Former Tory leader Lord William Hague elected chancellor of Oxford University

Lord Hague beat a number of high-profile candidates, including Sarah Everard Inquiry chief Lady Elish Angiolini and Labour peer Lord Peter Mandelson, in the race for the historic position.

It comes after fellow Tory Lord Chris Patten announced that he would be retiring after more than 20 years in the role.

Lord 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 and they preside over key ceremonies, and they also chair the committee to elect the vice-chancellor, who leads the university.

In the final round of voting, Lord Hague received 12,609 votes, 1,603 more than second-placed candidate Lady Angiolini, chairwoman of the inquiry into Sarah Everard’s killer Wayne Couzens, who received 11,006 votes.

Lady Angiolini, who is the outgoing principal of St Hugh’s College in Oxford, and Baroness Jan Royall, outgoing principal of Somerville College in Oxford, had both hoped to become the university’s first female chancellor.

Labour grandee Lord Mandelson and former Conservative attorney general Dominic Grieve were also among the final five candidates.

In the first round of the election, members of the Convocation, which consists of Oxford University alumni and staff members, cast their votes for 38 candidates who had successfully applied for the role.

The alternative transferable vote system – where voters could rank as many of the candidates as they wanted – was used.

Overall, 24,908 alumni and staff members cast their votes in the second round of the election for the final five candidates.

Votes were transferred from lower ranking candidates until the winning candidate achieved more than 50% of the vote.

Mr Grieve was eliminated first, followed by Lord Mandelson and then Baroness Royall.

Lord 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.

“What happens at Oxford in the next decade is critical to the success of the UK.”

Lord Hague, who studied philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford and was president of the Oxford Union, added: “My heart and soul are in Oxford and I will dedicate myself in the coming years to serving the university I love.”

In his candidate statement to be chancellor, Lord Hague highlighted the importance of freedom of speech in higher education.

He said: “Oxford should be a place of open debate – as it was for me in the Union – based on learning from the arguments of others.

“Violence and prejudice should be countered through the rigour of reason, not the comfort blanket of cancellation.

“Oxford minds should be ready for the great debating chamber of the world, not the echo chambers of the like-minded.”

Lord Hague also warned in his campaign manifesto that the UK was “heading for a crisis” over higher education funding and he said solutions were needed for how the state finances universities.

He added: “I have secured large donations for many causes, speech-making is in my nature and I am not averse to wearing robes.”

Professor Irene Tracey, vice-chancellor of Oxford University, said: “I am delighted to welcome Lord Hague back to Oxford as its 160th chancellor. On behalf of the entire university community, I heartily congratulate him on being elected.

“I would like to extend my gratitude to the four unsuccessful candidates for their dedication and willingness to serve.

“William is a great friend to Oxford and is someone who I know will serve and represent this magnificent institution with dignity and vigour.”