The Universities of Oxford and Cambridge have a long record in educating British Prime Ministers. William Gladstone, Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair all studied at Oxford. In fact, from the first – Robert Walpole – to the last – David Cameron – 41 of Britain’s 55 Prime Ministers went to Oxford or Cambridge. In recent years these two world class universities have also been the alma mater of Prime Ministers and Presidents from all around the globe. Indira Gandhi, Benazir Bhutto and Bill Clinton to name just three. Today, a new name has been added to that list. Mihai Razvan Ungureanu has become the first Oxford University graduate to become Prime Minister of Romania. Congratulations to him, and, yes, congratulations to Oxford too (though it pains me to say it – I went to Cambridge).
Last year, I hosted a reception for all Romanian graduates of Oxford and Cambridge universities. Mihai Razvan Ungureanu was the guest of honour. The other sixty or seventy guests were drawn from all quarters of Romanian life – business, academia, finance, civil service. When I graduated from Cambridge in 1991, there were no Romanians at my university. Now there is a thriving and growing association of students at both universities and of Oxbridge alumni. A testament to how far Romania has come, and to the reach of Oxford and Cambridge Universities. The motto of Mihai Razvan’s college in Oxford puts it very well – ‘Ad quattuor cardines mundi’ (“to the four corners of the earth”). Now including Romania.