Miriam González Durántez, Lady Clegg (born 31 May 1968) is a Spanish

international trade International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories because there is a need or want of goods or services. (see: World economy) In most countries, such trade represents a significant ...

lawyer, vice chair of UBS Europe and founder of Inspiring Girls. She is the wife of

Nick Clegg Sir Nicholas William Peter Clegg (born 7 January 1967) is a British media executive and former Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom who has been president for global affairs at Meta Platforms since 2022, having previously been vicep ...

, who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2015.

Early life

Miriam González Durántez was born to two teachers in Olmedo, in the Spanish province of Valladolid. Her father,

José Antonio González Caviedes José Antonio González Caviedes (28 November 1938 – 4 December 1996) was a Spanish politician. He was mayor of the small town of Olmedo, and later served as People's Party senator for Valladolid from 1989 until his death in 1996. He died a ...

, was also

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

of Olmedo and served as a senator for Valladolid for the conservative People's Party (PP) from 1989 until his death in 1996.González Caviedes, José Antonio
SENADORES (HISTORIA) She studied law at the

University of Valladolid The University of Valladolid is a public university located in the city of Valladolid, Valladolid province, autonomous region of Castile and Leon, Spain. Established in the 13th century, it is one of the oldest universities in the world. The u ...

and then won a postgraduate scholarship to the

College of Europe The College of Europe (french: Collège d'Europe) is a post-graduate institute of European studies with its main campus in Bruges, Belgium and a second campus in Warsaw, Poland. The College of Europe in Bruges was founded in 1949 by leading ...

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the country by population. The area of the whole city a ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. She met

, and continued to work in Brussels.

Career

Having previously worked as a trade negotiator and advisor on

trade law International trade law includes the appropriate rules and customs for handling trade between countries. However, it is also used in legal writings as trade between private sectors. This branch of law is now an independent field of study as mo ...

, and relations with the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

to both the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

and the British Government, González Durántez is a partner at Cohen & Gresser, where she is co-chair of the firm's International Trade and Government Regulation practice. Prior to that, she worked at

Dechert Dechert LLP () is an American multinational law firm of more than 900 lawyers with practices in corporate and securities, complex litigation, finance and real estate, financial services, asset management, and private equity. In 2021, the firm ra ...

and

DLA Piper DLA Piper is a multinational law firm with offices in over 40 countries throughout the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. In 2021, it had a total revenue of US$3.47 billion, an average profit per equity partner of U ...

for six years. González Durántez is considered an expert on European Union law and regulation, and co-authored the book ''Regulatory Aspects of the WTO Telecoms Agreements''. She is a Member of the European Council of Foreign Relations. Since October 2013 González Durántez was the honorary president of

Canning House Canning House is a British not-for profit and non-governmental organisation dedicated to the discussion of social, political and economic affairs across the region of Latin America through research and debate. Founded in 1943, Canning House serv ...

in London, the home of the Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian Council. González Durántez is vice chair of UBS Europe. Until 2018, she was member of Board and chair of the Audit and Remuneration Committees of UBS UK (UBSL). She was also on the Board of Directors of Acciona, S.A. between June 2010 and July 2014. González published the book
Devuélveme el Poder
' on Spanish politics in October 2019. She also published the cookbook, ''Made In Spain: Recipes and stories from my country and beyond'' in 2016. González is the chair and founder of international charity, Inspiring Girls. Active globally in 14 countries, the charity aims to raise the aspirations of young girls by connecting them with female role models. The Inspiring Girls Video Hub is due for launch in Autumn 2019.

Personal life

González Durántez dated the British politician

for several years in Brussels before they married in 2000. The couple have three sons. She insisted on giving their children Spanish names if they were to have the family name "Clegg". She is a practising

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

, and the couple agreed that their children will be raised as such, though her husband is agnostic. She has not taken British citizenship and so, as an EU citizen who is not a Commonwealth or Irish citizen, she can vote in local and European elections; but not at UK general elections. MiriamGonzálezDurántezTrafalgarSq

González Durántez spoke of her relationship with the United Kingdom in a 2014 interview stating that after living in the country she:

"felt a freedom that I had never felt before in my life, a freedom to be myself. I come from a culture, in Spain, in Brussels, where, if you want to be a lawyer, you study law, if you want to be an economist, you study economy. Whatever you do early in your life determines what you do later on. When I came here, I went for lots of chats with people because I didn't know what to do. And pretty much all of them said, 'What do you want to do?' And I was like, 'Me? You want to know what I think? I have a choice?'"

As of 2021, González Durántez lives in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

2010 UK general election campaign

When Sarah Brown and

Samantha Cameron Samantha Gwendoline Cameron (; born 18 April 1971) is an English businesswoman. Until 13 May 2010, she was the creative director of Smythson of Bond Street. Her husband, David Cameron, was the British prime minister from 2010 to 2016. She took ...

became increasingly involved in the media and 2010 UK general election campaigns, González Durántez publicly said that she would be willing to help with the campaign but, unlike Cameron, she would be unable to take time off from work and her family life to take part. Asked by a Spanish newspaper whether she would quit her job, González Durántez said that "If Nick were Prime Minister and I had to give up my job to support the country, I would have no problem in doing so."

Bibliography

* ''Made In Spain: Recipes and stories from my country and beyond'' (Hodder & Stoughton, 2016) * ''Devuélveme el Poder: Why a liberal reform is needed in Spain'' (Península, Planeta, 2019)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzalez Durantez, Miriam 1968 births Living people People from the Province of Valladolid Spanish Roman Catholics Spouses of British politicians 20th-century Spanish lawyers Spanish emigrants to the United Kingdom College of Europe alumni Nick Clegg Spanish food writers Spanish women lawyers Cookbook writers Wives of knights Women cookbook writers Spanish expatriates in the United States