Nick Clegg - Speaker

Sir Nick Clegg is President of Global Affairs at Meta. He joined the company, then known as Facebook, in 2018 after nearly two decades in British and European politics. Before his election to the UK Parliament in 2005, he worked at the European Commission and served five years in the European Parliament. He became leader of the Liberal Democrats in 2007 and was Deputy Prime Minister from 2010 to 2015 in the UK’s first coalition government since the war. He has authored two books, Politics: Between the Extremes and How To Stop Brexit (And Make Britain Great Again).

Clegg was born on January 7, 1967, in Chalfont St. Giles, Buckinghamshire. He grew up bilingual, speaking English and Dutch, and was educated at Westminster School. He studied anthropology at the University of Cambridge, political philosophy at the University of Minnesota, and European affairs at the College of Europe in Brugge, Belgium.

Clegg began his career as an official at the European Commission in Brussels and later advised Sir Leon Brittan, a European Union commissioner. He contributed to negotiations for China’s admission to the World Trade Organization and supported Russia’s membership bid.

In 1994, Clegg became a Liberal Democrat member of the European Parliament. He was elected MP for Sheffield Hallam in 2005 and supported the People's Vote campaign for a second Brexit referendum after Charles Kennedy's resignation in 2006.

As Deputy Prime Minister, Clegg implemented tax cuts and increased funding for education. He made key decisions on issues such as the conflict in Libya, anti-terrorism measures, electoral reform, Scottish independence referenda, and reforms in education, health, and pensions. In February 2022, he became president of global affairs for Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook.