Former foreign secretary William Hague is to be the host presenter for The MJ Local Government Achievement Awards next month.
Mr Hague, who stood down at the general election after 28 years as an MP, is well-known not just as a politician but as an author and sought-after speaker and was once described by Hillary Clinton as 'the David Beckham of witty toasts'.
He is former leader of the Conservative Party 1997/2001, foreign secretary 2010/2014 and leader of the House of Commons 2014/15. He will present The MJ Awards at its gala night on June 18 at London's Hilton Hotel on Park Lane.
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 an MBA with distinction.
In more than four years as foreign secretary, Mr Hague dealt with a turbulent period in world affairs, encompassing the wars in Libya and Syria, the British withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Ukraine crisis, the struggle against international terrorism and Britain’s relations with Europe.
He also led the negotiating team that created the coalition government in 2010. His combination of international and domestic political experience has given him a deep knowledge of the inside of politics, and of the reasons for growing instability in world affairs.
Further details about the awards are at awards.themj.co.uk
