Lord Chris Smith becomes University of Cambridge chancellor.
"I look forward to being the best possible ambassador for Cambridge, to being a strong voice for higher education more generally, and to working closely together with the vice-chancellor and her team," he added.
For the first time, the election process included online votes, and about 23,000 alumni and staff participated. The former MP served as secretary of state for culture, media and sport for the Labour government between 1997 and 2001.In a statement, he wrote that as part of the election process, he said he was committed to diversity, and described himself as the "first openly gay Cabinet Minister anywhere in the world".He also served as chairman of the Environment Agency between 2008 and 2014, and concurrently chaired the Advertising Standards Authority between 2007 and 2017.Dr Mohamed El-Erian, president of Queens' College, had the second highest amount of votes, followed by Ms Toksvig.
Prof Deborah Prentice, the University of Cambridge vice-chancellor, said: "On behalf of everyone at the University, I offer my warm congratulations to Chris on his election. "I very much look forward to working with him and building on the strong relationship that we have developed since I became vice-chancellor. "Chris has had a long involvement with the University and brings a wealth of relevant experience to this important role."I would like to thank the other nine candidates for standing for the role and their willingness to serve Cambridge."
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