William Hague

The Right Honourable The Lord Hague of Richmond PC FRSL
Official portrait, 2010
Chancellor-elect of the University of Oxford
Assuming office January 2025
Vice-Chancellor	Irene Tracey
Succeeding	The Lord Patten of Barnes
First Secretary of State
In office 12 May 2010 – 8 May 2015
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Preceded by	The Lord Mandelson
Succeeded by	George Osborne
Leader of the House of Commons
In office 14 July 2014 – 8 May 2015
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Preceded by	Andrew Lansley
Succeeded by	Chris Grayling
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
In office 12 May 2010 – 14 July 2014
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Preceded by	David Miliband
Succeeded by	Philip Hammond
Leader of the Opposition
In office 19 June 1997 – 13 September 2001
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Deputy	Peter Lilley Michael Portillo
Preceded by	John Major
Succeeded by	Iain Duncan Smith
Leader of the Conservative Party
In office 19 June 1997 – 13 September 2001
Deputy	Peter Lilley Michael Portillo
Chairman	Cecil Parkinson Michael Ancram
Preceded by	John Major
Succeeded by	Iain Duncan Smith
Secretary of State for Wales
In office 5 July 1995 – 2 May 1997
Prime Minister	John Major
Preceded by	John Redwood
Succeeded by	Ron Davies
Junior ministerial offices Minister of State for Social Security In office 20 July 1994 – 5 July 1995 Prime Minister John Major Preceded by Nicholas Scott Succeeded by Alistair Burt Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Social Security In office 27 May 1993 – 20 July 1994 Prime Minister John Major Preceded by Ann Widdecombe Succeeded by Roger Evans
Shadow cabinet posts Deputy Leader of the Opposition Senior Member of the Shadow Cabinet In office 6 December 2005 – 11 May 2010 Leader David Cameron Preceded by Office established Succeeded by Jack Straw (Acting Shadow Deputy Prime Minister) Shadow Foreign Secretary In office 6 December 2005 – 11 May 2010 Leader David Cameron Preceded by Liam Fox Succeeded by David Miliband Shadow Secretary of State for Wales In office 2 May 1997 – 11 June 1997 Leader John Major Preceded by Ron Davies Succeeded by Michael Ancram Shadow Constitutional Affairs Spokesperson In office 2 May 1997 – 11 June 1997 Serving with Michael Howard Leader John Major Preceded by Office established Succeeded by Michael Ancram
Parliamentary offices Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal Life peerage 9 October 2015 Member of Parliament for Richmond (Yorks) In office 23 February 1989 – 30 March 2015 Preceded by Leon Brittan Succeeded by Rishi Sunak
Personal details
Born	William Jefferson Hague (1961-03-26) 26 March 1961 (age 63) Rotherham, England
Political party	Conservative
Spouse	Ffion Jenkins ​ (m. 1997)​
Education	Magdalen College, Oxford (BA) INSEAD (MBA)
Signature
Website	www.williamhague.com

William Jefferson Hague, Baron Hague of Richmond PC FRSL (born 26 March 1961) is a British politician and life peer who was Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1997 to 2001 and Deputy Leader from 2005 to 2010. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Richmond (Yorks) in North Yorkshire from 1989 to 2015. He was in the Cameron government as First Secretary of State from 2010 to 2015, Foreign Secretary from 2010 to 2014, and Leader of the House of Commons from 2014 to 2015. In November 2024, Hague was elected Chancellor of the University of Oxford, formally to assume this role in January 2025.^[1]

Hague was educated at Wath-upon-Dearne Comprehensive School, the University of Oxford and INSEAD, subsequently being elected to the House of Commons at a by-election in 1989. Hague quickly rose through the ranks of the government of John Major and was appointed to Cabinet in 1995 as Secretary of State for Wales. Following the Conservatives' defeat at the 1997 general election by the Labour Party, he was elected Leader of the Conservative Party at the age of 36. Hague resigned as Conservative leader after the 2001 general election following his party's second defeat, at which the Conservatives made a net gain of just one seat. He returned to the backbenches, pursuing a career as an author, writing biographies of William Pitt the Younger and William Wilberforce. He also held several directorships, and worked as a consultant and public speaker. He was the first Leader of the Conservative Party since Austen Chamberlain (1921–22) to never assume the office of Prime Minister.

After David Cameron was elected Leader of the Conservative Party in 2005, Hague was reappointed to the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Foreign Secretary. He also assumed the role of Senior Member of the Shadow Cabinet, serving as Cameron's deputy. Following the formation of the coalition government in 2010, Hague was appointed First Secretary of State and Foreign Secretary. Cameron described him as his "de facto political deputy". On 14 July 2014, Hague stood down as Foreign Secretary and became Leader of the House of Commons. He did not stand for re-election at the 2015 general election and was succeeded, as MP for Richmond, by Rishi Sunak. He was awarded a life peerage in the 2015 Dissolution Honours List on 9 October 2015.