Simon Hughes

The Right Honourable Sir Simon Hughes
Hughes addressing the Liberal Democrat conference in the ACC Liverpool, 2010
Minister of State for Justice and Civil Liberties
In office 18 December 2013 – 8 May 2015
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Preceded by	The Lord McNally
Succeeded by	Dominic Raab
Deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats
In office 9 June 2010 – 28 January 2014
Leader	Nick Clegg
Preceded by	Vince Cable
Succeeded by	Malcolm Bruce
President of the Liberal Democrats
In office 1 January 2005 – 1 January 2009
Leader	Charles Kennedy Menzies Campbell Vince Cable (acting) Nick Clegg
Preceded by	The Lord Dholakia
Succeeded by	The Baroness Scott of Needham Market
Member of Parliament for Bermondsey and Old Southwark North Southwark and Bermondsey (1997–2010) Southwark and Bermondsey (1983–1997) Bermondsey (1983)
In office 24 February 1983 – 30 March 2015
Preceded by	Bob Mellish
Succeeded by	Neil Coyle
Liberal Democrat portfolios
1997–2003	Home Affairs
2009–2010	Energy and Climate Change
2015	Justice
Personal details
Born	(1951-05-17) 17 May 1951 (age 73) Cheshire, England[1]
Political party	Liberal Democrats
Alma mater	Selwyn College, Cambridge College of Europe
Website	Official website

Sir Simon Henry Ward Hughes (born 17 May 1951) is a British former politician. He is now the Chancellor of London South Bank University, and a strategic adviser to Talgo, a Spanish manufacturer of trains. Hughes was deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2010 to 2014, and from 2013 until 2015 was Minister of State at the Ministry of Justice. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Bermondsey and Old Southwark (and its predecessors) from 1983 until 2015. He declined a position in the House of Lords in 2015.^[2]

Until 2008, he was president of the Liberal Democrats (the party president chairs the Federal Executive board of the party, is the senior elected party official and also represents the party at official functions). Hughes has twice run unsuccessfully for the leadership of the party and was its unsuccessful candidate for Mayor of London in the 2004 election.

He was appointed as a Privy Councillor on 15 December 2010.^[3] In December 2013, Hughes was appointed as a Minister of State for Justice and Civil Liberties, and announced he would stand down as Deputy Leader upon the election of a successor. Hughes is also the deputy Chair of Millwall Community Trust Millwall Community Trust and the Rose Theatre Trust, and the Friends of Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital Trust. In 2023 Hughes was appointed a Commissioner of the UK Trade and Business Commission. He is also a member of the Church of England Bermondsey and Rotherhithe Deanery Synod.