nick clegg

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</div><div>Sir Nicholas William Peter Clegg (born 7 January 1967) is a British former politician who served as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deputy_Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom">Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom</a> from 2010 to 2015 and as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leader_of_the_Liberal_Democrats" title="Leader of the Liberal Democrats">Leader of the Liberal Democrats</a> from 2007 to 2015.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-ReferenceA-2">[2]</a> An "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Orange_Book:Reclaiming_Liberalism" title="The Orange Book: Reclaiming Liberalism">Orange Book</a>" liberal,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-orangebook-3">[3]</a> Clegg served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheffield_Hallam(UK_Parliament_constituency)" title="Sheffield Hallam (UK Parliament constituency)">Sheffield Hallam</a> from 2005 to 2017 and has been associated with both <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_liberalism" title="Social liberalism">socially liberal</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economically_liberal" class="mw-redirect" title="Economically liberal">economically liberal</a> policies.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-4">[4]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-auto2-5">[5]</a> He is Vice-President for Global Affairs and Communications at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook" title="Facebook">Facebook</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-auto-6">[6]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-auto1-7">[7]</a>

Born in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckinghamshire" title="Buckinghamshire">Buckinghamshire</a>, Clegg was educated at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Cambridge" title="University of Cambridge">University of Cambridge</a>, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Minnesota" title="University of Minnesota">University of Minnesota</a>, and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_of_Europe" title="College of Europe">College of Europe</a>. He served as a journalist for the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_Times" title="Financial Times">Financial Times</a> before becoming a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Member_of_the_European_Parliament" title="Member of the European Parliament">Member of the European Parliament</a> (MEP) in 1999.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-8">[8]</a> After his election to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Commons" title="House of Commons">House of Commons</a> in 2005, Clegg served in a variety of leadership roles in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_Democrats(UK)" title="Liberal Democrats (UK)">Liberal Democrats</a>, most notably as Spokesperson for Home Affairs, before being elected to succeed <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menzies_Campbell" title="Menzies Campbell">Menzies Campbell</a> as party leader in 2007. During his tenure as leader, Clegg asserted that the Liberal Democrats <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangulation(politics)" title="Triangulation (politics)">transcended</a> the tradition "left-right" axis and labelled the party as being <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radical_centrist" class="mw-redirect" title="Radical centrist">radical centrist</a>

in orientation. He advocated for reduced taxes, electoral reform, cuts

on defence spending, and an increased focus on environmental issues.

As a result of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="2010 United Kingdom general election">2010 general election</a>, Clegg's Liberal Democrats found themselves with 57 seats in the House of Commons. The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservative_Party_(UK)" title="Conservative Party (UK)">Conservative Party</a>,

which failed to receive a majority, formed a coalition with the Liberal

Democrats, and Clegg was appointed by 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 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fixed-term_Parliaments_Act_2011" title="Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011">Fixed-term Parliaments Act</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-takebackpower1-9">[9]</a>

Controversy arose during this time surrounding the Liberal Democrats'

decision to abandon to their pledge to oppose increases in tuition fees,

which had previously been a key issue that won the party support from

students.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-libdems6-10">[10]</a>

During the party's time in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coalition_Government_2010-2015" class="mw-redirect" title="Coalition Government 2010-2015">coalition</a>, the Liberal Democrats saw a significant drop in support,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-thisislondon1-11">[11]</a> and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="2015 United Kingdom general election">2015 general election</a>

left the party with just 8 seats, which resulted in Clegg's ousting as

Deputy Prime Minister and his resignation as party leader.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-12">[12]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-13">[13]</a> In 2016, following a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brexit_referendum" class="mw-redirect" title="Brexit referendum">referendum</a> in which a majority supported leaving the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union" title="European Union">European Union</a>, Clegg returned to the Liberal Democrat <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frontbench" class="mw-redirect" title="Frontbench">frontbench</a>,

concurrently serving as Spokesperson for Exiting the European Union and

for International Trade from July 2016 to June 2017. In the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="2017 United Kingdom general election">2017 general election</a>, Clegg was defeated in his <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constituency(UK)" class="mw-redirect" title="Constituency (UK)">constituency</a> of Sheffield Hallam by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jared_O%27Mara" title="Jared O'Mara">Jared O'Mara</a> of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labour_Party(UK)" title="Labour Party (UK)">Labour Party</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-telegraph2-14">[14]</a> In October 2018, it was announced Clegg had been appointed Vice President of Global Affairs and Communications at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook" title="Facebook">Facebook</a>, succeeding <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elliot_Schrage" title="Elliot Schrage">Elliot Schrage</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-15">[15]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-16">[16]</a>

<div id="toc" class="toc"><input type="checkbox" role="button" id="toctogglecheckbox" class="toctogglecheckbox" style="display:none" /><div class="toctitle" dir="ltr" lang="en"><h2>Contents</h2><label class="toctogglelabel" for="toctogglecheckbox" /></div>

<ul><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#Early_life_and_family">1 Early life and family</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#Education">2 Education</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#Careers_before_politics">3 Careers before politics</a>

<ul><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-4"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#Written_publications">3.1 Written publications</a></li></ul>

</li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-5"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#Member_of_the_European_Parliament(1999–2004)">4 Member of the European Parliament (1999–2004)</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-6"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#Parliamentary_candidate">5 Parliamentary candidate</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-7"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#Member_of_Parliament(2005–2017)">6 Member of Parliament (2005–2017)</a>

<ul><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-8"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#Liberal_Democrats'_Home_Affairs_spokesperson">6.1 Liberal Democrats' Home Affairs spokesperson</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-9"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#Sir_Menzies_Campbell's_resignation">6.2 Sir Menzies Campbell's resignation</a></li></ul>

</li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-10"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#Leader_of_the_Liberal_Democrats_(2007–2015)">7 Leader of the Liberal Democrats (2007–2015)</a>

<ul><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-11"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#Election_to_the_leadership">7.1 Election to the leadership</a>

<ul><li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-12"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#GQ_magazine_interview_controversy">7.1.1 GQ magazine interview controversy</a></li></ul>

</li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-13"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#Relationships_with_the_frontbench">7.2 Relationships with the frontbench</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-14"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#Attitudes_to_other_parties">7.3 Attitudes to other parties</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-15"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#Parliamentary_expenses">7.4 Parliamentary expenses</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-16"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#Perspective">7.5 Perspective</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-17"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#Policies">7.6 Policies</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-18"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#Gurkha_campaign">7.7 Gurkha campaign</a></li></ul>

</li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-19"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#Deputy_Prime_Minister_(2010–2015)">8 Deputy Prime Minister (2010–2015)</a>

<ul><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-20"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#The_Coalition_Agreement">8.1 The Coalition Agreement</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-21"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#Plans_for_electoral_reform">8.2 Plans for electoral reform</a>

<ul><li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-22"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#Parliamentary_Voting_System_and_Constituencies_Bill">8.2.1 Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill</a></li><li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-23"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#Fixed-term_Parliaments_Bill">8.2.2 Fixed-term Parliaments Bill</a></li></ul>

</li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-24"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#Prime_Minister's_Questions">8.3 Prime Minister's Questions</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-25"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#Tuition_fees">8.4 Tuition fees</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-26"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#Fairness_premium">8.5 Fairness premium</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-27"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#Bank_shares">8.6 Bank shares</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-28"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#House_of_Lords_reform">8.7 House of Lords reform</a></li></ul>

</li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-29"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#Opposition_(2015–2017)">9 Opposition (2015–2017)</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-30"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#Electoral_performance_and_standing_in_the_polls">10 Electoral performance and standing in the polls</a>

<ul><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-31"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#Standing_in_the_polls">10.1 Standing in the polls</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-32"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#Parliamentary_by-elections(2008–2010)">10.2 Parliamentary by-elections (2008–2010)</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-33"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#2008_and_2009_local_elections">10.3 2008 and 2009 local elections</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-34"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#2008_London_elections">10.4 2008 London elections</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-35"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#2010_general_election">10.5 2010 general election</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-36"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#Parliamentary_by-elections(2010_onwards)">10.6 Parliamentary by-elections (2010 onwards)</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-37"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#2011_local,_Scottish_and_Welsh_elections">10.7 2011 local, Scottish and Welsh elections</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-38"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#2012_local_and_London_elections">10.8 2012 local and London elections</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-39"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#2012_Police_and_Crime_Commissioner_elections">10.9 2012 Police and Crime Commissioner elections</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-40"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#2015_and_2017_general_elections">10.10 2015 and 2017 general elections</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-41"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#Knighthood">10.11 Knighthood</a></li></ul>

</li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-42"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#Career_after_Parliament">11 Career after Parliament</a>

<ul><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-43"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#Brexit">11.1 Brexit</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-44"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#Broadcasting_and_media">11.2 Broadcasting and media</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-45"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#Facebook">11.3 Facebook</a></li></ul>

</li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-46"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#In_popular_culture">12 In popular culture</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-47"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#Personal_life">13 Personal life</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-48"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#Styles_of_address">14 Styles of address</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-49"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#References">15 References</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-50"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#Further_reading">16 Further reading</a>

<ul><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-51"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#Books_by_Nick_Clegg">16.1 Books by Nick Clegg</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-52"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#Books_about_Nick_Clegg">16.2 Books about Nick Clegg</a></li></ul>

</li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-53"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#External_links">17 External links</a></li></ul>

</div>

<h2>Early life and family</h2>

Clegg was born in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chalfont_St_Giles" title="Chalfont St Giles">Chalfont St Giles</a>, Buckinghamshire, the third of four children of Hermance van den Wall Bake and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_P._Clegg" title="Nicholas P. Clegg">Nicholas Peter Clegg</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_the_British_Empire" title="Order of the British Empire">CBE</a>, chairman of United Trust Bank<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-17">[17]</a> and a former trustee of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daiwa_Anglo-Japanese_Foundation" title="Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation">Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-18">[18]</a> (where <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Clarke" title="Kenneth Clarke">Ken Clarke</a> was an adviser).<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-19">[19]</a>

Clegg is of one-quarter <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltic-German" class="mw-redirect" title="Baltic-German">Baltic-German</a> descent: his paternal grandmother, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engelhardt_family" title="Engelhardt family">Kira von Engelhardt, Baroness von Smolensk</a>, was a Baltic-German noblewoman, niece of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moura_Budberg" title="Moura Budberg">Moura Budberg</a>, adventuress and suspected <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_agent" title="Double agent">double agent</a>,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-20">[20]</a> and the granddaughter of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attorney_general" title="Attorney general">attorney general</a> of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Russia" class="mw-redirect" title="Imperial Russia">Imperial Russian</a> Senate, Ignatiy Platonovich Zakrevsky.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-21">[21]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-22">[22]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-thepeerage-23">[23]</a> Through this Russian connection, Clegg is distantly related to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Ignatieff" title="Michael Ignatieff">Michael Ignatieff</a>, leader of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_Party_of_Canada" title="Liberal Party of Canada">Liberal Party of Canada</a> from 2008 to 2011.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-24">[24]</a>

His English grandfather was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Clegg_(doctor)" class="mw-redirect" title="Hugh Clegg (doctor)">Hugh Anthony Clegg</a>, editor of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMJ" class="mw-redirect" title="BMJ">British Medical Journal</a> for 35 years.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-telegraph1-25">[25]</a>

Clegg's mother is Dutch<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-26">[26]</a> and was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internment" title="Internment">interned</a>, along with her family, by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Japanese_Army" title="Imperial Japanese Army">Japanese military</a> in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Jakarta" title="History of Jakarta">Batavia</a> (Jakarta) in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_East_Indies" title="Dutch East Indies">Dutch East Indies</a> (Indonesia) during the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II" title="World War II">Second World War</a>. She met Clegg's father during a visit to England in 1956,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-telegraph1-25">[25]</a> and they married on 1 August 1959.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-27">[27]</a>

Clegg is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multilingualism" title="Multilingualism">multilingual</a>: he speaks English, French, Dutch, German, and Spanish.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-lang1-28">[28]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-lang2-29">[29]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-lang3-30">[30]</a>

His background has informed his politics. He says, "There is simply not

a shred of racism in me, as a person whose whole family is formed by

flight from persecution, from different people in different generations.

It's what I am. It's one of the reasons I am a liberal."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-31">[31]</a> His Dutch mother instilled in him "a degree of scepticism about the entrenched <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_structure_of_the_United_Kingdom" class="mw-redirect" title="Social structure of the United Kingdom">class configurations in British society</a>".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-ekklesia-32">[32]</a>

He has said of languages that "The danger is that we [in the UK] can

afford to be lazy about languages, because they all want to speak

English – English is the most useful, the global language bar none. But I

don't think we should allow that luxury to be a sort of alibi not to

learn languages."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-33">[33]</a>

<h2>Education</h2>

<div class="thumb tleft"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:222px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Westminster_School_Arch.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ac/Westminster_School_Arch.jpg/220px-Westminster_School_Arch.jpg" class="thumbimage" data-file-width="1024" data-file-height="768" width="220" height="165" /></a> </div></div><div class="thumb tleft"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:222px;"><div class="thumbcaption">Westminster School</div></div></div>

Clegg was educated at two <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_school_(United_Kingdom)" title="Independent school (United Kingdom)">independent schools</a>: at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caldicott_School" title="Caldicott School">Caldicott School</a> in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farnham_Royal" title="Farnham Royal">Farnham Royal</a> in South <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckinghamshire" title="Buckinghamshire">Buckinghamshire</a>, where he was joint Head Prefect in 1980,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-onlinenigeria-34">[34]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-35">[35]</a> and later at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westminster_School" title="Westminster School">Westminster School</a> in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_London" title="Central London">Central London</a>. As a 16-year-old <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exchange_student" class="mw-redirect" title="Exchange student">exchange student</a> in Munich, he and a friend drunkenly set fire to what he called "the leading collection of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cactus" title="Cactus">cacti</a> in Germany".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-36">[36]</a> When news of the incident was reported during his time as Liberal Democrat <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_affairs" class="mw-redirect" title="Home affairs">home affairs</a> spokesman, Clegg said he was "not proud" of it.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-37">[37]</a> He was arrested and not formally charged, but performed a kind of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_service" title="Community service">community service</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-38">[38]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-auto2-5">[5]</a>

He spent a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gap_year" title="Gap year">gap year</a> working as a skiing instructor in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austria" title="Austria">Austria</a>, before going on to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Cambridge" title="University of Cambridge">Cambridge</a> in 1986, where he studied Archaeology and Anthropology at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robinson_College,_Cambridge" title="Robinson College, Cambridge">Robinson College</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-bb-39">[39]</a> He was active in the student theatre at Cambridge, acting in a production of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Normal_Heart" title="The Normal Heart">The Normal Heart</a> under director <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Mendes" title="Sam Mendes">Sam Mendes</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-bb-39">[39]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-40">[40]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-typepad1-41">[41]</a> He was also captain of his college's tennis team, and campaigned for the human rights organisation <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survival_International" title="Survival International">Survival International</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-42">[42]</a> Clegg spent the summer of 1989 as an office junior in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postipankki" class="mw-redirect" title="Postipankki">Postipankki</a> bank in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helsinki" title="Helsinki">Helsinki</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-43">[43]</a>

It has been alleged that Clegg joined the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambridge_University_Conservative_Association" title="Cambridge University Conservative Association">Cambridge University Conservative Association</a> between 1986 and 1987. Clegg has maintained he has "no recollection of that whatsoever". However, Conservative MP <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Hands" title="Greg Hands">Greg Hands</a>

has a record of CUCA members for 1986–1987, and Clegg's name appears on

the list. Hands noted that "for the avoidance of any doubt, there was

only one 'N Clegg' at Robinson College ... [he] is listed in the

'Robinson College Record', under 'Freshmen 1986'.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-44">[44]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-45">[45]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-46">[46]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-blogs-47">[47]</a> He graduated with an upper second class honours (2:1) degree in social anthropology.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-lrb-48">[48]</a>

After university, he was awarded a scholarship to study for a year at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Minnesota" title="University of Minnesota">University of Minnesota</a>, where he wrote a thesis on the political philosophy of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_ecology" title="Deep ecology">Deep Green movement</a>. He then moved to New York City, where he worked as an intern under <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Hitchens" title="Christopher Hitchens">Christopher Hitchens</a> at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nation" title="The Nation">The Nation</a>, a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberalism" title="Liberalism">progressive liberal</a> magazine, where he fact-checked Hitchens's articles.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-BBC_Daily_Politics_profile-49">[49]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-50">[50]</a>

Clegg next moved to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brussels" title="Brussels">Brussels</a>, where he worked alongside <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Spier" title="Guy Spier">Guy Spier</a> for six months as a trainee in the G24 co-ordination unit which delivered aid to the countries of the former <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Union" title="Soviet Union">Soviet Union</a>. After the internship he studied for a master's degree at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_of_Europe" title="College of Europe">College of Europe</a> in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruges" title="Bruges">Bruges</a>, a university for European studies in Belgium, where he met his wife, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miriam_Gonz%C3%A1lez_Dur%C3%A1ntez" title="Miriam González Durántez">Miriam González Durántez</a>, a lawyer and the daughter of a Spanish senator.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-typepad1-41">[41]</a> Nick Clegg is an alumnus of the "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_of_Europe#Promotions" title="College of Europe">Mozart Promotion</a>" (1991–92) of the College of Europe.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-51">[51]</a>

<h2>Careers before politics</h2>

Between 1992 and 1993, he was employed by GJW Government Relations Ltd, which lobbied on behalf of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libya" title="Libya">Libya</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-52">[52]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-53">[53]</a>

In 1993, Clegg won the inaugural <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_Times" title="Financial Times">Financial Times</a>' David Thomas Prize, in remembrance of an FT journalist killed on assignment in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuwait" title="Kuwait">Kuwait</a> in 1991. He was later sent to Hungary, where he wrote articles about the mass privatisation of industries in the former <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Bloc" title="Eastern Bloc">communist bloc</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-typepad1-41">[41]</a>

He took up a post at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Commission" title="European Commission">European Commission</a> in April 1994, working in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_Aid_to_the_Commonwealth_of_Independent_States" title="Technical Aid to the Commonwealth of Independent States">TACIS</a> aid programme to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-Soviet_states" title="Post-Soviet states">former Soviet Union</a>. For two years, Clegg was responsible for developing direct aid programmes in Central Asia and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caucasus" title="Caucasus">Caucasus</a> worth €50 million. He was involved in negotiations with Russia on airline overflight rights, and launched a conference in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tashkent" title="Tashkent">Tashkent</a> in 1993 that founded <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRACECA" title="TRACECA">TRACECA</a>—an international transport programme for the development of a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport_corridor" title="Transport corridor">transport corridor</a> for Europe, the Caucasus and Asia. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vice-President_of_the_European_Commission" title="Vice-President of the European Commission">Vice-President</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Commissioner_for_Trade" title="European Commissioner for Trade">Trade Commissioner</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Brittan" title="Leon Brittan">Leon Brittan</a>

then offered him a job in his private office, as a European Union

policy adviser and speechwriter. As part of this role, Clegg was in

charge of the EC negotiating team on Chinese and Russian accession talks

to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization" title="World Trade Organization">World Trade Organization</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#cite_note-typepad1-41">[41]</a>

<h3>Written publications</h3><div>....
</div></div><div>===
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