Rt Hon William Hague MP

September 19th 2008
Quaglino’s, London

William Hague was born and brought up in Yorkshire, where he continues to serve as MP for Richmond. After attending a local comprehensive (and creating a sensation as a schoolboy speaker at the Conservative Party conference), he took a first class degree at Oxford and then gained a distinction at INSEAD.

William spent five years as a consultant at McKinsey & Co before entering the House of Commons, where he was soon appointed Minister for Pensions and then Secretary of State for Wales in the Major Government. He was voted Politician of the Year by Channel 4 viewers, and Parliamentarian of the Year by the Spectator - an accolade he shares with his occasional TV sparring partner Tony Benn.

William uses his blend of corporate and political experience to picture the future as it will affect both business and society. He describes the huge impact of demographic change and the importance of patterns in military spending, alongside wider economic trends. Where will power lie in the decade ahead?

William is also a seasoned raconteur. With a great deal of natural Yorkshire wit and extraordinary comic timing, he takes the rise out of senior politicians (of all parties), uncovers the techniques deployed in Prime Minister’s Questions, and tells of the dangers when drink, politicians and temptation come together.

William has used his business skills as an advisor to the JCB Group and Terra Firma Capital Partners. He has also penned a column in the News of the World, and hosted Have I Got News For You. His landmark biography of William Pitt the Younger won History Book of the Year at the British Book Awards, and was followed by a critically acclaimed study of the anti-slavery campaigner William Wilberforce.

William Hague currently serves as Shadow Foreign Secretary.