Past elected presidents of the
Oxford Union are listed below, with their college and the year/term in which they served. ''Iterum'' indicates that a person was serving a second term as president (which is not possible under the current Union rules).
Key
Presidents of the United Debating Society
These are the Presidents as listed
Presidents of the Oxford Union Society
1826–1831
These are the presidents as listed
1831–1850
1850–1875
1875–1900
1900–1925
1925–1950
1950–1975
1975–2000
2000–present
Other notable officeholders
The 3rd Marquess of Salisbury was Union Secretary in Michaelmas 1848.
Harold Macmillan
Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986) was a British Conservative statesman and politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Caricatured as "Supermac", he ...
was Secretary of the Union in Hilary 1914, then Junior Treasurer (elected unopposed, which was then very unusual) in Trinity 1914; but for the war he would "almost certainly" have been President.
S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike
Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike ( si, සොලොමන් වෙස්ට් රිජ්වේ ඩයස් බණ්ඩාරනායක; ta, சாலமன் வெஸ்ட் ரிட்ஜ்வே டயஸ் ப ...
was Treasurer in Trinity 1924.
was Librarian in 1931.
was Treasurer in 1972, after having served as Secretary the previous year.
Jacob Rees-Mogg
Jacob William Rees-Mogg (born 24 May 1969) is a British politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for North East Somerset since 2010. Now a backbencher, he served as Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council ...
was Librarian in 1990, losing the election for the presidency to future Education Secretary
Damian Hinds
Damian Patrick George Hinds (born 27 November 1969) is a British politician serving as Minister of State for Prisons, Parole and Probation since October 2022. He served as Secretary of State for Education from 2018 to 2019 and Minister of Stat ...
.
In fiction
*
Simon Kerslake
''First Among Equals'' is a 1984 novel by British author Jeffrey Archer, which follows the careers and personal lives of four fictional British politicians (Simon Kerslake, MP for Coventry Central and later Pucklebridge; Charles Seymour, MP for ...
(early 1950s), protagonist of the
Jeffrey Archer novel ''
First Among Equals'' invites sitting Prime Minister
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
to propose the motion during
Eights Week
Eights Week, also known as Summer Eights, is a four-day regatta of bumps races which constitutes the University of Oxford's main intercollegiate rowing event of the year. The regatta takes place in May of each year, from the Wednesday to the ...
that "This House Would Rather be a Commoner than a Lord". His future rival, The Hon. Charles Seymour listens from the floor and resolves to enter politics also. Archer himself was elected to Standing Committee for one term in 1965.
Notes
References
;Bibliography
*
*Hollis, Christopher. The Oxford Union. London: Evans, 1965.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Presidents of the Oxford Union
Presidents