William Hague picked Oxford University chancellor, Imran Khan misses final list

LONDON: William Hague, a former leader of the Conservative Party and foreign minister, was elected on Wednesday as the next chancellor of the University of Oxford, a largely ceremonial role which dates back centuries.

Hague was named as successor to Chris Patten, Britain’s last governor of Hong Kong and a former senior Conservative politician, for what is seen as one of the grandest positions in higher education.

He beat off competition from the former Labour minister Peter Mandelson and three other candidates.

The university said Hague “won a majority of support in the final round of voting for the post” and he will be 160th recorded chancellor in the university’s history, a role that dates back at least 800 years.

Also read: Oxford University releases Chancellor candidates list, Imran Khan not included

It is worth noting that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder and former prime minister Imran Khan had also submitted his nomination papers for the position of chancellor at Oxford University.

However, his name was not included in the final list released by the university.