Pakistan ex-PM Khan wants to replace Chris Patten, last UK governor of Hong Kong, as Oxford chancellor
- Chris Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong, announced in February he was stepping down as Oxford chancellor
Pakistan’s jailed former prime minister Imran Khan has applied to become the next chancellor of Britain’s prestigious University of Oxford, his party said.
Khan, prime minister from 2018 to 2022, has just marked one year in prison on various charges from corruption to inciting violence that he said are politically motivated and designed to keep him from power.
“Imran Khan had given instructions that he would like to submit his application and now the application scrutiny will take place,” said Sayed Zulfikar Bukhari, the London-based spokesman for Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.
“It’s a ceremonial post but one with utmost prestige and importance and Imran Khan, being one of the larger or more popular names coming out of Oxford, it would be brilliant to see him as chancellor,” he said.
Conservative peer Chris Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong, announced in February he was stepping down as Oxford chancellor.
The list of candidates for the 10-year term will not be made public until October, according to the university’s website, with voting taking place at the end of the month.