Kingmaker Clegg who gave party a share in power

WHEN Nick Clegg won the leadership of the Liberal Democrats he became the youngest party leader in the UK – beating David Cameron by three months – and he has since also tried to defeat the Tory leader as the driver of change in British politics.
By The Newsroom
Published 12th May 2010, 10:58 BST
Updated 12th May 2010, 10:58 BST

For three years his efforts appeared to have fallen on deaf ears with the party showing little change in the polls since 2007 but, faced with the prospect of being General Election also-rans, Mr Clegg was given the golden opportunity of the televised leadership debates to state his case. He grabbed it with both hands.

A stellar performance in the first broadcast saw the party rocket to the top of the polls as "Cleggmania" swept the UK.

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But despite signs the 43-year-old had managed to maintain that support it did not translate into seats with the Lib Dems suffering the soul-destroying result of actually losing four MPs.

A hung parliament has made Mr Clegg the most powerful Lib Dem leader in living memory as Labour and the Tories bid for his support.

Born in Chalfont St Giles in Buckinghamshire, he enjoyed a privileged upbringing and was educated at Westminster School in London, followed by Robinson College at the University of Cambridge, where he studied Social Anthropology.

A passionate pro-European he is multilingual, speaking Dutch, French, German, and Spanish, and is married to Miriam Gonzlez Durntez. The couple have three sons.

Before moving into politics he was a journalist at the Financial Times before taking up a post at the European Commission.

Related topics:Liberal DemocratsDavid CameronMPs