LONDON: British former Conservative party leader and ex-foreign secretary William Hague was elected as the University of Oxford’s 160th chancellor on Wednesday, after four rounds of voting.

The career politician and member of the House of Lords who graduated from Oxford in 1982 will now lead the prestigious university in the largely ceremonial post that has been occupied continuously since 1224.

The result dashed hopes that the university would elect its first woman chancellor in the role’s 800-year history, with Hague’s final round opponent Elish Angiolini garnering 11,006 votes, compared to his 12,609.

Angiolini, the outgoing principal of St Hugh’s College, Oxford, is a lawyer and former lord advocate of Scotland who led a high-profile inquiry into the 2021 rape, abduction and murder of 33-year-old marketing executive Sar­ah Everard by a London police officer.

The pair went head-to-head after defeating 36 other shortlisted candidates to reach the final round.

“Thank you to my fellow Oxonians for placing such confidence in me. I regard being elected as the Chancellor of our university as the greatest honour of my life,” Hague said.

“What happens at Oxford in the next decade is critical to the success of the UK... My heart and soul are in Oxford and I will dedicate myself in the coming years to serving the university I love.”

Vice-chancellor Irene Tracey said she was “delighted” to welcome Hague, saying he was “a great friend to Oxford and is someone who I know will serve and represent this magnificent institution with dignity and vigour”.

He will be inaugurated early next year and will serve a 10-year term, succeeding Chris Patten, also a former Conservative politician and the last British governor of Hong Kong, who announced his retirement in February.

Hague was president of the Oxford Union debating society during his time at the university, and has given lectures and seminars as an honorary fellow of Magdalen College, one of the 43 that make up the university.

The chancellorship used to be a lifetime role, until the university amended its rules this year to make it a 10-year term, with the next election due in 2034.

Published in Dawn, November 28th, 2024