London, Nov. 27, (PA Media/dpa/GNA) – William Hague, the former leader of the British Conservatives, has been elected as the next chancellor of Oxford University.
Hague beat a number of high-profile candidates, including Elish Angiolini and Peter Mandelson, in the race for the historic position.
It comes after Chris Patten announced that he would be retiring after more than 20 years in the role.
Hague will be inaugurated as chancellor early in the new year and he will serve for a term of 10 years, the university announced on Wednesday.
Staff and alumni voted online for the first time to elect the chancellor – a post which has been in place at Oxford for 800 years.
The chancellor is the titular head of the university, presiding over key ceremonies, and chairing the committee to elect the vice-chancellor, who leads the university.
In the final round of voting, Hague received 12,609 votes, 1,603 more than second-placed candidate Angiolini.
Angiolini, the outgoing principal of St Hugh’s College in Oxford, and Jan Royall, outgoing principal of Somerville College, had both hoped to become the university’s first female chancellor.
Overall, 24,908 alumni and staff members cast their votes in the second round of the election for the final five candidates.
Hague, who graduated from Magdalen College in Oxford in 1982, said: “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. I pay tribute to the other candidates, in particular for their commitment to the future of Oxford.”
GNA