Who We Are

Danny Alexander MP – Chief Secretary to the Treasury

Chief Secretary to the Treasury

About Me

Marital Status:	Married, two daughters
Education:	Lochaber High School, Fort William; Oxford University - Hons degree in PPE

Biography

Born in 1972, Danny Alexander spent his early years on Colonsay before his family moved to Glengarry and he went to Lochaber High School in Fort William.

He read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford. After this Danny worked as a press officer for the Scottish Liberal Democrats before spending four years at the European Movement and then four years as Director of Communications for the Britain in Europe campaign. In 2003 he was appointed the Head of Communications for the newly formed Cairngorms National Park Authority before being elected as MP for the newly created seat of Inverness, Nairn, and Badenoch & Strathspey in the 2005 election.

Danny joined the Liberal Democrats' shadow Work and Pensions team in 2005 and in July 2007 he was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, holding the post until June 2008. He gave this up to concentrate on a new role as Chief of Staff to Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg and to co-ordinate the preparation of the Liberal Democrat election manifesto for 2010.

Danny was re-elected in the 2010 General Election with an increased majority of 8,765. In the days after the result Danny led the Liberal Democrat team in negotiations which resulted in the formation of a Coalition Government with the Conservative Party. He played a key role in drawing up the detailed programme for government and was initially appointed Secretary of State for Scotland. Following the resignation of David Laws, he was promoted to become Chief Secretary to the Treasury. Danny was appointed to the Privy Council in May 2010.

Danny is married with two daughters. His parliamentary responsibilities combined with having a young family do not afford a lot of time for hobbies but when he gets the chance, Danny enjoys hill-walking, fishing, cricket, travel and sports of all kinds.

Experience

Press Officer, Scottish Liberal Democrats 1993-95, Director of Communications, European Movement 1996-99, Head of Communications, Britain in Europe 1999-2004, Head of Communications, Cairngorms National Park 2004-2005.

Parliamentary Experience

2010-present Chief Secretary to the Treasury; 2008 to 2010 - chief of staff to Nick Clegg; 2007 to 2008 - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions; 2007 to 2008 - Shadow Minister for Social Exclusion; 2005 to 2007 - shadow minister, Work & Pensions, and spokesperson for disability-related issues