LONDON (AP) — Former U.K. Conservative Party leader William Hague has been elected chancellor of Oxford University, one of the most prestigious positions in British academia, the university said Wednesday.

Hague was elected in an online vote by staff and alumni of the 800-year-old university. He will replace Chris Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong, who has held the post since 2003.

Hague beat contenders including former Labour Cabinet minister Peter Mandelson and Elish Angiolini, the former top law officer in Scotland.

The university said Hague will be inaugurated early next year and will serve a 10-year term. The chancellor is the university’s titular head and presides over key ceremonies, as well as overseeing the election of the vice-chancellor, the university’s day-to-day leader.

Hague is an Oxford graduate who began his political career at the Oxford University Conservative Association. Elected Conservative leader at the age of 36 after the party lost power to Labour in 1997, he resigned after the party’s thumping election defeat in 2001.

Hague said being elected chancellor, a post that stretches back to the 13th century, was “the greatest honor of my life.”