- Haig beats Labor Secretary by three candidates for the position.
- Oxford says it “received a majority of support in the final round of voting.”
- Pakistan’s Imran Khan had also applied for the position in September.
LONDON: William Hague, the former leader of the Conservative Party and England’s foreign secretary, was elected on Wednesday as the new chancellor of Oxford University, a largely ceremonial position dating back centuries.
Hague was appointed to succeed Chris Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong and a former senior Conservative Party politician, in what is considered one of the most senior positions in higher education.
He beat off competition from former Labor Minister Peter Mandelson and three other candidates.
The university said Hague “received a majority of support in the final round of voting for the position” and will be the 160th chancellor on record in the university’s history, a role dating back at least 800 years.
Imran Khan, founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), also applied for the chancellor’s position in September at the prestigious university despite his imprisonment in corruption and other cases related to incitement to violence during the May 9 protests last year.
The seat became vacant after the resignation of 80-year-old Lord Patten, who stepped down after serving for 21 years.
However, in October, the former prime minister’s offer was rejected, his advisor said.
Oxford released a shortlist of 38 candidates who were competing for the first round of voting and Imran’s name was not among them.
The list included the names of former British Prime Ministers, Sir Tony Blair and Boris Johnson, among the candidates for the position of University Chancellor.