Very few conflicts in the history of the world have been satisfactorily concluded according to a published timetable, because you lose all flexibility in dealing with your opponents.

Hague rose through the ranks of John Major's government and entered the Cabinet in 1995 as the Secretary of State for Wales. In Parliament he has represented the constituency of Richmond (Yorks) since 1989. After David Cameron was elected leader of the Conservative Party in 2005 Hague returned to front line politics as shadow foreign secretary.