Charles Peter Kennedy (25 November 1959 – 1 June 2015) was a British politician who served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 1999 to 2006, and was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ross, Skye and Lochaber from 1983 to 2015.

After Menzies Campbell succeeded him as leader, Kennedy remained in office as a backbench MP, where he voted against the formation of the Cameron–Clegg coalition.

Kennedy first became politically active at university, where he joined the SDP as well as the Dialectic Society, in which he led the Social Democratic faction in debates and took the jocular "constituency" of Lochaber.

[8] Two years later, Kennedy received the SDP nomination to stand for the Scottish seat of Ross, Cromarty and Skye—then held by the Conservative Hamish Gray—at the 1983 general election.

The Times published an apology over a report it had made stating Kennedy had not taken part in that year's Budget debate because of excessive drinking.

[22] In April 2005, the launch of his party's manifesto for the 2005 general election was delayed because of the birth of his first child, with Menzies Campbell taking temporary charge as acting leader and covering Kennedy's campaign duties.

At the manifesto launch, on his first day back on the campaign trail after the birth, Kennedy struggled to remember the details of a key policy (replacing the Council Tax with a local income tax) at an early morning press conference, which he later blamed on a lack of sleep due to his new child.

[33] Kennedy heralded the Liberal Democrats, who now had a total of 62 seats, as the "national party of the future",[32] but in the wake of the general election, Kennedy's leadership came under increased criticism from those who felt that the Liberal Democrats could have surged forward, with the official opposition Conservative Party having been relatively weak.

Following the election of David Cameron as Leader of the Conservative Party in December 2005, it was widely reported that senior members of the Liberal Democrats had told Kennedy that he must either "raise his game" or resign.

He decided to pre-empt the broadcast, called a sudden news conference, and made a personal statement that over the past eighteen months he had been coming to terms with a drinking problem, but had sought professional help.

He told reporters that recent questions among his colleagues about his suitability as leader were partly as a result of the drinking problem but stated that he had been dry for the past two months and would be calling a leadership contest, in which he would stand, to resolve the issues surrounding his authority once and for all.

[38][39] It was later claimed that the source for ITN's story was his former press secretary turned ITV News correspondent, Daisy McAndrew.

[42][43] On 7 January 2006, Kennedy called another press conference, at which he announced that while he was buoyed by the supportive messages he had received from grass root members, he felt that he could not continue as leader because of the lack of confidence from the parliamentary party.

Campbell went on to win the resulting leadership election, and Kennedy subsequently gave his successor full public support.

His first major political activity was to campaign in the Dunfermline and West Fife by-election, which the Liberal Democrats went on to win, taking the seat from Labour.

[48] On 4 August 2006, he hosted a documentary on Channel 4 about what he saw as the increasing disenchantment felt by voters towards the main parties in British politics because of their hesitation to discuss the big issues, especially at election time, and the ruthless targeting of swing-voters in key constituencies at the expense of the majority.

[56] In March 2014, The Sunday Post reported that Kennedy had criticised Labour's strategy in the referendum campaign and said that Better Together needed to consider its legacy.

[60] The campaign attracted national attention because of its acrimony; Blackford objected to being called a "well-funded banker" and confronted Kennedy in his office.

[64] Former Liberal Democrat leader Menzies Campbell labelled the campaign, "far and away the most despicable I encountered in all my years in UK politics.

[65] In February 2008, Kennedy was elected Rector of the University of Glasgow[66] and was officially installed, succeeding Mordechai Vanunu, on 10 April 2008.

Murdo had been godfather to Charles' son Donald, with the two being good friends since their days together on the Glasgow University Union Board in the late 70s.

His death from cancer in 2007 hit Kennedy hard, leading to a serious deterioration in his long-term struggle with alcohol from which he never truly recovered.