Oxford University Names William Hague Its New Chancellor
Europe|Oxford University Names William Hague Its New Chancellor
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/27/world/europe/oxford-chancellor-william-hague.html
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Mr. Hague, a former leader of Britain’s Conservative Party, was chosen in a vote by his fellow alumni to lead the elite university.
The University of Oxford announced on Wednesday that William Hague, a former leader of Britain’s Conservative Party, will be its next chancellor. He narrowly beat out Elish Angiolini, who would have been the first woman in the role.
Mr. Hague, 63, was chosen in an online vote of about 25,000 Oxford alumni and staff members. He will begin his 10-year term early next year and will serve as Oxford’s 160th chancellor. The role is largely ceremonial but also involves advocacy and fund-raising work, the university said.
“What happens at Oxford in the next decade is critical to the success of the U.K.,” Mr. Hague said in a statement, calling his election “the greatest honor of my life.”
His victory comes after an unusually colorful contest for the position. A zumba teacher and an “anti-woke” Anglican clergyman were among those who cast their hats into the ring.
After an initial vote, five candidates emerged from the 38 in the running. Two of them were women. Many wondered if Oxford might, after about 800 years, pick its first female chancellor.
The contest came down to Mr. Hague and Ms. Angiolini, a lawyer and principal of St. Hugh’s College, one of Oxford’s 43 constituent colleges. She had led a public inquiry into the 2021 rape and murder of Sarah Everard, a 33-year-old woman in London, by a police officer. In the final round of balloting, Mr. Hague won with 12,609 votes to her 11,006.