Former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, will be running for Chancellor of Oxford University, according to his team’s statement to the Telegraph.
Khan, currently serving a 14-year prison sentence in Pakistan, has not yet made an official announcement.
Khan attended Keble College in the 1970s, where he studied Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, and captained the Oxford Blues cricket team. After his studies, he pursued a career in professional cricket.
In 2018, Khan became the Prime Minister of Pakistan, campaigning as a nationalist and pledging to combat corruption. His term ended in 2022 following a vote of no confidence. Earlier this year, Khan was sentenced to 14 years in prison on charges of leaking state secrets and corruption.
The Chancellor of Oxford University serves as the ceremonial head, responsible for formal duties such as presiding over ceremonies, fundraising, and representing the University. Lord Christopher Patten has held the position since 2003 and is retiring.
Last month, Patten told Cherwell, “I think all [the University] is trying to do now is to ensure that the [candidates] who are put forward meet certain, very general, reasonable specifics: that they represent what’s established in the law about equality and so on, that they’re respectable, that they’re serious.”
This election will be conducted online, a departure from previous elections held at the Sheldonian Theatre where Oxford graduates cast their votes in person, dressed in full academic regalia. The University has decided not to screen candidates following initial controversy over whether selection would be based on identity or ideology. Candidates must not be current students or employees of the University, nor can they be candidates for political office.
Online voting for the next Chancellor of Oxford University will begin on October 28 and will take place throughout the third week of Michaelmas term.
A University spokesperson told Cherwell that the press office “won’t be commenting or speculating on candidates while applications remain open.” Photo by Chatham House, Wikimedia commons.