William Hague

William Jefferson Hague was born on 26 March 1961 in Rotherham, Yorkshire. He was educated at Wath-upon-Deane Comprehensive School and was regarded by many of his teachers as a model pupil - hard-working, well behaved and a credit to the school. It was during his youth that he developed his passion for Conservativism. Aged just 16, he addressed the 1977 Conservative Party Conference with a spirit, humour and conviction that led then Conservative leader Margaret Thatcher to describe him as the next William Pitt. His academic success made it possible for him to study at Magdalen College, Oxford. He went into politics, was elected Conservative Member for Richmond and served in John Major's cabinet as Welsh Secretary (during which time he met his future wife, Ffion). After the Conservatives' landslide defeat at the hands of New Labour in 1997, John Major resigned as Tory leader. In the resultant leadership election, William, aged just 36, was chosen to lead the party. As leader, William failed to dent Prime Minister Tony Blair's consistently high public ratings. He also became ridiculed for a series of misjudgments, such as his decision to wear a baseball cap to appeal to young voters, his boast that he had regularly drunk 14 pints of beer a day as a young man, his judo sessions and his wisecracking comments at Prime Minister's Questions. He fought the 2001 General Election on the issues of keeping the pound and rejecting the European Single Currency, locking up all asylum seekers and lowering the tax burden. His failure to make any clear commitments to better public services was regarded by many as severely damaging to his election chances. On June 7, the Conservatives were resoundingly beaten by the Labour Party for a second successive time. Although he was re-elected to his Richmond seat, Hague resigned as Tory leader the next day. He became only the second Conservative Party leader in the history of British politics never to serve as Prime Minister. His future is uncertain, although careers in either enterprise or broadcasting are realistic possibilities.