Friday 19 October 2018 2:08 pm | Updated: Tuesday 21 May 2019 4:22 pm

What the Clegg? Facebook taps former Lib Dem leader as its next head of global affairs

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Facebook has hired former Liberal Democrats leader Nick Clegg to be its next head of global affairs and communications, with the ex-politician set to move to Silicon Valley in January.

Clegg will take over from the role's former occupant Elliot Schrage, who personally led the search for his replacement after announcing he would be leaving Facebook following a decade at the firm in June.

Reporting directly to Facebook's chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg, he will begin his role on Monday in the technology giant's Menlo Park base before heading back to the UK to work from the London office ahead of his move.

Discussions surrounding the former deputy prime minister's appointment to the role began over the summer with Sandberg and founder Mark Zuckerberg, who are said to have been deeply involved in the hiring process.

The move will surprise many in the UK, as Clegg is the most senior European politician to have ever taken up a senior executive leadership role in the Silicon Valley. It will also allay some recent fears that Zuckerberg had become too insular in ruling the firm with an iron grip, after he faced calls to step down as chairman earlier this week.

However it will also be seen as a sign that Facebook is determined to address its policy and reputational challenges on the continent, after finding itself at the centre of the Cambridge Analytica scandal in April and suffering from several major data breaches since.

Clegg is said to be fully committed to his role for a long-term stay at the company, as Facebook gets serious on tackling the rising issues it faces surrounding transparency and complying with the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Facebook was badly hit by the impact of GDPR, which came into force in May, in its second quarter results. The social media app experienced zero growth in user numbers across North America in the three months to June, and actually lost users in Europe by about 1m.

Additionally as a former member of European Parliament and European trade negotiator, Clegg's familiarity with Brussels will be seen as an asset by Facebook leadership attempting to woo policymakers in the space.

Clegg will be operating under immense pressure in his new role, as Facebook attempts to tackle the problem of fake news on its platform before US mid-term political elections in November.

Shrage, accompanied by another of Facebook's top policy and communications team Rachel Whetsone, left the company reeling when he resigned while the firm was in the thick of several privacy scandals over the summer. He is set to remain present at Facebook as an adviser to Clegg and the rest of the leadership team over the coming years.

Clegg said in a statement this afternoon: "As someone who has spent a lifetime arguing for Britain’s wholehearted commitment to Europe, it is of course a wrench to be leaving the public debate at a crucial time in the Brexit process.

"But the key decisions will soon pass to Parliament, of which I am no longer a Member, and once I had decided to take up this unique new challenge at Facebook, I felt it was best to get going sooner rather than later."

Sandberg said Clegg's experience and ability to navigate political and complex environments will be "invaluable" to the company's future prospects.

Facebook's share price gave little reaction to the news in pre-market trading.