Christopher G. Hall (born 7 June 1956) is an English-American politician and academic. Hall was the president of the

American University in Kosovo RIT Kosovo, formerly known as the American University in Kosovo, is a private university located in the Germia district of Pristina, Kosovo. The university was established in 2002 and is part of the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in the ...

and a former state senator from

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

. Hall's background is as a steel and mining executive, but after growing weary of long commutes from

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...

, to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, he sought a career change. In 2002, Hall was elected as a Democratic senator in midcoast Maine in a disputed election in which he narrowly defeated

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Leslie Fossel. He failed to win reelection in 2004, and in 2007 accepted the appointment to lead the American University in Kosovo. In May 2014, Hall was appointed president of

International Horizons College International Horizons College (also known informally as IHC) was an American curriculum institution located within the Business Bay area of Dubai City. It was founded in July 2011 with the aim of providing high-performing students with affordab ...

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

by its board of trustees.

Career

Hall earned his bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees from

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. He spent several years in the mining industry, including as an executive, and was an economics and public policy consultant in Portland, Maine. He first was elected as member of the

Maine House of Representatives The Maine House of Representatives is the lower house of the Maine Legislature. The House consists of 151 voting members and three nonvoting members. The voting members represent an equal number of districts across the state and are elected via p ...

in 2000, defeating John C. Harris in the 56th district. In 2002 Hall decided to run for State Senator in the 16th district against Leslie T. Fossel, which he won after a recount. In 2004, Hall ran in the 20th district, losing to Dana L. Dow, which marked the end of his political career. From 2005 to 2006 Hall taught public policy courses at

Central Maine Community College Central Maine Community College is a public community college in Auburn, Maine. It is part of the Maine Community College System The Maine Community College System (MCCS) is Maine's comprehensive two-year college system, offering nearly 300 tec ...

. In 2007, he was offered a position as president of the American University in Kosovo, and held that post until 2012. Hall had a longstanding interest in the Balkans, and had been one of the first Americans to visit

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

in 1990 when it reopened to tourists. In

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

, he found that decades of repression and war had left a legacy of setbacks within the educational system, and aspired to use the American University in Kosovo to help train the country's next generation of leaders. Following his departure from Kosovo in 2012, Hall was named interim president of the

York County Community College York County Community College (YCCC) is a public community college in Wells, Maine. YCCC is part of the Maine Community College System. History York County Community College was established in 1994 as York County Technical College (YCTC) by the ...

in Maine. In May 2014, he was appointed president of International Horizons College in Dubai.

Personal life

Hall was married to the late Jacqueline Wardell, who ran a community bank in Maine that provided small business loans to women and minorities.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Chris 1956 births Living people People from Coventry Heads of universities and colleges in the United States RIT Kosovo Democratic Party members of the Maine House of Representatives Democratic Party Maine state senators Alumni of the University of Oxford Columbia Business School alumni Politicians from Portland, Maine 21st-century American politicians