The Right Honourable Sir Vince Cable |
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Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills President of the Board of Trade |
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In office 12 May 2010 – 11 May 2015 |
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Prime Minister | David Cameron | ||
Preceded by | The Lord Mandelson | ||
Succeeded by | Sajid Javid | ||
Leader of the Liberal Democrats Acting |
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In office 15 October 2007 – 18 December 2007 |
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Preceded by | Ming Campbell | ||
Succeeded by | Nick Clegg | ||
Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats | |||
In office 2 March 2006 – 26 May 2010 |
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Leader |
Ming Campbell Nick Clegg |
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Preceded by | Ming Campbell | ||
Succeeded by | Simon Hughes | ||
Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson | |||
In office 12 June 2003 – 11 May 2010 |
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Leader |
Charles Kennedy Ming Campbell Nick Clegg |
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Preceded by | Matthew Taylor | ||
Succeeded by | Danny Alexander (2015) | ||
Liberal Democrat Trade Spokesperson | |||
In office 9 August 1999 – 12 June 2003 |
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Leader | Charles Kennedy | ||
Preceded by | David Chidgey | ||
Succeeded by | Malcolm Bruce | ||
Member of Parliament for Twickenham |
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In office 1 May 1997 – 7 May 2015 |
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Preceded by | Toby Jessel | ||
Succeeded by | Tania Mathias | ||
Personal details | |||
Born |
John Vincent Cable 9 May 1943 York, England |
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Nationality | British | ||
Political party |
Liberal (Before 1965) Labour (1966–1982) Social Democrats (1982–1988) Liberal Democrats (1988–present) |
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Spouse(s) | Olympia Rebelo (1968–2001; her death) Rachel Smith (2004–present) |
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Children | 3 | ||
Alma mater |
Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge University of Glasgow |
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Sir John Vincent "Vince" Cable (born 9 May 1943) is a British politician who was the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills from 2010 to 2015 and the Member of Parliament for Twickenham from 1997 until losing his seat in the 2015 election.
Cable studied economics at the University of Cambridge and the University of Glasgow, before becoming an economic advisor to the Government of Kenya between 1966 and 1968 and to the Commonwealth Secretary-General in the 1970s and 1980s. From 1968 to 1974 he lectured in economics at Glasgow University. Later, he served as Chief Economist for Shell from 1995 to 1997. In the 1970s Cable was active in the Labour Party, becoming a Labour Councillor in Glasgow. In 1982 he joined the Social Democratic Party – which later joined with the Liberal Party to form the Liberal Democrats – and he unsuccessfully stood for Parliament in the general elections of 1970, 1983, 1987 and 1992 before being elected as the MP for Twickenham in 1997.