
The Lord Rector of The University of Edinburgh is elected every three years by the students and staff at
The University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI ...
. Seldom referred to as ''Lord Rector'', the incumbent is more commonly known just as the ''Rector''.
Role
The Rector chairs the University's highest governing body, the University Court; in addition the Rector chairs meetings of the General Council in the absence of the Chancellor. In more recent years the role has included a function akin to that of an
ombudsperson
An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...
for the university community. In their position, the Rector can exert considerable influence in Court and in the body politic of the University. They can be well-informed about student and staff issues and concerns, can champion their causes, and can make sure that these issues are fully aired in Court.
History
The position of
Rector
Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to:
Style or title
*Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations
*Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
, along with the positions of Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor, was only created in 1858. Prior to this, the University was governed by the
Lord Provost, Magistrates, and town council of Edinburgh.
The rector's place in the university was codified by statute of the
Westminster Parliament
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the Parliamentary sovereignty in the United Kingdom, supreme Legislature, legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of We ...
, the
Universities (Scotland) Act 1889
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...
, which provided for the election of a Rector at all universities then in existence in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...
. To this day only the
ancient universities
The ancient universities are British and Irish medieval universities and early modern universities founded before the year 1600. Four of these are located in Scotland, two in England, and one in Ireland. The ancient universities in Britain and I ...
of Edinburgh,
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...
,
Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), ...
and
St Andrews
St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's four ...
plus the newer
Dundee, elect a Rector; the 20th century universities do not.
In 1935 students went to great lengths to invite Russian revolutionary
Leon Trotsky
Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian M ...
to become Rector, Trotsky turned down the offer stating: "The elections to the rectorate are conducted on a non-political basis and your letter itself is signed by representatives of every political tendency. But I myself occupy too definite a political position. …
could notappear on any public tribune not under the Bolshevik banner."
Successful candidates are typically well-known figures with some connection to the city.
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chance ...
was unusual in being elected at the age of 21 while still a student, several years before he became politically prominent.
List of rectors
Rectors in the 17th century
The post of Rector was separated from that of
Principal
Principal may refer to:
Title or rank
* Principal (academia), the chief executive of a university
** Principal (education), the office holder/ or boss in any school
* Principal (civil service) or principal officer, the senior management level in ...
in 1620.
*1620
Andrew Ramsay (1st term, resigned 1626)
*1627
Sir Alexander Morison
Sir Alexander Morison M.D. (1 May 1779 – 14 March 1866) was a Scottish physician and alienist (psychiatrist).
Life
Morison was born at Anchorfield, near Edinburgh, and was educated at Edinburgh High School and the University of Edinbur ...
*1631 ''Vacant''
*1640
Alexander Henderson
*1646
Andrew Ramsay (2nd term, ejected 1648)
*1649
Robert Douglas
In 1665, the Town Council of Edinburgh resolved that the role of Rector should rest thereafter with the
Lord Provost of Edinburgh
The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Edinburgh is the convener of the City of Edinburgh local authority, who is elected by the city council and serves not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the entire city, ex officio ...
.
(The then Lord Provost was
Andrew Ramsay, son of Andrew Ramsay, who had served twice as rector.)
Rectors since the Universities (Scotland Act) 1858
The position of rector was recreated by the Universities (Scotland Act) 1858. Rectors of the university have been:
*1859
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-con ...
*1865
Thomas Carlyle
Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher. A leading writer of the Victorian era, he exerted a profound influence on 19th-century art, literature and philosophy.
Born in Ecclefechan, ...
*1868
Sir James Moncreiff
*1871
Sir William Stirling-Maxwell
*1874
The Earl of Derby
Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, (29 March 1799 – 23 October 1869, known before 1834 as Edward Stanley, and from 1834 to 1851 as Lord Stanley) was a British statesman, three-time Prime Minister of the United Kingdom ...
*1877
The Marquess of Hartington
*1880
The Earl of Rosebery
Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, 1st Earl of Midlothian, (7 May 1847 – 21 May 1929) was a British Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from March 1894 to June 1895. Between the death ...
*1883
Sir Stafford Northcote
Stafford Henry Northcote, 1st Earl of Iddesleigh (27 October 1818 – 12 January 1887), known as Sir Stafford Northcote, Bt from 1851 to 1885, was a British Conservative politician. He served as Chancellor of the Exchequer between 1874 and 1 ...
(from 1885
Earl of Iddesleigh
Earl of Iddesleigh ( ), in the County of Devon, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1885 for the Conservative politician Sir Stafford Northcote, 8th Baronet, of Pynes in the parish of Upton Pyne near Exeter i ...
)
*1887
The Marquess of Lothian
*1890
George Goschen
*1893
James Robertson
*1896
The Lord Balfour of Burleigh
*1899
The Marquess of Dufferin and Ava
*1902 Sir
Robert Finlay
*1905
Richard Haldane
*1908
George Wyndham
George Wyndham, PC (29 August 1863 – 8 June 1913) was a British Conservative politician, statesman, man of letters, and one of The Souls.
Background and education
Wyndham was the elder son of the Honourable Percy Wyndham, third son of G ...
*1911
The Earl of Minto
Earl of Minto, in the County of Roxburgh, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1813 for Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Baron Minto. The current earl is Gilbert Timothy George Lariston Elliot-Murray-Kynynm ...
*1914
Field Marshal
Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered a ...
The Earl Kitchener
*1917
Admiral Sir David Beatty
Admiral of the Fleet David Richard Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty (17 January 1871 – 12 March 1936) was a Royal Navy officer. After serving in the Mahdist War and then the response to the Boxer Rebellion, he commanded the 1st Battlecruiser Squadro ...
(promoted
Admiral of the Fleet in May 1919 and created
Earl Beatty
Earl Beatty is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1919 for the prominent naval commander Admiral of the Fleet Sir David Beatty. He was created Baron Beatty, of the North Sea and of Brooksby in the County of Leices ...
in Oct. 1919).
*1920
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during ...
*1923
Stanley Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, (3 August 186714 December 1947) was a British Conservative Party politician who dominated the government of the United Kingdom between the world wars, serving as Prime Minister of the United Kingd ...
*1926
Sir John Gilmour
*1929
Winston Churchill
*1932
General
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...
Sir
Ian Hamilton
*1935
Field Marshal
Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered a ...
The 1st Viscount Allenby
*1936 Sir
H. J. C. Grierson
Sir Herbert John Clifford Grierson, FBA (16 January 1866 – 19 February 1960) was a Scottish literary scholar, editor, and literary critic.
Life and work
He was born in Lerwick, Shetland, on 16 January 1866. He was the son of Andrew John Grie ...
*1939 Sir
John Donald Pollock
Sir John Donald Pollock FRSE LLD (23 November 1868 – 4 June 1962) was a Scottish physician, industrialist and philanthropist who served as Rector of the University of Edinburgh from 1939 to 1945 and gave land to the University to build halls of ...
*1945
Admiral of the Fleet The Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope
*1948
Alastair Sim
Alastair George Bell Sim, CBE (9 October 1900 – 19 August 1976) was a Scottish character actor who began his theatrical career at the age of thirty and quickly became established as a popular West End performer, remaining so until his d ...
*1951 Sir
Alexander Fleming
*1954 Sir
Sydney A. Smith
*1957
James Robertson Justice
James Robertson Justice (15 June 1907 – 2 July 1975) was a British actor. He is best remembered for portraying pompous authority figures in comedies including each of the seven films in the ''Doctor'' series. He also co-starred with Grego ...
*1960
Jo Grimond
Joseph Grimond, Baron Grimond, (; 29 July 1913 – 24 October 1993), known as Jo Grimond, was a British politician, leader of the Liberal Party for eleven years from 1956 to 1967 and again briefly on an interim basis in 1976.
Grimond was a l ...
*1963
James Robertson Justice
James Robertson Justice (15 June 1907 – 2 July 1975) was a British actor. He is best remembered for portraying pompous authority figures in comedies including each of the seven films in the ''Doctor'' series. He also co-starred with Grego ...
*1966
Malcolm Muggeridge
Thomas Malcolm Muggeridge (24 March 1903 – 14 November 1990) was an English journalist and satirist. His father, H. T. Muggeridge, was a socialist politician and one of the early Labour Party Members of Parliament (for Romford, in Essex). In ...
(resigned 1968)
*1968
Kenneth Allsop
Kenneth Allsop (29 January 1920 – 23 May 1973) was a British broadcaster, author and naturalist.
Early life
Allsop was born on 29 January 1920 in Holbeck, Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire.
He was married in St Peter's Church, Ealing, i ...
*1971
Jonathan W. G. Wills
Jonathan Witney Garriock Wills (born 17 June 1947, in Oxford), is a Scottish journalist, author and former editor of '' The Shetland Times'' newspaper. In 1996, Wills's company was sued by the newspaper for deep linking.
Career
Wills is chiefly ...
*1972
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chance ...
*1975
Magnus Magnusson
Magnus Magnusson, (born Magnús Sigursteinsson; 12 October 1929 – 7 January 2007) was an Icelandic-born British-based journalist, translator, writer and television presenter. Born in Reykjavík, he lived in Scotland for almost all his life, a ...
*1979
Fr. Anthony Ross
Anthony Ross (born Rosenthal, February 23, 1909 – October 26, 1955) was an American character actor whose career extended to Broadway stage, television and film.
Born in New York City, Ross was the son of Charles M. Rosenthal and Cora S. Rose ...
*1982
David Steel
David Martin Scott Steel, Baron Steel of Aikwood, (born 31 March 1938) is a British politician. Elected as Member of Parliament for Roxburgh, Selkirk, and Peebles, followed by Tweeddale, Ettrick, and Lauderdale, he served as the final leade ...
*1985
Archie Macpherson
Archibald "Archie" Macpherson (born 1937) is a Scottish football commentator and author.
He has been commentating on Scottish football, via both radio and television, for over four decades.
Early life
Macpherson was born and raised in th ...
*1988
Muriel Gray
Muriel Janet Gray FRSE (born 30 August 1958) is a Scottish author, broadcaster and journalist. She came to public notice as an interviewer on Channel 4's alternative pop-show ''The Tube'', and then appeared as a regular presenter on BBC radi ...
*1991
Donnie Munro
Donnie Munro (Scottish Gaelic: Donaidh Rothach /dɔnɪ rɔhəx/) (born 2 August 1953) is a Scottish musician, and former lead singer of the band Runrig.
A native speaker of Scots Gaelic, much of his work is in that language.
Early life
Munro ...
*1994
Malcolm Macleod
Malcolm Macleod (born in Edinburgh in 1965) is a Scottish neurologist and translational neuroscientist.
Biography
Macleod spent his early years in Achiltibuie and Inverness. He attended the Leachkin Primary School, Jedburgh Grammar School and ...
*1997
John Mark Colquhoun
John Mark Colquhoun (born 14 July 1963) is a Scottish footballer who played for Stirling Albion, Celtic, Hearts, Sunderland, Millwall and St Johnstone.
Playing history
A slightly-built but very pacy striker, Colquhoun was a popular and proli ...
*2000
Robin Harper
Robin Charles Moreton Harper, (born 4 August 1940) is a Scottish politician, who was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Lothians region (1999–2011). He was co-convener of the Scottish Greens (2004–2008). Harper became an MSP ...
*2003 Sir
Tam Dalyell
Sir Thomas Dalyell, 11th Baronet, , ( ; 9 August 1932 – 26 January 2017), known as Tam Dalyell, was a Scottish Labour Party politician who was a member of the House of Commons from 1962 to 2005. He represented West Lothian from 1962 to 1983, ...
*2006
Mark Ballard
Mark Ballard (born 27 June 1971) is a former Scottish Green Party politician. He was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Lothians region from 2003 to 2007, and co-convener of the Edinburgh Green Party from 2007 to 2010. He was Lo ...
*2009
Iain Macwhirter
Iain Macwhirter (born September 1952) is a Scottish political journalist. He is a political commentator for several newspapers, an author and documentary film and radio presenter and a former Rector of Edinburgh University. He has worked at both ...
*2012
Peter McColl
Peter McColl (born 9 May 1980) is a political campaigner and writer who was Rector of the University of Edinburgh 2012–2015. He has been involved with charity work and is editor of the progressive blog Bright Green.
Early life
McColl was ...
*2015
Steve Morrison
*2018
Ann Henderson Ann Henderson may refer to:
* Ann Henderson (sculptor) (1921–1976), Scottish sculptor
*Ann Henderson (politician) (1941–2002), Australian politician
* Ann Henderson (campaigner), Scottish labour campaigner and rector of the University of Edinbur ...
*2021
Debora Kayembe
Debora Kayembe Buba (born in April 1975) is a Scottish human rights lawyer and political activist. She has served on the board of the Scottish Refugee Council, and is a member of the office of the prosecutor at the International Criminal Court an ...
References
External links
*
Interview with Gordon Brown as Rector
Bibliography
*
*
*
{{University of Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...