William Hague

William Jefferson Hague is a British Conservative politician. He served as Leader of the Conservative Party from June 1997 to September 2001 and is currently the British Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State under David Cameron. In parliament, he represents the constituency of Richmond (Yorks), having done so since 1989.Educated at a local comprehensive school, then the University of Oxford and INSEAD, Hague was first elected to the House of Commons in a by-election in 1989. Hague rose through the ranks of John Major's government and entered the Cabinet in 1995 as the Secretary of State for Wales. Following the Conservatives' defeat in the 1997 general election, he was elected as leader of the Conservative Party. He resigned as party leader after the 2001 general election following a landslide defeat to the Labour Party.On the backbenches, Hague began 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. After David Cameron was elected leader of the Conservative Party in 2005, Hague returned to front line politics as shadow foreign secretary. And later in 2010, upon Cameron becoming the Prime Minister, Hague took on the roles of First Secretary of State and Foreign Secretary.