Jo Swinson

Jo Swinson CBE FRSA
Official portrait, 2017
Leader of the Liberal Democrats
In office 22 July 2019 – 13 December 2019
President	The Baroness Brinton
Deputy	Ed Davey
Preceded by	Vince Cable
Succeeded by	Ed Davey
Party political offices Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats In office 20 June 2017 – 22 July 2019 Leader Tim Farron Vince Cable Preceded by Malcolm Bruce Succeeded by Ed Davey Deputy Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats In office 20 September 2010 – 23 September 2012 Leader Tavish Scott Willie Rennie Preceded by Michael Moore Succeeded by Alistair Carmichael
Opposition offices Liberal Democrat Spokesperson 2005–2006 Culture, Media and Sport 2006–2007 Scotland 2007 Women and Equalities 2008–2010 Foreign Affairs 2017–2019 Foreign Affairs
Ministerial portfolios Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State 2012–2015 Employment Relations, Consumer and Postal Affairs 2012–2015 Women and Equalities
Member of Parliament for East Dunbartonshire
In office 8 June 2017 – 6 November 2019
Preceded by	John Nicolson
Succeeded by	Amy Callaghan
In office 5 May 2005 – 30 March 2015
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	John Nicolson
Personal details
Born	Joanne Kate Swinson[1] (1980-02-05) 5 February 1980 (age 44) Glasgow, Scotland[2]
Political party	Liberal Democrats
Spouse	Duncan Hames ​ (m. 2011)​
Children	3
Alma mater	London School of Economics
Jo Swinson's voice Swinson on the UK's entry to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative Recorded 23 May 2013

Joanne Kate Swinson CBE FRSA (born 5 February 1980) is a former British politician who was Leader of the Liberal Democrats from July to December 2019. She was the first woman and the youngest person to hold the position, as well as the shortest-serving holder of the post. Swinson was the first leader of the Liberal Democrats to be defeated in their own constituency. Swinson was Member of Parliament (MP) for East Dunbartonshire from 2005 to 2015 and 2017 to 2019. In September 2020, Swinson became Director of Partners for a New Economy (P4NE).^[3]

Swinson studied at the London School of Economics, and briefly worked in public relations, before being elected to the House of Commons, becoming the youngest MP at the time.^[4] She was a Liberal Democrat Spokesperson covering various portfolios, including Scotland, Women and Equalities, Communities and Local Government, and Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.^[5]

In 2010, after the Liberal Democrats entered into a coalition government with the Conservative Party, Swinson was a Parliamentary Private Secretary to Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, and was later appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Employment Relations and Postal Affairs.^[6] She lost her seat in the 2015 election, but regained it in the snap election held two years later. Shortly after returning to Parliament, she was elected unopposed as Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats.^[7] In July 2019, following the retirement of Vince Cable, Swinson defeated Ed Davey in a leadership election to become Leader of the Liberal Democrats.

Swinson led her party through the 2019 general election, suggesting she could lead a Liberal Democrat majority government which would revoke Article 50 and cancel Brexit. Instead, Swinson and the Liberal Democrats sustained a net loss in seats, including her own to the Scottish National Party^[8][9][10] and was disqualified from continuing as party leader.^[11] At less than five months, her tenure as leader was the shortest in the Liberal Democrats' history. She is also the only incumbent Liberal Democrat leader to have lost a Parliamentary seat.