On Friday, Nick Clegg took to Facebook, announcing to his followers that he would be joining Facebook. The former U.K. deputy prime minister will serve as Facebook’s vice president of global affairs and communications.
Facebook announced that Clegg will begin work on Monday, but will not make the move to Silicon Valley with his wife and three sons until early next year. He will be based in Facebook’s London office in the interim.
Clegg will succeed Elliot Schrage who stepped down in June. According to The Guardian, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg “wooed” Clegg for months, finally succeeding after he guaranteed that the former politician “would have a leading role in shaping the company’s strategy.”
Clegg, a British politician and member of the Liberal Democrats, most recently served as leader of the party from 2007 to 2015. From 2010 to 2015, he served as deputy prime minister after the Liberal Democrats formed a coalition government with David Cameron and the Conservative Party.
Following the 2015 election, the Liberal Democrats suffered significant losses and Clegg was ousted as deputy prime minister and resigned as party leader. He continued to serve as MP for Sheffield Hallam until he was defeated by Labour Party candidate Jared O’Mara in 2017.
In early 2018, Clegg was given a knighthood.
“Having spoken at length to Mark and Sheryl over the last few months,” Clegg wrote in his Facebook post, “I have been struck by their recognition that the company is on a journey which brings new responsibilities not only to the users of Facebook’s apps but to society at large. I hope I will be able to play a role in helping to navigate that journey.”
