ICE names William Hague as incoming chairman of European unit

NEW YORK, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Exchange and clearing house operator Intercontinental Exchange Inc (NYSE: ICE - news) said on Thursday it has appointed former UK foreign minister William Hague to its board of directors and that he will become chairman of ICE Futures Europe in 2016.

Hague, who was member of the UK Parliament from 1989 until his retirement this year, was leader of the Conservative Party from 1997 to 2001 and was foreign secretary between 2010 and 2014.

"Our markets will benefit from Mr. Hague's private and public sector expertise as we seek to continue to grow by serving our customers in new ways," Jeffrey Sprecher, chief executive officer of ICE, said in a statement.

Hague will take over the chairmanship of ICE Futures Europe in January from Bob Reid, who is retiring.

ICE Futures Europe began as the International Petroleum Exchange in 1981. The multi-asset derivative exchange, which trades crude and refined oil futures benchmarks, as well as other commodities and futures contracts, was taken over by ICE in 2001.

(Reporting by John McCrank Editing by W Simon)