Clegg, the former former deputy UK prime minister, said in a post it was “the right time for me to move on” after seven years at the company.
“Having worked previously for close to two decades in European and British politics, it has been an extraordinary privilege to gain a front-row insight into what makes Silicon Valley such an enduring hub of world-leading innovation,” Clegg wrote. “The pace and scale of change has been as dizzying as it has been ambitious.”
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Clegg’s role at Meta saw him responsible for overseeing the company's interactions with governments, regulators, and other external stakeholders worldwide.
During his time, he launched the Facebook Oversight Board, which holds the responsibility to independently make decisions on the social network platform’s independent board that makes decisions on the social network’s
His replacement also holds extensive political experience, with Kaplan having worked as a policy advisor on George W. Bush's 2000 presidential campaign and later became the deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget from August 2003 through April 2006.
Kaplan later was named as an assistant to President Bush and deputy chief of staff for policy.
Following his time in the White House, Kaplan joined Meta (then named Facebook), most recently serving as Clegg’s deputy.
Of his replacement, Clegg wrote he was “thrilled” Kaplan was taking up the global affairs mantel, saying: “Over the years that we have worked together, we have become good friends as well as close colleagues – I have laughed with, as well as learned from, [Kaplan] in equal measure.
“He will be able to build on what we have done together and improve upon what I failed to get done.”
Clegg departs mere weeks before President-Elect Trump is inaugurated for his second term, with Kaplan seen as more aligned with his political views than the more liberal Clegg.
Kaplan previously pushed for Facebook to work with right-wing fact-checking platforms.
In mid-December, he was pictured with Vice President-Elect JD Vance at a ceremony in New York recognising Trump as Time’s Person of the Year.
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