On 6 December 2005, David Cameron was elected Leader of the Conservative Party. Hague was offered and accepted the role of Shadow Foreign Secretary and Senior Member of the Shadow cabinet, effectively serving as Cameron's deputy (though not formally, unlike previous Deputy Conservative Leaders Willie Whitelaw, Peter Lilley and Michael Ancram). He had been widely tipped to return to the frontbench under either Cameron or leadership contest runner-up David Davis.
On 6 December 2005, David Cameron was elected Leader of the Conservative Party. Hague was offered and accepted the role of Shadow Foreign Secretary and Senior Member of the Shadow cabinet effectively serving as Cameron's deputy (though not formally, unlike previous Deputy Conservative Leaders Willie Whitelaw Peter Lilley and Michael Ancram). He had been widely tipped to return to the frontbench under either Cameron or leadership contest runner-up David Davis.