The Lord Hague of Richmond | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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_(cropped).jpg) Hague in 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chancellor of the University of Oxford | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 19 February 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vice-Chancellor | Irene Tracey | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Chris Patten | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Leader of the Opposition | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 19 June 1997 – 13 September 2001 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Monarch | Elizabeth II | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Tony Blair | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chairman | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | John Major | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Iain Duncan Smith | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | William Jefferson Hague (1961-03-26)26 March 1961 (age 64) Rotherham, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Conservative | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Signature |  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | williamhague | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
William Jefferson Hague, Baron Hague of Richmond (born 26 March 1961) is a British politician andlife peer who wasLeader of the Conservative Party andLeader of the Opposition from 1997 to 2001 and Deputy Leader from 2005 to 2010. He was theMember of Parliament (MP) forRichmond (Yorks) in North Yorkshire from 1989 to 2015. He was in theCameron government asFirst Secretary of State from 2010 to 2015,Foreign Secretary from 2010 to 2014, andLeader of the House of Commons from 2014 to 2015. He has beenChancellor of the University of Oxford since February 2025.[1]
Hague was educated atWath-upon-Dearne Comprehensive School, theUniversity of Oxford andINSEAD, subsequently beingelected to theHouse of Commons at aby-election in 1989. Hague quickly rose through the ranks of the government ofJohn Major and was appointed toCabinet in 1995 asSecretary of State for Wales. Following the Conservatives' defeat at the1997 general election by theLabour Party, he waselected Leader of the Conservative Party at the age of 36. Hague resigned as Conservative leader after the2001 general election following his party's second defeat, at which the Conservatives made a net gain of just one seat. He returned to thebackbenches, pursuing a career as an author, writing biographies ofWilliam Pitt the Younger andWilliam Wilberforce. He also held several directorships, and worked as a consultant and public speaker. He was the first Leader of the Conservative Party sinceAusten Chamberlain (1921–1922) never to assume the office of Prime Minister.
AfterDavid Cameron was elected Leader of the Conservative Party in 2005, Hague was reappointed to theShadow Cabinet asShadow Foreign Secretary. He also assumed the role ofSenior Member of the Shadow Cabinet, serving as Cameron's deputy. Following theformation of the coalition government in 2010, Hague was appointed First Secretary of State andForeign 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 the2015 general election and was succeeded, as MP for Richmond, byRishi Sunak. He was awarded alife peerage in the2015 Dissolution Honours List on 9 October 2015.
Hague was born on 26 March 1961 inRotherham,West Riding of Yorkshire, England.[2] He initially boarded atRipon Grammar School and then attendedWath-upon-Dearne Comprehensive School,[3] a state secondary school near Rotherham. His parents, Nigel and Stella Hague, ran a soft drinks manufacturing business where he worked during school holidays.[4]
He first made the national news at the age of 16 by addressing the Conservatives at their1977 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".[5] Writing in his diary at the timeKenneth Rose noted thatPeter 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 toNorman 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: 'LikeMichael Heseltine'".[6]
Hague readphilosophy, politics and economics atMagdalen College, Oxford, graduating with first-class honours "after last-minute cramming".[7] He was President of theOxford University Conservative Association (OUCA), but was "convicted of electoral malpractice" in the election process of his successor.[8] 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 theMagdalen 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".[9] He also served asPresident of the Oxford Union, an established route into politics.[10]
After Oxford, Hague went on to study for aMaster of Business Administration (MBA) degree atINSEAD, where he graduated with Distinction in 1986. He often refers to the year he spent there, living inFontainebleau with friends from all over the world, as one of the happiest of his life.[11] After the MBA, Hague got recruited and then worked as amanagement consultant atMcKinsey & Company, whereArchie Norman was his mentor.[12]
Hague contestedWentworth unsuccessfully in1987, before being elected to Parliament at aby-election in 1989 as Member for the safe Conservative seat[13][14] ofRichmond, North Yorkshire, where he succeeded formerHome SecretaryLeon Brittan. Following his election he became the then-youngest Conservative MP and despite having only recently become an MP, Hague was invited to join the Government in 1990, serving asParliamentary Private Secretary to theChancellor of the Exchequer,Norman Lamont.[15] After Lamont was sacked in 1993, Hague moved to theDepartment of Social Security (DSS) where he wasParliamentary Under-Secretary of State. The following year he was promoted asMinister of State in the DSS with responsibility for Social Security and Disabled People.[15] His fast rise up through Government ranks was attributed to his intelligence and debating skills.[16]
Hague was appointed a Cabinet Minister in 1995 asSecretary of State for Wales;[15] succeedingJohn Redwood, who had been castigated for being seen on TV apparently miming theWelsh national anthem at a conference; thus, Hague sought aWelsh Office civil servant,Ffion Jenkins, to teach him thewords; they later married.[17] He continued serving in Cabinet until the Conservatives were defeated after 18 years in government, byLabour at the1997 general election.
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Following the1997 general election defeat, Hague waselected Leader of the Conservative Party in succession to John Major, defeating more experienced figures such asKenneth Clarke andMichael Howard. At the age of 36, Hague was tasked with rebuilding the Conservative Party (fresh from their worst general election result of the 20th century)[18] by attempting to build a more modern image. £250,000 was spent on the "Listening to Britain" campaign to try to put the Conservatives back in touch with the public after losing power; he welcomed ideas about "compassionate conservatism" including from the then-Governor of Texas, later PresidentGeorge W. Bush.[19]
Hague led the Conservatives to a successful result at theEuropean parliamentary elections in June 1999, where the Conservatives gained 18MEPs compared toLabour's loss of 33 MEPs.[20]
Hague's authority was challenged by the appointment ofMichael Portillo asShadow Chancellor in 2000. Portillo had been widely tipped to be the next Conservative Party Leader beforedramatically losing his seat at the1997 general election; he was elected as MP for Kensington and Chelsea at aby-election two years later.[21] Soon after Portillo's return to Parliament, Conservative policy on two of Labour's flagship policies was reversed: theminimum wage and independence of theBank of England. From then and until the2001 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.[22][23] His reputation suffered further damage when a 2001 poll forThe Daily Telegraph found that 66% of voters considered him to be "a bit of awally", and 70% of voters believed he would "say almost anything to win votes".[24]
At aParty Conference speech in March 2001, Hague said:
We have a Government that has contempt for the views of the people it governs.
There is nothing that the British people can talk about that this Labour Government doesn't deride.
Talk about Europe and they call you extreme. Talk about tax and they call you greedy. Talk about crime and they call you reactionary. Talk about immigration and they call you racist; talk about your nation and they call you Little Englanders.... This Government thinks Britain would be all right if we had a different people. I think Britain would be all right, if only we had a different government.
A Conservative government that speaks with the voice of the British people.
A Conservative government never embarrassed or ashamed of the British people.
A Conservative government that trusts the people [....] This country must always offer sanctuary to those fleeing from injustice. Conservative Governments always have, and always will. But it's precisely those genuine refugees who are finding themselves elbowed aside.[25]
Former Conservative Deputy Prime MinisterMichael Heseltine, a prominentOne-nation Conservative, was critical of Hague'sEurosceptic view 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.[26]
Hague's critics assiduously monitored his performance atPrime Minister's Questions each Wednesday in Parliament, having difficulty to find fault.[27][28] During one particular exchange, while responding to theQueen's Speech of 2000, Hague attackedPrime MinisterTony Blair's record:
In more than 20 years in politics, he has betrayed every cause he believed in, contradicted every statement he has made, broken every promise he has given and breached every agreement that he has entered into.... There is a lifetime of U-turns, errors and sell-outs. All those Honourable Members who sit behind the Prime Minister and wonder whether they stand for anything any longer, or whether they defend any point of principle, know who has led them to that sorry state.[29]
Blair responded by criticising what he saw as Hague's "bandwagon politics":
... he started thefuel protest bandwagon, then the floods bandwagon; on defence it became armour-plated, then onair traffic control it became airborne.... Yes, the Right Honourable gentleman made a very witty, funny speech, but it summed up his leadership: good jokes, lousy judgment. I am afraid that in the end, if the Right Honourable gentleman really aspires to stand at thisdespatch box, he will have to get his policies sorted out and his party sorted out, and offer a vision for the country's future, not a vision that would take us backwards.[30]
On the morning of Labour's second consecutive landslide victory at the2001 general election, Hague stated: "we have not been able to persuade a majority, or anything approaching a majority, that we are yet the alternative government that they need."[31] At that election the Conservative Party gained just one parliamentary seat more than at the 1997 general election; following this defeat, Hague resigned as party leader. Hague thus became the second twentieth century Conservative party leader not to become Prime Minister (afterAusten Chamberlain) and the first ever to spend his entire tenure in Opposition.[32]
On thebackbenches he occasionally spoke in theHouse of Commons on issues of the day. Between 1997 and 2002, he was the Chairman of theInternational Democrat Union. Hague's profile and personal popularity rose thereafter among both Conservative Party members and the wider public following his spell as Party Leader. He has written a biography of 18th-century Prime MinisterPitt the Younger (published in 2004), taught himself how to play the piano, and hosted the 25th anniversary programme forRadio 4 on the political television satireYes Minister in 2005. In June 2007 he published his second book, a biography of the anti-slave trade campaignerWilliam Wilberforce, shortlisted for the 2008Orwell Prize for political writing.[33]
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 becomingShadow Foreign Secretary in 2005.[34][35]
Together with former Prime MinisterJohn Major, former ChancellorKenneth Clarke, and Hague's successorIain Duncan Smith, Hague served for a time on the Conservative Leadership Council, which was set up byMichael Howard upon hiselection unopposed as Leader of the Conservative Party in 2003.
At the2005 Conservative leadership election he supported the eventual winnerDavid Cameron.He is a member ofConservative Friends of Israel, a group which he joined when he was 15.[36]
Following the2005 general election, the Conservative Party LeaderMichael Howard apparently offered Hague the post ofShadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, which he turned down citing that his business commitments would make it difficult for him to take on such a high-profile job.[37]
On 6 December 2005,David Cameron was elected Leader of the Conservative Party. Hague was offered and accepted the role ofShadow Foreign Secretary and Senior Member of theShadow cabinet, effectively serving as Cameron's deputy (though not formally, unlike previous Deputy Conservative LeadersWilliam Whitelaw,Peter Lilley andMichael Ancram). He had been widely tipped to return to thefrontbench under either Cameron or leadership contest runner-upDavid Davis.
On 30 January 2006, by Cameron's instructions, Hague travelled toBrussels for talks to pull Conservative PartyMEPs out of theEuropean People's Party–European Democrats Group (EPP-ED) in theEuropean Parliament. (The Daily Telegraph, 30 January 2006). Further, on 15 February 2006, Hague deputed, during David Cameron'spaternity leave, atPrime 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 SirMenzies Campbell, the Labour Party by the departing Blair, and the Conservatives by Hague. Hague again deputised for Cameron for severalsessions in 2006.
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Prime Minister Cameron's first appointment was Hague asForeign Secretary. He was also accorded thehonorary title ofFirst Secretary of State.[38] In his first overseas visit as British Foreign Secretary, Hague met US Secretary of State,Hillary Clinton, atWashington.[39]
In August 2010, Hague set out a values-basedforeign 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".[40]
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".[41] However, in March 2011, Hague was criticised byCardinal Keith O'Brien for increasing financial aid toPakistan despite persecution of itsChristian 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".[42]
In September 2011, Hague toldBBC Radio 4'sFile on 4 investigationCyber 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'sDepartment for Business Innovation and Skills that cyber surveillance products that break, as opposed to create, encryption do not require export licences.[43]
In June 2012, he continued to stand in forDavid Cameron at PMQs when both the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime MinisterNick Clegg were out of the country.
In January 2013, Hague visitedNew Zealand in his capacity as Foreign Secretary, holding talks withNew Zealand government ministers,Murray McCully andDavid Shearer.[44] In March 2013, Hague established theInternational Leaders Programme, designed to identify and develop partnerships among future global leaders.[45]
In early September 2010, newspapers includingThe Daily Telegraph,The Independent and theDaily Mail released stories about allegations surrounding Hague's friendship with 25-year-old Christopher Myers,[46] a history graduate fromDurham University, whom he employed as a parliamentaryspecial adviser. A spokesperson stated that "Any suggestion that the Foreign Secretary's relationship with Chris Myers is anything other than a purely professional one is wholly inaccurate and unfounded."[47]
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On 1 September 2010, Myers resigned from his appointment in light of that press speculation,[48] which prompted Hague to issue a public statement, wherein he confirmed that he had "occasionally" shared a hotel room with Myers [for reasons of frugality by upbringing], but refuting the "utterly false" suggestions that he had ever been involved in a relationship withany man.[49] A spokesperson for Prime Minister David Cameron reported that he gave his "full support" over the media rumours.[50] Figures from both within and without the Conservative Party criticised Hague for his personal response to the stories, with formerConservative leadership candidate,John Redwood, commenting that Hague had shown "poor judgement",[51] andthe Speaker's wife, Labour-supportingSally Bercow, speculating that Hague had been given "duff PR advice",[52] whilst a parliamentary and ministerial colleague, the Conservative MP,Alan Duncan, described the media coverage as "contemptible".[53]
Hague was criticised by Israeli leaders after meeting withPalestinians who demonstrated againstIsrael's barrier in the West Bank. He expressed solidarity with the idea of non-violence and listened to the accounts of left-wing and Palestinian activists.IsraeliOpposition LeaderTzipi Livni condemned the statements and said:
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.[54]
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In February 2011 security forces in theBahrain dispersed thousands of anti-governmentprotesters atPearl Square in the centre of the capital,Manama. Hague informed theHouse of Commons that he had stressed the need for peaceful action in dealing with the protesters: "At least three people died in the operation, with hundreds more injured. We are greatly concerned about the deaths that have occurred. I have this morning spoken to theForeign Minister of Bahrain andHM Ambassador spoke last night to the Bahraini Minister of the Interior. In both cases we stressed the need for peaceful action to address the concerns of protesters, the importance of respect for the right to peaceful protest and for freedom of expression".[55]
Hague toldSky News that the use of force by the Libyan authorities during the2011 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 andMuammar Gaddafi loyalists was launched in the country's second cityBenghazi, which has been the focus of anti-regime protests. Hague stated toDermot Murnaghan onSky: "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".[56]
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Following delays in extracting British citizens from Libya, a disastrous helicopter attempt to contact the protesters ending with eightBritish diplomats/SAS arrested and noaircraft carriers orHarriers to enforce ano-fly zone he was accused, by the Labour Opposition, of "losing hismojo" in March 2011.[57]
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."[58]
Hague has warned that autocratic leaders includingRobert 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 the9/11 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."[59]
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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. WhetherNATO 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.[60]
Hague, speaking on theprotests 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 PresidentBashar al-Assad began over a month prior, reported BBC News.[61]
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Speaking on theSyrian civil war, in August 2011, Hague said of military intervention: "It's not a remote possibility. Even if we were in favour [of UN-backed military action], which we are not because there's no call from the Arab League for intervention as in the case of Libya, there is no prospect of a legal, morally sanctioned military intervention. Hague added that it was a "frustrating situation" and that the "levers" at the international community's disposal were severely limited but said countries had to concentrate on other ways of influencing the Assad government. "We want to see stronger international pressure all round. Of course, to be effective that just can't be pressure from Western nations, that includes from Arab nations... and it includes from Turkey who has been very active in trying to persuade President Assad to reform instead of embarking on these appalling actions", he said. "I would also like to see aUnited Nations Security Council resolution to condemn this violence, to call for the release of political prisoners, to call for legitimate grievances to be responded to", he added.[62]
During 2012, the UK started training Syrian opposition activists inIstanbul on media, civil society and local government matters, and supplying non-lethal equipment such as satellite communications and computers.[63][64]
On 24 February 2012, Hague recognised theSyrian National Council as a "legitimate representative" of the country. Hague also saidBashar 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.[65]
In March 2012, Hague ordered the evacuation of all British diplomats fromSyria and closed the UK embassy in Damascus because of mounting security threats. Hague told Parliament: "We have maintained an embassy inDamascus 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."[66]
On 1 April 2012, Hague met 74 other nations at aFriends 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 envoyKofi 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".[67]
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.[68]
On 29 August 2013, theBritish Parliament refused to ratify theBritish Government's plan to participate in military strikes against the Syrian Government in the wake of achemical-weapons attack at Ghouta.[69] Hague denied suggestions that he had threatened to resign over Prime Minister David Cameron's decision to go straight to a parliamentary vote.[70] 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".[71] Ultimately a negotiated agreement was reached toeliminate Syria's chemical weapons.
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In June 2011, Hague dismissedTony Blair's vision for an elected-head of theEuropean Union by insisting that member states have more pressing priorities than further "constitutional tinkering". Hague made clear his view after Blair argued that a directly elected President of Europe, representing almost 400m people from 27 countries, would give the EU clear leadership and enormous authority. In an interview withThe Times, Blair set out the agenda that he thought a directly electedEU President should pursue, although he conceded, there was "no chance" of such a post being created "at the present time". Asked about the former Prime Minister's call for further European integration and the creation of an elected-President, Hague suggested that Blair may have been thinking of the role for himself. "I can't think who he had in mind", Hague joked, further adding on a serious note: "Elected presidents are for countries. The EU is not a country and it's not going to become a country, in my view, now or ever in the future. It is a group of countries working together".[72]
In June 2011, Hague said that Britain helped initiate "distasteful" peace talks with theTaliban in Afghanistan. Hague made the comments while on a three-day tour of the country to meet PresidentHamid Karzai and visitedBritish troops. He toldThe Sun newspaper that Britain had led the way in persuading USPresident Barack Obama's administration that negotiation was the best potential solution to the conflict. Hague admitted that any deal might mean accepting "distasteful things" and could anger military veterans and relatives of the 374 British troops killed in Afghanistan. However, he said he believed that Britain as a whole was "realistic and practical" enough to accept that ending fighting and starting talks was the best way to safeguard national security. He told the newspaper: "An eventual settlement of these issues is the ultimate and most desirable way of safeguarding that national security." He added, "but reconciliation with people who have been in a military conflict can be very distasteful. In all these types of situations, you do have to face up to some distasteful things." The previous night US PresidentBarack Obama told Americans that "the tide of war is receding" as he announced plans to withdraw 33,000 US troops from Afghanistan by September 2012.[73]
In September 2011, Hague said that theEuro is "a burning building with no exits" for some of the countries which adopted the currency. Hague first used the expression when he was Conservative Leader in 1998—and said in an interview withThe Spectator he had been proved right: "It was folly to create this system. It will be written about for centuries as a kind of historical monument to collective folly. But it's there and we have to deal with it," he said. "I described the Euro as a burning building with no exits and so it has proved for some of the countries in it," he further said, adding "I might take the analogy too far but the Euro wasn't built with exits so it is very difficult to leave it".[74]
In February 2012, Hague warned in a BBC interview aboutIran's "increasing willingness to contemplate" terrorism around the world. He cited the2011 Iran assassination plot, an attempt to assassinateAdel al-Jubeir, the Saudi Ambassador to the United States, as well as alleged involvement in recent attacks in New Delhi, Georgia, andBangkok. He said it showed "the danger Iran is currently presenting to the peace of the world".[75]
Hague spoke the Commons on 20 February about thenuclear 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 PresidentMahmoud Ahmadinejad of pursuing "confrontational policies" and described the country's enrichment of uranium in defiance ofUnited 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.[76]
In March he condemned the wayparliamentary 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."[77]
The 30th anniversary of the beginning of the1982 Falklands War was on 2 April 2012. On 29 March, before theLord Mayor of London's banquet guests, namely the entire foreign diplomatic corps of more than 100 ambassadors, includingAlicia Castro (Argentinian Ambassador), Hague said the UK was keen to deepen its relationship with Latin America—and reiterated Britain's commitment to the Falklands. He said: "We are reversing Britain's decline in Latin America, where we are opening a new Embassy inEl Salvador. This determination to deepen our relations with Latin America is coupled with our steadfast commitment to the right of self-determination of the people of theFalkland Islands".
Tensions over the Falklands had risen in the weeks prior to the anniversary. In February, Hague said deployments of a British warship,HMSDauntless and theDuke of Cambridge to the Falklands were "entirely routine". Hague said that Britain affirmed the Falklanders'self-determination and would seek to preventArgentina 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."[78]
Hague set outHer Majesty's Government's plans, on 12 June 2012, for thereintroduction of self-government in theTurks and Caicos Islands, where direct rule of theGovernor had been in place since the islands had been subject to corruption and maladministration under the previous autonomous administration.[79]
In August 2012, Hague declared thatJulian Assange, theWikiLeaks organisation founder, would not be grantedpolitical asylum by the United Kingdom.[80] Hague declared the UK's willingness to extradite Assange to the Swedish authorities who had requested his extradition; thusSwedish prosecutors, unwilling to breakdiplomatic protocol, have deferred from interrogating Assange at theEmbassy of Ecuador, London.[81]
Hague confirmed theBritish Government's position – that it is lawfully obliged to extradite Julian Assange. "We're disappointed by the statement byEcuador's Foreign Minister today thatEcuador has offered political asylum toJulian Assange. Under ourLaws, with Mr. Assange having exhausted all options of appeal, the British authorities are under a binding obligation to extradite him toSweden. We must carry out that obligation and of course we fully intend to do so," Hague confirmed.
FollowingThe Guardian newspaper outcry over aForeign Office note sanctioned by Hague sent to theEcuadorian Embassy—in which it raised the possibility of the revocation of their diplomatic status under theDiplomatic 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".[82][83]
The former ambassador to Uzbekistan,Craig Murray,[84] warned that using the 1987 Act to raid the Ecuadorian Embassy would be in "breach of the Vienna Convention of 1961".Russia warned Britain against violating fundamental diplomatic principles (Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, and in particular theArticle 22 spelling out the inviolability of diplomatic premises),[85] which theGovernment of Ecuador invoked.[86]
Hague is the subject of a portrait inoil commissioned byParliament.[87]
Once Hague had formally declared his intention not to seek re-election as MP for Richmond at the forthcoming2015 general election, he toldDavid Cameron he would be standing down as Foreign Secretary. Cameron instigated aCabinet reshuffle whereby Hague becameLeader of the House of Commons. Hague remained as Cameron's "de facto political deputy", retained his membership of theNational Security Council and played a lead role in reaching out to voters in theNorth of England in the run up to the general election.[88]
In a surprise motion on his last day in the House of Commons, Hague moved to make the election forSpeaker in the next parliament a secret ballot, in what was seen as an effort to oust the incumbentJohn Bercow for lacking the neutrality expected of a Speaker of the House.Charles Walker,Conservative MP for Broxbourne, Chairman of theProcedure Committee and responsible forSpeaker elections, stated that he had written a report about such an idea "years ago" and despite speaking with Hague andMichael 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.[89][90][91] During the debate, Labour MPGerald 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."[92]
He was succeeded as MP for Richmond (Yorks) by future Chancellor of the Exchequer, future Prime Minister, and future Leader of the OppositionRishi Sunak.
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On 9 October 2015, Hague was createdBaron Hague of Richmond,ofRichmond in the County ofNorth Yorkshire.[93][94]
In August 2020, Hague endorsedJoe Biden for US president over incumbentDonald Trump, arguing that a Biden victory was in the UK's interest.[95] In 2025, Hague became the honorary patron ofGEMS School of Research and Innovation in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.[96]
Hague and the thenDuke of Cambridge identified, while the former was in post as Foreign Secretary, that the illegal wildlife trade (IWT) was among the most profitable criminal enterprises in the world, and in order to combat it formed in 2014 the Transport Task Force (TTF). The TTF seeks to identify and stopwildlife trafficking. They continue to work at this in 2020. The Financial Task Force was created in 2018 to help further the goal.[97]
In September 2020, Hague was appointed as chairman of theRoyal Foundation, a charitable organisation operating under the auspices of the then Duke andDuchess of Cambridge, in succession toSir Keith Mills who retired.[98][a]
In October 2024, Hague put himself forward as a candidate forChancellor of Oxford University. He wrote in a 750 word statement: "Oxford transformed my life. When I arrived as a 17-year-old from a comprehensive school for an interview at Magdalen, I didn’t know a single person in the whole city, and no one in my family had ever been to university. I have never forgotten how Oxford equipped me to take on any challenge in the world."[100]
On 27 November 2024, the University announced that Hague had been elected Chancellor.[101] He formally assumed the role in January 2025.
Hague is an author of political biographies, and since his retirement from public life he has maintained a weekly column in first theDaily Telegraph and subsequentlyThe Times. Hague also writes the occasional book review and appears on TV shows and in radio presentations.
Hague has written about theCOVID-19 pandemic, writing as early as 10 February 2020 that "Coronavirus is a calamity for China. It cannot continue its dangerous wildlife practices any longer."[102] Hague wrote on 2 March that: "The rise of coronavirus is a clear indication that the degrading of nature will come back to hit humans very hard."[103] Hague returned to the subject on 13 April, when he said that the "world must act now on wildlife markets or run the risk of worse pandemics in future".[104]
Hague married Ffion Jenkins at theChapel of St Mary Undercroft on 19 December 1997.Ffion Hague is now styled The Lady Hague of Richmond.
Hague serves as a vice-president of theFriends of the British Library, which provides funding support for theBritish Library to make new acquisitions.[105] He is aPatron of the European Youth Parliament UK, an educational charity organisation that runs debating competitions and discussion forums across the UK[citation needed] and is President of theBritain–Australia Society. Hague practises judo,[106] and has a keen interest in music, learning to play the piano shortly after the 2001 general election.[107] He is an enthusiast for the natural history and countryside of his native Yorkshire.[108]
In 2015, Hague purchased a £2.5 million country house,Cyfronydd Hall, inPowys, Wales.[109]
Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (Japan)[114]Hague was granted arms on 7 April 2016[116]
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Hague was portrayed by Alex Avery in the 2015Channel 4 television filmCoalition.
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