Nigel Paul Farage (born in Kent, UK on 3 April 1964) is a British politician, and former leader of the right-wing United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP). He is also a member of the European Parliament for the South East. He co-chairs the European Parliament’s Europe of Freedom and Democracy group.
On 4 September 2009, it was announced Farage would resign as leader of UKIP. This was to enable him to concentrate on his efforts to become an MP at Westminster. If successful he will be obliged to give up being an MEP due to the dual mandate rule.
Farage was educated at Dulwich College before joining a commodity brokerage firm in London. He ran his own brokerage business from the early 1990s until 2002. Active in the Conservative Party from his school days until the resignation of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1990, he left the party in 1992 when John Major’s government signed the Treaty on European Union at Maastricht. He became a founding member of UKIP in 1993 and has contested UK parliamentary elections for UKIP five times. He was elected to the European Parliament in 1999 and re-elected in 2004 and 2009. Farage is currently leader of the thirteen-member UKIP contingent in the European Parliament, and co-leader of the multinational Eurosceptic group, Europe of Freedom and Democracy. He also contested the Bromley & Chislehurst constituency during the May 2006 by-election, organised after the Member of Parliament representing it, the Eurosceptic Conservative Eric Forth, died. He scored third, winning 8% of the vote, thus beating the Labour Party candidate. This was the second-best by-election result recorded by UKIP out of 25 results.
Former Leader of UKIP – In office 27 September 2006 to 27 November 2009
Member of the European Parliament for the South East Incumbent – Assumed office 15 July 1999