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William Jefferson Hague, Baron Hague of Richmond (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. He has been Chancellor of the University of Oxford since February 2025.
Hague was educated at Wath Academy, 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 (1921–1922) never to 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 in the 2015 Dissolution Honours List on 9 October 2015.
He first made the national news at the age of 16 by addressing the Conservatives at their 1977 Annual National Conference. In his speech he told the delegates: "half of you won't be here in 30 or 40 years' time..., but that others would have to live with consequences of a Labour Government if it stayed in power". Writing in his diary at the time Kenneth Rose noted that Peter Carrington told him that "he and several other frontbench Tories were nauseated by the much-heralded speech of a sixteen-year-old schoolboy called William Hague. Peter said to Norman St John-Stevas: 'If he is as priggish and self-assured as that at sixteen, what will he be like in thirty years' time? Norman replied: 'Like Michael Heseltine'". (2025). 9781474601542, Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 9781474601542
Hague read Philosophy, politics and economics at Magdalen College, Oxford, graduating with first-class honours "after last-minute cramming". He was President of the Oxford University Conservative Association (OUCA), but was "convicted of electoral malpractice" in the election process of his successor. OUCA's official historian, David Blair, notes that Hague was actually elected on a platform pledging to clean up OUCA, but that this was "tarnished by accusations that he misused his position as Returning Officer to help the Magdalen candidate for the presidency, Peter Havey. Hague was playing the classic game of using his powers as President to keep his faction in power, and Havey was duly elected.... There were accusations of blatant ballot box stuffing".Blair, David, and ed. Andrew Page, The History of the Oxford University Conservative Association (OUCA, Oxford, 1995), p. 33. He also served as President of the Oxford Union, an established route into politics.
After Oxford, Hague went on to study for a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree at INSEAD, where he graduated with Distinction in 1986. He often refers to the year he spent there, living in Fontainebleau with friends from all over the world, as one of the happiest of his life. After the MBA, Hague got recruited and then worked as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company, where Archie Norman was his mentor.
Hague was appointed a Cabinet Minister in 1995 as Secretary of State for Wales; succeeding John Redwood, who had been castigated for being seen on TV apparently miming the Welsh national anthem at a conference; thus, Hague sought a Welsh Office civil servant, Ffion Jenkins, to teach him the Welsh language; they later married. He continued serving in Cabinet until the Conservatives were defeated after 18 years in government, by Labour at the 1997 general election.
Hague led the Conservatives to a successful result at the European parliamentary elections in June 1999, where the Conservatives gained 18 MEPs compared to Labour's loss of 33 MEPs.
Hague's authority was challenged by the appointment of Michael Portillo as Shadow Chancellor in 2000. Portillo had been widely tipped to be the next Conservative Party Leader before Portillo moment at the 1997 general election; he was elected as MP for Kensington and Chelsea at a by-election two years later. Soon after Portillo's return to Parliament, Conservative policy on two of Labour's flagship policies was reversed: the minimum wage and independence of the Bank of England. From then and until the 2001 general election Hague's supporters waged an increasingly bitter battle with Portillo's faction; such internecine infighting significantly contributed to the Conservatives' two subsequent election defeats.
Hague was widely ridiculed for claiming he used to drink "14 pints of beer a day" as a teenager. His reputation suffered further damage when a 2001 poll for The Daily Telegraph found that 66% of voters considered him to be "a bit of a ", and 70% of voters believed he would "say almost anything to win votes".
Former Conservative Deputy Prime Minister Michael Heseltine, a prominent One-nation Conservative, was critical of Hague's Euroscepticism that Britain was becoming a "foreign land", betraying in newspaper interviews that he was uncertain as to whether he could support a Hague-led Conservative Party.
Blair responded by criticising what he saw as Hague's "bandwagon effect":
Hague's annual income was the highest in Parliament, with earnings of about £400,000 a year from directorships, consultancy, speeches and his parliamentary salary. His income was previously estimated at £1 million annually, but he dropped several commitments and in effect took a salary cut of some £600,000 on becoming Shadow Foreign Secretary in 2005.
Together with former Prime Minister John Major, former Chancellor Kenneth Clarke, and Hague's successor Iain Duncan Smith, Hague served for a time on the Conservative Leadership Council, which was set up by Michael Howard upon his election unopposed as Leader of the Conservative Party in 2003.
At the 2005 Conservative leadership election he supported the eventual winner David Cameron. He is a member of Conservative Friends of Israel, a group which he joined when he was 15.
On 6 December 2005, David Cameron was elected Leader of the Conservative Party. Hague was offered and accepted the role of Shadow Foreign Secretary and Senior Member of the Shadow cabinet, effectively serving as Cameron's deputy (though not formally, unlike previous Deputy Conservative Leaders Willie Whitelaw, Peter Lilley and Michael Ancram). He had been widely tipped to return to the frontbench under either Cameron or leadership contest runner-up David Davis.
On 30 January 2006, by Cameron's instructions, Hague travelled to Brussels for talks to pull Conservative Party MEPs out of the European People's Party–European Democrats Group (EPP-ED) in the European Parliament. ( The Daily Telegraph, 30 January 2006). Further, on 15 February 2006, Hague deputed, during David Cameron's paternity leave, at Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs). This appearance gave rise to jokes at the expense of Blair, that all three parties that day were being led by 'stand-ins', with the Liberal Democrats represented by Acting Leader Sir Menzies Campbell, the Labour Party by the departing Blair, and the Conservatives by Hague. Hague again deputised for Cameron for several sessions in 2006.
In August 2010, Hague set out a values-based foreign policy, stating that: "We cannot have a foreign policy without a conscience. Foreign policy is domestic policy written large. The values we live by at home do not stop at our shores. Human rights are not the only issue that informs the making of foreign policy, but they are indivisible from it, not least because the consequences of foreign policy failure are human". Human rights are key to our foreign policy . The Daily Telegraph. (31 August 2010).
Hague further said that: "There will be no downgrading of human rights under this Government and no resiling from our commitments to aid and development". He continued by saying: "Indeed I intend to improve and strengthen our human rights work. It is not in our character as a nation to have a foreign policy without a conscience, and neither is it in our interests". However, in March 2011, Hague was criticised by Cardinal Keith O'Brien for increasing financial aid to Pakistan despite persecution of its Christian minority: "To increase aid to the Pakistan Government when religious freedom is not upheld and those who speak up for religious freedom are gunned down is tantamount to an anti-Christian foreign policy".
In September 2011, Hague told BBC Radio 4's File on 4 investigation Cyber Spies into the legality of domestic cyber surveillance and the export of this technology from the UK to countries with questionable human rights records that the UK had a strong export licence system. The programme also obtained confirmation from the UK's Department for Business Innovation and Skills that cyber surveillance products that break, as opposed to create, encryption do not require export licences.
In June 2012, he continued to stand in for David Cameron at PMQs when both the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg were out of the country.
In January 2013, Hague visited New Zealand in his capacity as Foreign Secretary, holding talks with New Zealand government ministers, Murray McCully and David Shearer. In March 2013, Hague established the International Leaders Programme, designed to identify and develop partnerships among future global leaders.
The security barrier has saved lives, and its construction was necessary. The barrier has separated Israel from Palestinian cities and completely changed the reality in Israel, where citizens were exposed to terror every day.
Hague told Sky News that the use of force by the Libyan authorities during the 2011 Libyan Civil War was "dreadful and horrifying" and called on the leader to respect people's human rights. A vicious crackdown led by special forces, foreign mercenaries and Muammar Gaddafi loyalists was launched in the country's second city Benghazi, which has been the focus of anti-regime protests. Hague stated to Dermot Murnaghan on Sky: "I think we have to increase the international pressure and condemnation. The United Kingdom condemns what the Libyan Government has been doing and how they have responded to these protests, and we look to other countries to do the same". "Hague Condemns 'Horrifying' Libyan Violence". BSkyB.
Following delays in extracting British citizens from Libya, a disastrous helicopter attempt to contact the protesters ending with eight /SAS arrested and no aircraft carriers or Harriers to enforce a no-fly zone he was accused, by the Labour Opposition, of "losing his mojo" in March 2011.
In March 2011, Hague said in a speech to business leaders that the examples being set in North Africa and the Middle East will ultimately transform the relationship between governments and their populations in the region. However following the row over whether Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was being targeted by coalition forces, the Foreign Secretary stated that the Libyan people must be free to determine their own future. Hague said: "It is not for us to choose the government of Libya—that is for the Libyan people themselves. But they have a far greater chance of making that choice now than they did on Saturday, when the opposition forces were on the verge of defeat." William Hague: 'It is not for us to choose the Libyan government' . The Daily Telegraph. (22 March 2011).
Hague has warned that autocratic leaders including Robert Mugabe, President of Zimbabwe, could be shaken and even toppled by a wave of popular uprisings rippling out from North Africa. He said that recent revolts against authoritarian leaders in countries including Libya and Egypt will have a greater historic significance than the 9/11 attacks on the US or the recent financial crisis. He stopped short of threatening military intervention against other dictators, but warned that they will inevitably face "judgement" for oppressing their people and suppressing democracy. Repressive African regimes will also face challenges from their populations and from the international community, Hague said: "Demands for freedom will spread, and that undemocratic governments elsewhere should take heed." He added: "Governments that use violence to stop democratic development will not earn themselves respite forever. They will pay an increasingly high price for actions which they can no longer hide from the world with ease, and will find themselves on the wrong side of history."
Hague, on his way to Qatar Summit in April 2011, called for intensified sanctions on the Libyan regime and for a clear statement that Gaddafi must go: "we have sent more ground strike aircraft in order to protect civilians. We do look to other countries to do the same, if necessary, over time". "We would like a continued increase in our (NATO's) capability to protect civilians in Libya", he added. Whether NATO ratcheted up operations depended on what happened on the ground, Hague said. "These air strikes are a response to movements of, or attacks from, regime forces so what happens will be dependent on that", he said. Whether the Americans could again be asked to step up their role would also "depend on the circumstances", he added.
Hague, speaking on the protests in Syria, said: "Political reforms should be brought forward and implemented without delay." It is thought as many as 60 people were killed by security forces in the country on 22 April 2011, making it the worst day for deaths since protests against President Bashar al-Assad began over a month prior, reported BBC News. William Hague 'extremely concerned at Syria violence' . Uknetguide.co.uk (22 April 2011).
During 2012, the UK started training Syrian opposition activists in Istanbul on media, civil society and local government matters, and supplying non-lethal equipment such as satellite communications and computers.
On 24 February 2012, Hague recognised the Syrian National Council as a "legitimate representative" of the country. Hague also said Bashar al-Assad's government had "forfeited the right to lead" by "miring itself in the blood of innocent people". Hague said: "Today we must show that we will not abandon the Syrian people in their darkest hour". He added that "Those responsible for the murder of entire families, the shelling of homes, the execution of detainees, the cleansing of political opponents and the torture and rape of women and children must be held to account", he said.
In March 2012, Hague ordered the evacuation of all British diplomats from Syria and closed the UK embassy in Damascus because of mounting security threats. Hague told Parliament: "We have maintained an embassy in Damascus despite the violence to help us communicate with all parties in Syria and to provide insight into the situation on the ground". He added: "We now judge that the deterioration of the security situation in Damascus puts our embassy staff and premises at risk." Hague said that his decision "in no way reduces the UK's commitment to active diplomacy to maintain pressure on the Assad regime to end the violence". He went on to say that: "We will continue to work closely with other nations to co-ordinate diplomatic and economic pressure on the Syrian regime."
On 1 April 2012, Hague met 74 other nations at a Friends of Syria Group conference in Istanbul, Turkey. Hague said the issue could return to the United Nations Security Council if current efforts to resolve the crisis fail. The government of President Assad has said it accepts a peace plan by the UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan, but there has been little evidence that it is prepared to end its crackdown on the opposition. Hague accused Assad of "stalling for time" and warned that if the issue does return to the Security Council, he may no longer be able to rely on the backing of Russia and China, who blocked a previous resolution calling for him to stand down. "There isn't an unlimited period of time for this, for the Kofi Annan process to work before many of the nations here want us to go back to the UN Security Council—some of them will call for arming the opposition if there isn't progress made," Hague told the BBC. He added that "What is now being put to them is a plan from Kofi Annan supported by the whole United Nations Security Council, and this is an important point, it's supported by Russia and by China as well as by the more obvious countries—the United States, the United Kingdom, France, the Arab League and so on". Hague warning for Syrian president
On 20 November 2012, Hague recognised the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces as the "sole legitimate representative" of the Syrian people, and a credible alternative to the current Syrian Government.
On 29 August 2013, the British Parliament refused to ratify the British Government's plan to participate in military strikes against the Syrian Government in the wake of a chemical-weapons attack at Ghouta. Hague denied suggestions that he had threatened to resign over Prime Minister David Cameron's decision to go straight to a parliamentary vote. After the vote, Hague continued to urge other governments to take action against the Syrian Government, saying "If it is decided in the various parliaments of the world that no-one will stand up to the use of chemical weapons and take any action about that, that would be a very alarming moment in the affairs of the world". Ultimately a negotiated agreement was reached to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons.
Hague spoke the Commons on 20 February about the nuclear program of Iran and said that if the Tehran regime managed to construct a viable weapon, its neighbours would be forced to build their own nuclear warheads too. He accused Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of pursuing "confrontational policies" and described the country's enrichment of uranium in defiance of United Nations Security Council resolutions as "a crisis coming steadily down the track". "Our policy is that whilst we remain unswervingly committed to diplomacy, it is important to emphasise to Iran that all options are on the table," Hague told MPs.
In March he condemned the way parliamentary elections were staged, claiming they were not "free and fair". He said the poll had been held against a backdrop of fear that meant the result would not reflect the will of the people. Hague said: "It has been clear for some time that these elections would not be free and fair. "The regime has presented the vote as a test of loyalty, rather than an opportunity for people freely to choose their own representatives. The climate of fear, created by the regime's crushing of opposition voices since 2009, persists."
Tensions over the Falklands had risen in the weeks prior to the anniversary. In February, Hague said deployments of a British warship, HMS Dauntless and the Duke of Cambridge to the Falklands were "entirely routine". Hague said that Britain affirmed the Falklanders' self-determination and would seek to prevent Argentina from "raising the diplomatic temperature" over the issue. He further said: "(the events) are not so much celebrations as commemorations. I think Argentina will also be holding commemorations of those who died in the conflict. Since both countries will be doing that I don't think there is anything provocative about that."
Hague confirmed the British Government's position – that it is lawfully obliged to extradite Julian Assange. "We're disappointed by the statement by Ecuador's Foreign Minister today that Ecuador has offered political asylum to Julian Assange. Under our English law, with Mr. Assange having exhausted all options of appeal, the British authorities are under a binding obligation to extradite him to Sweden. We must carry out that obligation and of course we fully intend to do so," Hague confirmed.
Following The Guardian newspaper outcry over a Foreign Office note sanctioned by Hague sent to the Ecuadorian Embassy—in which it raised the possibility of the revocation of their diplomatic status under the Diplomatic and Consular Premises Act 1987—the Foreign Secretary reaffirmed the UK remained "committed to a diplomatic solution" and played down any suggestion of a police raid of the Ecuadorian Embassy, stating "there is no threat here to storm an embassy".
The former ambassador to Uzbekistan, Craig Murray, warned that using the 1987 Act to raid the Ecuadorian Embassy would be in "breach of the Vienna Convention of 1961". Vladimir Putin warned Britain against violating fundamental diplomatic principles (Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, and in particular the Article 22 spelling out the inviolability of diplomatic premises), "Russia issues warning to Britain over Assange" which the Government of Ecuador invoked. "Declaración del Gobierno de la República del Ecuador sobre la solicitud de asilo de Julian Assange"
Hague is the subject of a portrait in oil painting commissioned by Parliament.
In a surprise motion on his last day in the House of Commons, Hague moved to make the election for Speaker in the next parliament a secret ballot, in what was seen as an effort to oust the incumbent John Bercow for lacking the neutrality expected of a Speaker of the House. Charles Walker, Conservative MP for Broxbourne, Chairman of the Procedure Committee and responsible for Speaker elections, stated that he had written a report about such an idea "years ago" and despite speaking with Hague and Michael Gove earlier that week, neither had told him of any such move. A visibly emotional Walker told the House, "I have been played as a fool. When I go home tonight, I will look in the mirror and see an honourable fool looking back at me. I would much rather be an honourable fool, in this and any other matter, than a clever man." Walker received a standing ovation, mainly from the Labour benches, while the Government lost its parliamentary motion by 228 to 202 votes. During the debate, Labour MP Gerald Kaufman denounced Hague, saying: "Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that this grubby decision is what he personally will be remembered for? After a distinguished career in the House of Commons, both as a leader of a party and as a senior Cabinet Minister, he has now descended to squalor in the final days of the Parliament."
He was succeeded as MP for Richmond (Yorks) by future Chancellor of the Exchequer, future Prime Minister, and future Leader of the Opposition Rishi Sunak.
In August 2020, Hague endorsed Joe Biden for US president over incumbent Donald Trump, arguing that a Biden victory was in the UK's interest. In 2025, Hague became the honorary patron of GEMS School of Research and Innovation in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.
On 27 November 2024, the University announced that Hague had been elected Chancellor. He formally assumed the role in January 2025.
Hague serves as a vice-president of the Friends of the British Library, which provides funding support for the British Library to make new acquisitions. He is a Patron of the European Youth Parliament UK, an educational charity organisation that runs debating competitions and discussion forums across the UK and is President of the Britain–Australia Society. Hague practises judo, and has a keen interest in music, learning to play the piano shortly after the 2001 general election. He is an enthusiast for the natural history and countryside of his native Yorkshire.
In 2015, Hague purchased a £2.5 million country house, Cyfronydd Hall, in Powys, Wales.
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