Former Liberal Democrat party leader Charles Kennedy has died at the age of 55. He served as an MP from 1983 to 2015. IBTimes UK looks back at Kennedy's political career.

Timeline of his time in politics

Charles Kennedy was a Liberal Democrat politician and a Member of Parliament from 1983 to 2015.

Initially a member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), he won the Ross, Cromarty and Skye seat in 1983 aged just 23.

The Liberal Party and SDP merged in 1988 to form Liberal Democrats, the party that Kennedy became president of 1994.

After the resignation of Paddy Ashdown in 1999, Kennedy was elected party leader.

He led the party through two general elections, increasing the number of Lib Dem seats from 46 to 62.

Forging a position to the left of Labour, he was the most high profile opponent of the 2003 Iraq War.

Kennedy admitted he was receiving treatment for alcoholism in 2006 and after losing front bench support, resigned as leader of the party.

He remained a backbench MP until the 2015 general election, where he lost his Ross, Skye and Lochaber seat to SNP candidate Ian Blackford.

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