| Charles Kennedy |
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| Name | Charles Kennedy |
| Personal | information |
| Date of birth | 25 November 1959(age 50) |
| Birth place | Inverness, Inverness-shire, Scotland |
| Nationality | British |
| Spouse | Sarah Gurling |
| Party | (1) SDP (1983-1988)
(2) Liberal Democrats (1988-Present) |
| Alma mater | University of Glasgow |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Leader of the Liberal Democrats |
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| In office | 9 August 1999-7 January 2006 | | Deputy | Menzies Campbell
Alan Beith | | Preceded by | Paddy Ashdown | | Succeeded by | Menzies Campbell | | Majority | 14,249 (43.8%) | | In office | 5 May 2005- | | Preceded by | Constituency established | | Succeeded by | Incumbent | |
Charles Peter Kennedy (born 25 November 1959) is a British politician; from 9 August 1999 until 7 January 2006, he was the Leader of the Liberal Democrats, the third largest political party in the United Kingdom.
In the 1983 General Election he stood for the Ross, Cromarty & Skye constituency, then held by the Conservative MP and Minister, Hamish Gray. In a shock result, Kennedy was elected (for the Social Democratic Party (SDP)): at 23, he became the youngest MP in the House of Commons. Ambitious and popular, he quickly emerged as a potential party leader. In 1994, by which time the SDP and the Liberal Party had merged, he became President of the Liberal Democrats - a position he held for four years. In 1999, on the resignation of Paddy Ashdown, Kennedy was elected party leader.
He took the party through two General Elections. However, he faced criticism for his laid-back leadership style, and there was considerable speculation regarding his alcohol consumption. From December 2005, some within the party were questioning his leadership and calling for a leadership election. On 5 January 2006, Kennedy was informed that ITN would be reporting that he had received treatment for a drinking problem. Kennedy decided to pre-empt the broadcast and admit his drinking problem openly. He called a leadership election at the same time, stating that he intended to stand. The admission of a drinking problem seriously damaged his standing within the parliamentary party. As support for him amongst this key group ebbed away, Kennedy resigned as leader on 7 January, saying that he would not be standing in the leadership election. Deputy leader Sir Menzies Campbell took over as interim leader and was elected as leader on 2 March 2006.
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In performance: NSO with John Adams - Washington Post (blog) 
Washington Post (blog)--American composer John Adams appeared on the podium of the National Symphony Orchestra last night, continuing a series of concerts at ...
Date : Fri, 14 May 2010 11:33:24 GMT+00:00
'Difficult waters' ahead, admits Kennedy - Ross-Shire Journal
Ross-Shire Journal---Charles Kennedy-, a former leader of the Liberal Democrats, made his remarks as he entered his 27th year as an MP with a 13070-majority over his nearest ...
Date : Thu, 13 May 2010 16:34:42 GMT+00:00
Dishy Dems are a fat load of good - Mirror.co.uk
Mirror.co.uk--Under -Charles Kennedy-. Which is a huge ego-boost to all dumpy, sweating men who believe, like WC Fields, that you should never add water to a drink because ...
Date : Thu, 13 May 2010 05:53:38 GMT+00:00
Neuqua cruises to title - Aurora Beacon News
Aurora Beacon News--"We thought we'd do well in relays," -Kennedy- said. "We have a lot of guys that can score in open events. When you start putting them in relays, ...
Date : Fri, 14 May 2010 05:14:35 GMT+00:00
Momentous week at Westminster - Hampden comes next! - Ross-Shire Journal
Ross-Shire Journal--WELL - the people have spoken. But precisely what we said remains the subject of considerable discussion at Westminster, ...
Date : Fri, 14 May 2010 09:50:13 GMT+00:00
Kennedy cruises to victory - Highland News
Highland News--FORMER Lib-Dem leader -Charles Kennedy-, who led the party to their best ever election result in 2005 winning 62 seats, comfortably held his Ross, ...
Date : Fri, 07 May 2010 11:05:53 GMT+00:00
NYers wary but not fearful after terror scares - The Associated Press
The Associated Press--Bicycling around the square, "I was quite surprised by how normal things are - by contrast with 9/11," said -Charles- B. Strozier, who heads the Center on ...
Date : Fri, 07 May 2010 12:44:13 GMT+00:00
The result - Times Online (blog)
Times Online (blog)---...- Lib Dems have done worse than anyone expected - roughly comparable to the performance of -Charles Kennedy-, who was plainly not capable of doing the job. ...
Date : Fri, 07 May 2010 10:09:18 GMT+00:00
MPs hold Highlands and Islands seats - BBC News
BBC News--The party's John Thurso also held Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, and -Charles Kennedy- held Ross, Skye and Lochaber, but both with reduced votes. ...
Date : Fri, 07 May 2010 07:35:16 GMT+00:00
General Election 2010: It's sad and disappointing, says Lembit Opik - Telegraph.co.uk
Telegraph.co.uk--In 1999, he supported Don Foster, who was defeated by -Charles Kennedy-. In 2006, he backed Mr -Kennedy- to keep the role but the leader was forced out. ...
Date : Fri, 07 May 2010 07:28:18 GMT+00:00
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