William Hague (Picture credit: X)
LONDON: William Hague, a former leader of the Conservative Party and foreign minister, was elected on Wednesday as the next chancellor of the University of Oxford, a largely ceremonial role which dates back centuries.
Hague was named as successor to Chris Patten, Britain’s last governor of Hong Kong and a former senior Conservative politician, for what is seen as one of the grandest positions in higher education.
He beat off competition from the former labour minister Peter Mandelson and three other candidates.
The university said Hague “won a majority of support in the final round of voting for the post” and he will be 160th recorded chancellor in the university’s history, a role that dates back at least 800 years.