The 1960 University of Oxford election for the position of Chancellor was called upon the death of the incumbent Chancellor, Lord Halifax on 23 December 1959. It was the first election for Oxford Chancellor to be contested since 1925.
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Electorate
The electorate consisted of all members of the University holding the rank of MA, of which there were around 30,000 at the time. Votes had to be cast in person at Oxford in academic dress. The election was by first past the post. To stand a candidate had to be nominated by two MAs.
Candidates
At first, the university authorities came up with only one candidate, the wealthy Chairman of Lloyds Bank and former British Ambassador to Washington Sir Oliver Franks.
However, Hugh Trevor-Roper, installed less than three years earlier as Regius Professor of Modern History by the Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, proposed the Prime Minister as an alternative candidate.
Course of the election
Trevor-Roper orchestrated the Macmillan campaign, writing to former students encouraging them to visit Oxford to vote for Macmillan.
Result
The results were as follows: