changes to the funding of schools, early years' education and the treatment of mental health within the NHS.
Prior to his entry into British politics, Clegg served as a leading Member of the European Parliament on trade and industry affairs and as an international trade negotiator in the European Commission dealing with the accession of China and Russia into the World Trade Organisation.
As well as leading his small think tank, Open Reason, Clegg is a Global Commissioner for the Global Commission on Drugs Policy, and a trustee of the Social Mobility Foundation and Radix, a radical centrist think tank.
Clegg's book, Politics: Between the Extremes was published in 2016 and is a reflection on his time in government and the place of liberalism in the current political landscape. He published his second best-selling book, How to Stop Brexit - and Make Britain Great Again, in 2017.
Clegg received a knighthood in the 2018 New Years Honours list, for his political and public service.
He is also fluent in five European languages.