ISLAMABAD: Oxford University announced on Wednesday it had elected Lord William Hague, a former Conservative party leader and ex-British foreign secretary as its chancellor, months after rejecting former Pakistan premier Imran Khan’s bid for the post.
Khan, who ruled Pakistan from 2018-2022, has been in prison since August 2023 on charges he says are politically motivated. His aide Sayed Zulfikar Bukhari said Khan filed his application for the chancellor’s role in September.
Oxford later released a shortlist of 38 candidates for the first round of the voting among its alumni. Khan’s name was not featured in the list.
“Lord Hague will be formally inaugurated as Chancellor early in the New Year and serve for a term of 10 years,” Oxford University said in a report. “He becomes the 160th recorded Chancellor in the University’s history, a role that dates back at least 800 years.”
Hague was a leader of the Conservative Party from 1997-2001 and later served as Britain’s foreign secretary from 2010-2014. He also served as Secretary of State for Wales, Leader of the House of Commons and Minister for Disabled People, in which role he was the author of the Disability Discrimination Act.
He spent 26 years as a member of parliament for Richmond, Yorkshire.
Hague graduated from Magdalen College, Oxford, in 1982, where he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics. He was president of the Oxford Union as well.
“Thank you to my fellow Oxonians for placing such confidence in me,” Hague said. “I regard being elected as the Chancellor of our university as the greatest honor of my life.”
The chancellor is the titular head of Oxford University and presides over several key ceremonies. The chancellor also undertakes advocacy, advisory, and fundraising work, acting as an ambassador for the university at a range of local, national, and international events.
Hague succeeds Lord Patten of Barnes, who announced his retirement from the post in February.
