Chancellor

The Rt Hon Lord Hague of Richmond

William Hague was born in Rotherham in 1961 and educated at Wath-Upon-Dearne Comprehensive School. He went on to study at Magdalen College, becoming President of the Oxford Union and graduating in 1982 with First Class honours and the College Prize in PPE. Later he took an MBA at INSEAD in France.

After commencing a business career with McKinsey & Co, William was elected as the MP for Richmond, Yorkshire, at the age of 27 in 1989. He served for 26 years in the House of Commons in many senior roles, in particular Secretary of State for Wales 1995-1997, Leader of the Conservative Party 1997-2001, and First Secretary of State and Foreign Secretary 2010-2014. He played a leading role in the negotiations that led to a coalition government in 2010. As Minister for Disabled People he was responsible for the landmark Disability Discrimination Act of 1995, the year he was appointed to the Privy Council. He became the most widely travelled Foreign Secretary in British history and was known globally for the Campaign to Prevent Sexual Violence in Conflict, which he co-founded with Angelina Jolie.

In the intervals between his roles in government, William became well known as an author, writing biographies of William Pitt the Younger and William Wilberforce. His first book won the History Book of the Year award in 2005, and he became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. In 2015 he decided to leave the Commons, became a life peer, and has devoted his time since then to charity, business and journalism. He has served as chair of the Royal United Services Institute 2015-2020, chair of the Royal Foundation of the Prince and Princess of Wales 2020-2025 and is co-chair of United for Wildlife, a global effort to combat the illegal wildlife trade.

William is a weekly columnist of The Times. Since 2023 he has co-authored with Sir Tony Blair a series of reports advocating a stronger national focus on science, technology and innovation. Over the last forty years, William has maintained a close connection to Oxford, helping to design the university’s first major development campaign in the late 1980s, and becoming an Honorary Fellow of Magdalen in 2016.

William’s wife, Dame Ffion Hague, read English at Jesus College and is an Honorary Fellow of Harris Manchester College. They are both passionate about libraries, gardens and nature conservation. William is President of the Britain-Australia Society, active in many other associations and charities, continues to travel widely, reads a great deal and is keen on martial arts. He took up his duties as Chancellor on 19 February 2025.