Jason Richards

Jason Richards, born 10 April 1976 in Nelson, New Zealand is a motor racing driver, currently competing for Brad Jones Racing in the Australian touring car series, V8 Supercar.

Early career

Richards started his motor racing career at the age of eight in 1985, driving in karting events in his home country of New Zealand. He made his move out of karting in 1993 after 35 championship titles, entering the Mini 7s.

After much success again, Richards was offered the Canterbury Racing School Formula Ford drive for the Nissan Mobil 500 meetings at Wellington and Pukekohe.

After a short stint in the English Formula Ford Championship, Richards returned to New Zealand to sign with BMW Motorsport NZ as junior driver, winning the 1995/96 Class 1 Touring Car Championships for the team, along with nine out of 12 series races.

Career highlights

Winner, New Zealand Touring Cars Championship 1998/99, 2000/01

11th, Bob Jane T-Marts 1000 at Mount Panorama Circuit 2002

5th, Oran Park V8 Supercar round 2003

3rd, Betta Electrical Sandown 500 2005

2nd, Supercheap Auto 1000 at Bathurst 2005, 2008

Winner, Winton Motor Raceway, RD.5 Race 2, V8SA 2006

3rd, Surfers Paradise V8 Supercar Challenge, V8SCS 2007

Pole, Hidden Valley Darwin, Race 9, V8SCS 2009

Teams

Team Kiwi Racing

Promoted to lead driver, Richards won the next three NZ Touring Car Championships prior to joining Team Kiwi for the V8 Supercar series in Australia in 2001. Battling testing restrictions and the tyranny of distance, Richards finished an extremely creditable 19th in the 2002 V8 Supercar Series.

Team Dynamik

Richards moved to the new South Australian Team Dynamik in 2003, putting in some strong results, including a narrow failure to snatch victory in the Sandown 500 from Mark Skaife in the race's dying stages.

Tasman Motorsport

He then made the decision to move to the newly-formed Tasman Motorsport outfit in 2004 and has developed into a driver who believes he is capable of standing on the top step of a V8 Supercar podium.

Coming back from a major rollover in the 2005 round at Queensland Raceway,[3] Richards quickly returned to stride and promptly placed the repaired Commodore into the top 10 in the following round at Oran Park Raceway.

His podium results in the Sandown and Bathurst endurance events in 2005 helped cement his place as a ‘coming man’ of the V8 Supercar category.

In the 2005 Supercheap Auto 1000, Richards produced a strong performance and came very close to winning the race.

At the 2007 Bathurst 1000 Richards and Murphy were the best placed Holden team, finishing fourth overall. Surfers Paradise was his best round in 2007 where he finished third overall, and finished 14th in the Championship, with 235 points 15 points behind teammate Greg Murphy.

Team BOC

Richards will be racing the #8 Team BOC VE Commodore for 2009, a new race number for the team in V8 Supercars but was the racing number of team co-principal Brad Jones during the teams years racing in AUSCAR and NASCAR at the Calder Park Thunderdome. Richards secured his first V8 Supercar pole position at Hidden Valley Raceway in 2009. Richards finished third at the 2010 L&H 500 with Andrew Jones.

Illness

In November 2010 it was revealed that Richards was admitted to hospital on 16 November and was later diagnosed with an adrenocortical carcinoma.

Bathurst 1000 statistics

Debut: 1997 (BMW 320i with Brett Riley)

Starts: 8 (including 2 Super Touring)

Best Results: 2nd (2005, Holden Commodore VZ with Jamie Whincup, 2008, Holden Commodore VE with Greg Murphy, 2009, Holden Commodore VE with Cameron McConville) 4th (2007, Holden Commodore VE with Greg Murphy)

Search setback for Jason Richards and his girlfriend fears the worst

The dog, called Amy, was found wandering on a station near the Stuart Highway.

Station hands alerted South Australia police after the brown and white pointer-cross was found south of Glendambo, 120km west of where Mr Richards was last seen on July 21.

His father, Wayne, said a sighting of Mr Richards's navy Toyota HiLux utility was reported on Friday near where the dog was found, but there was no sign of the ute when police arrived at the location.

A robust hunting dog who was heavily pregnant when Mr Richards left Darwin three weeks ago to drive home to his family in Ballarat, Amy is now emaciated, with the outline of her ribs clearly visible. Her puppies are most probably dead after she gave birth somewhere in the outback.

Ms Laidlaw is in central South Australia with friends and relatives, searching for Mr Richards, who disappeared three weeks ago.

Police have already searched 4300 sq km to no avail. They even brought in an Aboriginal tracker.

Police yesterday described the case as "strange".

"It is odd Mr Richards' vehicle or himself have not been found," said Det Supt Grant Moyle of the SA major crime unit.

"I would have expected that if he was all right, if he had left that area and was still travelling, then we would have had some reports of his interactions with members of the public."

Police have consulted psychologists as they explore the theory that Mr Richards may have suffered a deranged episode linked to sleep deprivation.

Mr Richards, 29, vanished late last month on his journey home to Ballarat from Darwin, where he had been working as a glazier.

He was last seen on the Stuart Highway, south of Woomera.

Peter Falconio vanished on the same highway, about 1200km north, in July 2001.

Mr Richards' dog, Amy, was found alive on Sunday, about 100km from where he disappeared. Vets believe she gave birth a week ago to a litter of pups, which have not been found.

Ms Laidlaw said Mr Richards had no enemies.

The boat he was towing was found torched and abandoned the day he was last seen, June 21.

His father, Wayne, lives near the scene of the last sighting.

Factor 50+ raises the bar in sun protection

You may be surprised to learn that many common foods offer some protection to your skin from the potentially damaging rays of the sun, from the inside out. This SPF or sun protective factor aspect of foods has to do with the presence of certain antioxidant compounds. Plants produce antioxidants within their own tissues to protect their own cells from premature destruction, due to exposure to heat, light, air, moisture and time.

When we consume many of these plant-derived antioxidants, these natural agents provide protection to the cells of our bodies, including skin cells. By eating certain foods, especially those that are brightly colored, you can actually help to reduce damage to your skin caused by exposure to UVA and UVB rays from sunlight. Let’s consider some of the better sun protective foods.

Cancer Council has resisted the increased level to 50+, saying it gives people a false sense of security as the higher level of chemicals in sunscreen do not necessarily provide an exponentially higher rate of protection.

The organisation, however, acknowledges the importance of using broad spectrum sunscreen.

The chairman of Standards Australia's sunscreen standards committee, Craig Sinclair, is also a spokesman for the Cancer Council.

''Certainly the Cancer Council has not been the ones advocating for this change, it's been largely led by industry,'' Mr Sinclair said.

He said broad spectrum products - that included protection against both UVA and UVB - were more important than the SPF level.

It was also important to ensure people applied enough sunscreen at regular intervals.

''It's much more about application than it is about the SPF numbers, as such. From the perspective of the Cancer Council, we haven't been pushing for this at all, but if it means that the industry, in going to SPF 50+, is producing better quality sunscreens which have much broader UVA and UVB protection, then we're going to get better public health outcomes.''

The proposal also recommends banning potentially misleading terms such as ''sun block'' and ''water proof'' from sunscreen labels.

The draft standard is available for public comment.

Mr Sinclair said he expected it would be introduced later in the year, and would take effect by the following summer.

Mother left wondering if her baby could have been saved

Forrestfield couple say their 18-week-old foetus was disposed of by staff at the Swan District Hospital who had not consulted them.

The North Metropolitan Area Health Service says while the treatment of the patient was clinically appropriate, what happened to the foetus should have been discussed with the parents.

The Department expressed its condolences and says it has met the family to discuss their concerns.

Doctor Hames says the lack of consultation was inappropriate.

"A certain course of events were supposed to happen and it didn't and that was obviously distressing for the mother so I'm more than happy to apologise to her that that occurred," he said.

He says the case will be investigated.

The autopsy was unable to show any problems with the baby, but because the hospital had thrown out the placenta instead of sending it for testing, the reason why she miscarried remains unknown.

Mrs Right became pregnant again this year and went to the hospital again after having severe pains, but staff again refused to run tests or do an ultrasound.

“They just told me ‘no, go home and the baby will pass naturally’,” Mrs Right said.

“They were just saying: ‘if it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen’.

“I knew something was wrong. It’s just a mother instinct, so the next day I went straight to Joondalup Hospital and they were more than helpful.”

Tests at Joondalup Hospital revealed the baby had died.

Mrs Right said after the first incident, the hospital told her they would use her case to ensure that no other parents would go through the same ordeal, but it was clear after her second miscarriage nothing had changed.

A Swan hospital spokeswoman said: “We express our condolences to the family involved for their tragic loss and apologise for any distress caused by the events that followed early last year."

"Shortly after this occurred, senior hospital staff met with the family to discuss the concerns they had regarding the care they received and to apologise.

“Should the couple have outstanding concerns, we welcome the chance to meet with them again to ensure their concerns are resolved.

"We are unable to disclose any further information about the specifics in this case due to patient confidentiality."

Bat culls must be considered in Hendra fight

Bat researchers from the Queensland Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases will survey the property Blazing Saddles Adventures, west of Cairns, in the state's far north where a horse died from hendra virus earlier this week.

There has been four outbreaks of the disease in Queensland in the less than three weeks.

Six people who had recent contact with the horse at the property near Cairns are awaiting test results.

Queensland Health (QH) says the six people who had contact with the horse at the property near Cairns are all at very low risk of contracting the disease.

The department is speaking to several other people who may have been exposed.

About 36 remaining horses on the property have also been tested.

Fast tracking the vaccination is the priority, but until that's available the population of flying foxes needs to be curtailed. We can't ignore the need for culling any longer.

This is a devastating disease that is fatal to humans as well as horses and the state government needs to urgently assess ways to protect both, by limiting flying fox numbers.

I certainly acknowledge that flying foxes are a vital part of our eco system and I definitely do not think they should be 'wiped out', but they are proving to be a danger to society and clearly need to be better managed.

Governments are well aware of the cause of the Hendra virus and proactive action needs to be taken to address that issue until we have the vaccine on the market.

I believe one of the reasons we are seeing more Hendra cases is because flying foxes are in plague proportions. Culling would be to simply bring numbers back to more manageable levels and help minimise the spread of Hendra.

It is no different to culling kangaroos to protect farming land, or netting sharks to protect swimmers. When human lives are at stake these types of measures need to be taken.

Latest research suggests that the Hendra virus was initially present in 10 per cent of the bat population but has now increased to 30 per cent of the bat population.

Bali

Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east. It is one of the country's 33 provinces with the provincial capital at Denpasar towards the south of the island.

With a population recorded as 3,891,000 in 2010, the island is home to most of Indonesia's small Hindu minority. In the 2000 census about 92.29% of Bali's population adhered to Balinese Hinduism while most of the remainder follow Islam. It is also the largest tourist destination in the country and is renowned for its highly developed arts, including traditional and modern dance, sculpture, painting, leather, metalworking, and music. Bali, despite being a tourist haven for decades, has seen a surge in tourist numbers in recent years.

History

Bali was inhabited by about 2000 BC by Austronesian peoples who migrated originally from Taiwan through Maritime Southeast Asia. Culturally and linguistically, the Balinese are thus closely related to the peoples of the Indonesian archipelago, the Philippines, and Oceania. Stone tools dating from this time have been found near the village of Cekik in the island's west.

In ancient Bali, nine Hindu sects existed, namely Pasupata, Bhairawa, Siwa Shidanta, Waisnawa, Bodha, Brahma, Resi, Sora and Ganapatya. Each sect revered a specific deity as its personal Godhead.

Balinese culture was strongly influenced by Indian and Chinese, and particularly Hindu culture, beginning around the 1st century AD. 

The name Bali dwipa ("Bali island") has been discovered from various inscriptions, including the Blanjong pillar inscription written by Sri Kesari Warmadewa in 914 AD and mentioning "Walidwipa". It was during this time that the complex irrigation system subak was developed to grow rice. Some religious and cultural traditions still in existence today can be traced back to this period. The Hindu Majapahit Empire (1293–1520 AD) on eastern Java founded a Balinese colony in 1343. When the empire declined, there was an exodus of intellectuals, artists, priests, and musicians from Java to Bali in the 15th century.

The first European contact with Bali is thought to have been made in 1585 when a Portuguese ship foundered off the Bukit Peninsula and left a few Portuguese in the service of Dewa Agung. In 1597 the Dutch explorer Cornelis de Houtman arrived at Bali and, with the establishment of the Dutch East India Company in 1602, the stage was set for colonial control two and a half centuries later when Dutch control expanded across the Indonesian archipelago throughout the second half of the nineteenth century (see Dutch East Indies). Dutch political and economic control over Bali began in the 1840s on the island's north coast, when the Dutch pitted various distrustful Balinese realms against each other. In the late 1890s, struggles between Balinese kingdoms in the island's south were exploited by the Dutch to increase their control.

The Dutch mounted large naval and ground assaults at the Sanur region in 1906 and were met by the thousands of members of the royal family and their followers who fought against the superior Dutch force in a suicidal puputan defensive assault rather than face the humiliation of surrender. Despite Dutch demands for surrender, an estimated 1,000 Balinese marched to their death against the invaders. In the Dutch intervention in Bali (1908), a similar massacre occurred in the face of a Dutch assault in Klungkung. Afterwards the Dutch governors were able to exercise administrative control over the island, but local control over religion and culture generally remained intact. Dutch rule over Bali came later and was never as well established as in other parts of Indonesia such as Java and Maluku.

In the 1930s, anthropologists Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson, and artists Miguel Covarrubias and Walter Spies, and musicologist Colin McPhee created a western image of Bali as "an enchanted land of aesthetes at peace with themselves and nature", and western tourism first developed on the island.

Geography

The island of Bali lies 3.2 km (2 mi) east of Java, and is approximately 8 degrees south of the equator. Bali and Java are separated by the Bali Strait. East to west, the island is approximately 153 km (95 mi) wide and spans approximately 112 km (69 mi) north to south; its land area is 5,632 km².

Bali's central mountains include several peaks over 3,000 metres in elevation. The highest is Mount Agung (3,142 m), known as the "mother mountain" which is an active volcano. Mountains range from centre to the eastern side, with Mount Agung the easternmost peak. Bali's volcanic nature has contributed to its exceptional fertility and its tall mountain ranges provide the high rainfall that supports the highly productive agriculture sector. South of the mountains is a broad, steadily descending area where most of Bali's large rice crop is grown. The northern side of the mountains slopes more steeply to the sea and is the main coffee producing area of the island, along with rice, vegetables and cattle. The longest river, Ayung River, flows approximately 75 km.

The island is surrounded by coral reefs. Beaches in the south tend to have white sand while those in the north and west have black sand. Bali has no major waterways, although the Ho River is navigable by small sampan boats. Black sand beaches between Pasut and Klatingdukuh are being developed for tourism, but apart from the seaside temple of Tanah Lot, they are not yet used for significant tourism.

The largest city is the provincial capital, Denpasar, near the southern coast. Its population is around 491,500(2002). Bali's second-largest city is the old colonial capital, Singaraja, which is located on the north coast and is home to around 100,000 people. Other important cities include the beach resort, Kuta, which is practically part of Denpasar's urban area; and Ubud, which is north of Denpasar, and is known as the island's cultural centre.

Ecology

Bali lies just to the west of the Wallace Line, and thus has a fauna which is Asian in character, with very little Australasian influence, and has more in common with Java than with Lombok. 

An exception is the Yellow-crested Cockatoo, a member of a primarily Australasian family. There are around 280 species of birds, including the critically endangered Bali Starling, which is endemic. Others Include Barn Swallow, Black-naped Oriole, Black Racket-tailed Treepie, Crested Serpent-eagle, Crested Treeswift, Dollarbird, Java Sparrow, Lesser Adjutant, Long-tailed Shrike, Milky Stork, Pacific Swallow, Red-rumped Swallow, Sacred Kingfisher, Sea Eagle, Woodswallow, Savanna Nightjar, Stork-billed Kingfisher, Yellow-vented Bulbul, White Heron, Great Egret.

Until the early 20th century, Bali was home to several large mammals: the wild Banteng, Leopard and an endemic subspecies of Tiger, the Bali Tiger. The Banteng still occurs in its domestic form, while leopards are found only in neighboring Java, and the Bali Tiger is extinct. The last definite record of a Tiger on Bali dates from 1937, when one was shot, though the subspecies may have survived until the 1940s or 1950s.

Squirrels are quite commonly encountered, less often the Asian Palm Civet, which is also kept in coffee farms to produce Kopi Luwak. Bats are well represented, perhaps the most famous place to encounter them remaining the Goa Lawah (Temple of the Bats) where they are worshipped by the locals and also constitute a tourist attraction. They also occur in other cave temples, for instance at Gangga Beach.

Two species of monkey occur. The Crab-eating Macaque, known locally as “kera”, is quite common around human settlements and temples, where it becomes accustomed to being fed by humans, particularly in any of the three “monkey forest” temples, such as the popular one in the Ubud area. They are also quite often kept as pets by locals. The second monkey, far rarer and more elusive is the Silver Leaf Monkey known locally as “lutung”. They occur in few places apart from the Bali Barat National Park. Other, rarer mammals include the Leopard Cat, Sunda Pangolin and Black Giant Squirrel.

Snakes include the King Cobra and Reticulated Python. The Water Monitor can grow to an impressive size and move surprisingly quickly.

Environment

Some of the worst erosion has occurred in Lebih Beach, where up to 7 meters of land is lost every year. Decades ago, this beach was used for holy pilgrimages with more than 10,000 people, but they have now moved to Masceti Beach.

From ranked third in previous review, in 2010 Bali got score 99.65 of Indonesia's environmental quality index and the highest of all the 33 provinces. The score measured 3 water quality parameters: the level of total suspended solids (TSS), dissolved oxygen (DO) and chemical oxygen demand (COD).

Economy

Three decades ago, the Balinese economy was largely agriculture-based in terms of both output and employment. Tourism is now the largest single industry; and as a result, Bali is one of Indonesia’s wealthiest regions. About 80% of Bali's economy depends on tourism. The economy, however, suffered significantly as a result of the terrorist bombings 2002 and 2005. The tourism industry is slowly recovering once again.

Agriculture

Although tourism produces the GDP's largest output, agriculture is still the island’s biggest employer; most notably rice cultivation. Crops grown in smaller amounts include fruit, vegetables, Coffea arabica and other cash and subsistence crops. Fishing also provides a significant number of jobs. Bali is also famous for its artisans who produce a vast array of handicrafts, including batik and ikat cloth and clothing, wooden carvings, stone carvings, painted art and silverware. Notably, individual villages typically adopt a single product, such as wind chimes or wooden furniture.

The Arabica coffee production region is the highland region of Kintamani near Mount Batur. Generally, Balinese coffee is processed using the wet method. This results in a sweet, soft coffee with good consistency. Typical flavors include lemon and other citrus notes. Many coffee farmers in Kintamani are members of a traditional farming system called Subak Abian, which is based on the Hindu philosophy of "Tri Hita Karana”. According to this philosophy, the three causes of happiness are good relations with God, other people and the environment. The Subak Abian system is ideally suited to the production of fair trade and organic coffee production. Arabica coffee from Kintamani is the first product in Indonesia to request a Geographical Indication.

Tourism

The tourism industry is primarily focused in the south, while significant in the other parts of the island as well. The main tourist locations are the town of Kuta (with its beach), and its outer suburbs of Legian and Seminyak (which were once independent townships), the east coast town of Sanur (once the only tourist hub), in the center of the island Ubud, to the south of the Ngurah Rai International Airport, Jimbaran, and the newer development of Nusa Dua and Pecatu.

The American government lifted its travel warnings in 2008. As of 2009, the Australian government still rates it at a 4 danger level (the same as several countries in central Africa) on a scale of 5.

An offshoot of tourism is the growing real estate industry. Bali real estate has been rapidly developing in the main tourist areas of Kuta, Legian, Seminyak and Oberoi. Most recently, high-end 5 star projects are under development on the Bukit peninsula, on the south side of the island. Million dollar villas are being developed along the cliff sides of south Bali, commanding panoramic ocean views. Foreign and domestic (many Jakarta individuals and companies are fairly active) investment into other areas of the island also continues to grow. Land prices, despite the worldwide economic crisis, have remained stable.

In the last half of 2008, Indonesia's currency had dropped approximately 30% against the US dollar, providing many overseas visitors value for their currencies. Visitor arrivals for 2009 were forecast to drop 8% (which would be higher than 2007 levels), due to the worldwide economic crisis which has also affected the global tourist industry, but not due to any travel warnings.

Bali's tourism economy survived the terrorist bombings of 2002 and 2005, and the tourism industry has in fact slowly recovered and surpassed its pre-terrorist bombing levels; the longterm trend has been a steady increase of visitor arrivals. At 2010, Bali received 2.57 million foreign tourists. It is surpassed the target of 2.0-2.3 million tourists. The average occupancy of starred hotels achieved 65 percent (last year 60.8 percent), so still capable for accommodates tourists for next some years without any addition of new rooms/hotels, although at the peak season some of them are fully booked.

Bali received the Best Island award from Travel and Leisure in 2010. The award was presented in the show "World's Best Awards 2010" in New York, on 21 July. Hotel Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran also received an award in the category of "World Best Hotel Spas in Asia 2010". The award was based on a survey of travel magazine Travel + Leisure readers between 15 December 2009 through 31 March 2010, and was judged on several criteria. Thermes Marins Bali, Ayana Resort and Spa, (formerly The Ritz-Carlton) got score 95.6 scored out of a maximum 100 of satisfaction index with spa facilities and services as #1 Spa in the world by Conde Naste's Traveller Magazine for 2010 by their readers poll. 

Transportation

The Ngurah Rai International Airport is located near Jimbaran, on the isthmus at the southernmost part of the island. Lt.Col. Wisnu Airfield is found in north-west Bali.

Suspicious package found at consulate in Bali

Bomb squad was called to the offices in Denpasar at about 2.30pm local time (4.30pm AEST) today after a man who had visited the building earlier in the day left behind a small bag.

Police closed the road outside the building for 30 minutes while the bag was removed to another location for further examination.

The bomb squad was still examining the bag and had yet to confirm if it contained explosive material.

The head of the Bali Police Mobile Brigade, Ramdani Hidayat, said security at the consulate alerted authorities after the man, described as a "foreign citizen", began acting in a suspicious manner.

"The people who were in the consulate at the time continued working," he said.

He added that people who needed access to the consulate were invited to get advice by telephone because police had closed the street outside.

Police said the bomb squad and a sniffer dog were called to the scene and the package was removed for analysis.

The package had been left at the gate earlier in the day by a man identifying himself as an Australian teacher, police said.

"He was asking where to dispose of chemical waste. I explained to him that there's no such place for such disposal here," security guard Irwan Saputra said.

Nick Clegg

Nicholas William Peter "Nick" Clegg,  born 7 January 1967 is a British Liberal Democrat politician who is the Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Lord President of the Council and Minister for Constitutional and Political Reform in the coalition government of Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron. Clegg is the Leader of the Liberal Democrats and is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sheffield Hallam.

Clegg's first major elected position was as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the East Midlands from 1999 to 2004. He was elected Member of Parliament for Sheffield Hallam in the 2005 general election and became the Liberal Democrats' Home Affairs spokesperson in 2006. Clegg defeated Chris Huhne in the party's 2007 leadership election. Clegg became Deputy Prime Minister following the 2010 general election, when the Liberal Democrats formed a coalition government with the Conservative Party, led by Prime Minister David Cameron. As well as his parliamentary roles, Clegg has contributed to many pamphlets and books on political issues.

Clegg was educated at Caldicott School in Buckinghamshire and Westminster School in London, followed by Robinson College at the University of Cambridge, where he studied Social Anthropology; he later studied at the University of Minnesota and the College of Europe in Belgium. He is married to Miriam González Durántez; they have three sons.

Clegg was born in Chalfont St Giles in Buckinghamshire, in 1967, the third of four children. His father, Nicholas Clegg CBE, is chairman of United Trust Bank, and is a trustee of The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, where Ken Clarke was an adviser. Clegg's paternal grandmother, Kira von Engelhardt, was the daughter of a Baron from the multiethnic Imperial Russia, of German-Russian and Ukrainian origin, whose family fled the Bolsheviks after the 1917 Russian Revolution. One of his great-great-grandfathers, Ignaty Zakrevsky, was attorney general of the imperial Russian senate. One of his great-great aunts was the writer, Moura Budberg. Clegg's paternal grandfather, Hugh Anthony Clegg, was the editor of the British Medical Journal for 35 years.

Clegg's Dutch mother, Hermance van den Wall Bake, was, along with her family, interned by the Japanese military in Batavia (Jakarta) in the Dutch East Indies. She met Clegg's father during a visit to England in 1956, and they married on 1 August 1959.

Clegg is multilingual: he speaks English, Dutch, French, German, and Spanish. 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. His Dutch mother instilled in him "a degree of scepticism about the entrenched class configurations in British society".

Clegg was educated at two independent schools: at Caldicott School in Farnham Royal in South Buckinghamshire, and later at Westminster School in Central London. As a 16-year-old exchange student in Munich, Germany, he was sentenced to a term of community service after he and a friend burned a collection of cacti belonging to a professor. When news of the incident was later reported during his time as Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, Clegg said it was something he was "not proud" of.

He spent a gap year as a skiing instructor in Austria, before attending Robinson College, Cambridge at Cambridge University in 1986. Clegg studied Social Anthropology at Cambridge University and was active in the student theatre; he acted alongside Helena Bonham Carter in a play about AIDS, and under director Sam Mendes. He was captain of the college tennis team, and campaigned for the human rights organisation Survival International. Clegg spent summer 1989 as an office junior in Postipankki bank in Helsinki.

It has been reported that, at university, Clegg joined the Cambridge University Conservative Association between 1986 and 1987. Clegg has maintained he had "no recollection of that whatsoever".

After university he was awarded a scholarship to study for a year at the University of Minnesota, where he wrote a thesis on the political philosophy of the Deep Green movement. He then moved to New York City, where he worked as an intern under Christopher Hitchens at The Nation, a left-wing magazine.

Clegg next moved to Brussels, where he worked for six months as a trainee in the G24 co-ordination unit which delivered aid to the countries of the former Soviet Union. After the internship he took a second master's degree at the College of Europe in Bruges, a university for European studies in Belgium, where he met his wife, Miriam González Durántez, a lawyer and the daughter of a Spanish senator. Nick Clegg belonged to the "Mozart Promotion" at the College of Europe.

Between 1992–1993, he was employed by GJW, which lobbied on behalf of Libya.

In 1993, Clegg won the Financial Times' David Thomas Prize, in remembrance of an FT journalist killed on assignment in Kuwait in 1991. Clegg was the award's first recipient. He was later sent to Hungary, where he wrote articles about the mass privatisation of industries in the former communist bloc.

In April 1994, he took up a post at the European Commission, working in the TACIS aid programme to the former Soviet Union. For two years he was responsible for developing direct aid programmes in Central Asia and the Caucasus, worth €50 million. He was involved in negotiations with Russia on airline overflight rights, and launched a conference in Tashkent in 1993 that founded TRACECA—an international transport programme for the development of a Transport Corridor for Europe, the Caucasus and Asia. Vice President and Trade Commissioner Leon Brittan then offered Clegg a job in his private office, as a European Union policy adviser and speech writer. As part of this role, Clegg was in charge of the EC negotiating team on Chinese and Russian accession talks to the World Trade Organisation.

Clegg has written extensively, publishing and contributing to a large number of pamphlets and books. With Dr Richard Grayson he wrote a book in 2002 about the importance of devolution in secondary education systems, based on comparative research across Europe. The final conclusions included the idea of pupil premiums so that children from poorer backgrounds receive the additional resources their educational needs require.

Member of the European Parliament (1999–2004)

Clegg was selected as the lead Liberal Democrat euro-candidate for the East Midlands in 1998, and was first tipped as a politician to watch by Paddy Ashdown in 1999. On his election in 1999, he was the first Liberal parliamentarian elected in the East Midlands since Ernest Pickering was elected MP for Leicester West in 1931, and was credited with helping to significantly boost the Liberal Democrat poll rating in the region in the six months after his election. Clegg worked extensively during his time as an MEP to support the party in the region, not least in Chesterfield where Paul Holmes was elected as MP in 2001. Clegg helped persuade Conservative MEP Bill Newton Dunn to defect to the Liberal Democrats, with Newton Dunn subsequently succeeding him as MEP for the East Midlands.

As an MEP, Clegg co-founded the Campaign for Parliamentary Reform, which led calls for reforms to expenses, transparency and accountability in the European Parliament. He was made Trade and Industry spokesman for the European Liberal Democrat and Reform group (ELDR). In December 2000, Nick Clegg became the Parliament's Draftsman on a complex new EU telecoms law relating to "local loop unbundling"—opening-up telephone networks across Europe to competition. Clegg decided to leave Brussels in 2002, arguing in an article in The Guardian newspaper that the battle to persuade the public of the benefits of Europe was being fought at home, not in Brussels.

On leaving the European Parliament, Clegg joined political lobbying firm GPlus in April 2004 as a fifth partner:

“ It's especially exciting to be joining GPlus at a time when Brussels is moving more and more to the centre of business concerns. With the EU taking in ten more countries and adopting a new Constitution, organisations need more than ever intelligent professional help in engaging with the EU institutions. ”

Clegg worked on GPlus clients including The Hertz Corporation and British Gas.

In November 2004, then Sheffield Hallam MP Richard Allan announced his intention to stand down from parliament, Clegg was selected as the candidate for Sheffield Hallam constituency. He took up a part-time teaching position in the politics department of the University of Sheffield, combining it with ongoing EU consultancy work with GPlus. He also gave a series of seminar lectures in the International Relations Department of the University of Cambridge.

Clegg worked closely with Allan throughout the campaign in Sheffield Hallam – including starring in a local pantomime – and won the seat in the 2005 general election with over 50% of the vote, and a majority of 8,682. This result represents one of the smallest swings away from a party in a seat where an existing MP has been succeeded by a newcomer (4.3%) – see Sheffield constituency article. Clegg also campaigned locally on local transport, recycling, housing development and health. He established close links with both of the city's universities and opposed the closure of local services including fire stations and post offices. Before becoming leader of the party in 2007 he also served as treasurer and secretary of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on National Parks, a particular interest given that his constituency includes part of the Peak District National Park.

Following his election to parliament, Clegg was promoted by leader Charles Kennedy to be the party's spokesperson on Europe, focusing on the party's preparations for an expected referendum on the European constitution and acting as deputy to Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Menzies Campbell. Clegg's ability to articulate liberal values at a very practical level quickly lent him prominence, with many already seeing him as a future Liberal Democrat leader. Following the resignation of Charles Kennedy on 7 January 2006, Clegg was touted as a possible leadership contender. He was quick to rule himself out however instead declaring his support for Sir Menzies Campbell ahead of his former colleague in the European Parliament Chris Huhne, with Campbell going on to win the ballot.

Clegg had been a signatory to the letter circulated by Vince Cable prior to Charles Kennedy's resignation, which stated his opposition to working under Kennedy's continued leadership. Some commentators claim that Clegg's support was due to a hope that he would then inherit the leadership when Campbell's age eventually forced him to retire – the so-called rule that "young cardinals elect old popes".

Liberal Democrats' Home Affairs spokesperson

After the 2006 leadership election, Clegg was promoted to be Home Affairs spokesperson, replacing Mark Oaten. In this job he spearheaded the Liberal Democrats' defence of civil liberties, proposing a Freedom Bill to repeal what he described as "unnecessary and illiberal legislation", campaigning against Identity Cards and the retention of innocent people's DNA, and arguing against excessive counter-terrorism legislation. He has campaigned for prison reform, a liberal approach to immigration, and defended the Human Rights Act against ongoing attacks from across the political spectrum. In January 2007, Clegg launched the 'We Can Cut Crime!' campaign, "proposing real action at a national level and acting to cut crime where the Liberal Democrats are in power locally".

After the resignation of Campbell, Clegg was regarded by much of the media as front-runner in the leadership election. The BBC's Political Editor Nick Robinson stated the election would be a two-horse race between Clegg and Chris Huhne who had stood against Campbell in the 2006 election. On Friday 19 October 2007, Clegg launched his bid to become leader of the Liberal Democrats. Clegg and Huhne clashed in the campaign over Trident but were largely in agreement on many other issues. It was announced on 18 December that he had won. Clegg was appointed to the Privy Council on 30 January 2008 and affirmed his membership on 12 March 2008.

In his acceptance speech upon winning the leadership contest, Clegg declared himself to be "a liberal by temperament, by instinct and by upbringing" and that he believes "Britain is a place of tolerance and pluralism". He has stated that he feels "a profound antagonism for prejudice of all sorts". He declared his priorities as: defending civil liberties; devolving the running of public services to parents, pupils and patients; and protecting the environment.