Leader of the Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a political party in the United Kingdom. Party members elect the Leader of the Liberal Democrats. The Leader of the Liberal Democrats is the head and highest ranking member of the party. Liberal Democrat Members of Parliament also elect a Deputy Leader of the Parliamentary Party in the House of Commons, often colloquially referred to as the Deputy Leader. Under the federal constitution of the Liberal Democrats the leader is required to be a member of the House of Commons.
Before the election of the first federal leader of the party, the leaders of the two parties which merged to form the Liberal Democrats, the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party, served as joint interim leaders.
In the event that the leader dies, resigns or loses their seat in Parliament, the deputy leader serves as interim leader until a leadership election takes place. This has occurred three times, with Menzies Campbell serving as interim leader following the resignation of Charles Kennedy and Vince Cable serving as interim leader following Campbell's resignation. Jo Swinson lost her seat in the general election held on 12 December 2019, thus ceasing to be leader; deputy leader Ed Davey and Party President Sal Brinton became acting co-leaders. Brinton was replaced by Mark Pack following his assuming the office of Party President on 1 January 2020. The next leader will be elected in the 2020 Liberal Democrats leadership election.Overall Leaders
There are six living former party leaders. From oldest to youngest:
| Leader | Term of office | Date of birth |
| David Steel | 1988 | |
| Menzies Campbell | 2006–2007 | |
| Vince Cable | 2007 | |
| Vince Cable | 2017–2019 | |
| Nick Clegg | 2007–2015 | |
| Tim Farron | 2015–2017 | |
| Jo Swinson | 2019 | |
