# List of presidents of the Institution of Civil Engineers

This is a list of presidents of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE). The president's role is to represent the institution and to promote the profession to the public. The first president was Thomas Telford who had the office bestowed upon him for life in recognition of his contributions to the civil engineering profession. It became a biennial office with the election of Sir William Cubitt in 1849 and an annual office with the election of Sir George Berkley in 1891, which it has remained since.
On 18 December 1956 Harold Gourley died just six weeks after assuming the office in November. Gourley was the first regularly elected president to die in office (Telford, who was elected president for life, died in office) and the ICE council, who were authorised to fill any vacancy except that of President, were forced to call a Special General Meeting of members. As a result of this meeting, Sir Frederick Arthur Whitaker was elected to the position in February 1957 and was allowed to serve out the remainder of Gourley's term in addition to his own full term. Subsequent deaths-in-office saw Sir Herbert Manzoni succeed Arthur Hartley in February 1960; and Tony Ridley succeed Edmund Hambly in March 1995.
Current practice is for candidates to be nominated by the ICE Presidential Selection Panel. The candidate will then serve as one of several vice-presidents of the institution, becoming senior vice-president in the session preceding their term as president. The candidate is formally elected as president by the ICE council in the January of their senior vice-presidential term. The new president takes office at the start of the ICE session in November, the opening meeting being an address from the incoming president.
The first female president, Jean Venables, was elected in 2008, the second, Rachel Skinner, in 2020 and the third, Anusha Shah, in 2023.
| No. | Name | Took office | Left office |
| 1 | Thomas Telford | March 1820 | September 1834 |
| 2 | James Walker | January 1835 | January 1845 |
| 3 | Sir John Rennie | January 1845 | January 1848 |
| 4 | Joshua Field | January 1848 | December 1849 |
| 5 | Sir William Cubitt | December 1849 | December 1851 |
| 6 | James Meadows Rendel | December 1851 | December 1853 |
| 7 | James Simpson | December 1853 | December 1855 |
| 8 | Robert Stephenson | December 1855 | December 1857 |
| 9 | Joseph Locke | December 1857 | December 1859 |
| 10 | George Parker Bidder | December 1859 | December 1861 |
| 11 | Sir John Hawkshaw | December 1861 | December 1863 |
| 12 | John Robinson McClean | December 1863 | December 1865 |
| 13 | Sir John Fowler | December 1865 | December 1867 |
| 14 | Sir Charles Hutton Gregory | December 1867 | December 1869 |
| 15 | Charles Blacker Vignoles | December 1869 | December 1871 |
| 16 | Thomas Hawksley | December 1871 | December 1873 |
| 17 | Thomas Elliott Harrison | December 1873 | December 1875 |
| 18 | George Robert Stephenson | December 1875 | December 1877 |
| 19 | John Frederic La Trobe Bateman | December 1877 | December 1879 |
| 20 | William Henry Barlow | December 1879 | December 1880 |
| 21 | James Abernethy | December 1880 | December 1881 |
| 22 | Lord Armstrong | December 1881 | December 1882 |
| 23 | Sir James Brunlees | December 1882 | December 1883 |
| 24 | Sir Joseph Bazalgette | December 1883 | December 1884 |
| 25 | Sir Frederick Bramwell | December 1884 | May 1886 |
| 26 | Edward Woods | May 1886 | June 1887 |
| 27 | Sir George Barclay Bruce | June 1887 | May 1889 |
| 28 | Sir John Coode | May 1889 | May 1891 |
| 29 | Sir George Berkley | May 1891 | May 1892 |
| 30 | Harrison Hayter | May 1892 | May 1893 |
| 31 | Alfred Giles | May 1893 | May 1894 |
| 32 | Sir Robert Rawlinson | May 1894 | May 1895 |
| 33 | Sir Benjamin Baker | May 1895 | June 1896 |
| 34 | Sir John Wolfe-Barry | June 1896 | April 1898 |
| 35 | Sir William Henry Preece | April 1898 | November 1899 |
| 36 | Sir Douglas Fox | November 1899 | November 1900 |
| 37 | James Mansergh | November 1900 | November 1901 |
| 38 | Charles Hawksley | November 1901 | November 1902 |
| 39 | John Clarke Hawkshaw | November 1902 | November 1903 |
| 40 | Sir William Henry White | November 1903 | November 1904 |
| 41 | Sir Guilford Lindsey Molesworth | November 1904 | November 1905 |
| 42 | Sir Alexander Binnie | November 1905 | November 1906 |
| 43 | Sir Alexander Kennedy | November 1906 | November 1907 |
| 44 | Sir William Matthews | November 1907 | November 1908 |
| 45 | Sir James Charles Inglis | November 1908 | November 1910 |
| 46 | Sir Alexander Siemens | November 1910 | November 1911 |
| 47 | William Unwin | November 1911 | November 1912 |
| 48 | Sir Robert Elliott-Cooper | November 1912 | November 1913 |
| 49 | Anthony George Lyster | November 1913 | November 1914 |
| 50 | Benjamin Hall Blyth | November 1914 | November 1915 |
| 51 | Alexander Ross | November 1915 | November 1916 |
| 52 | Sir Maurice Fitzmaurice | November 1916 | November 1917 |
| 53 | Harry Edward Jones | November 1917 | November 1918 |
| 54 | Sir John Aspinall | November 1918 | November 1919 |
| 55 | Sir John Griffith | November 1919 | November 1920 |
| 56 | John Alexander Brodie | November 1920 | November 1921 |
| 57 | William Barton Worthington | November 1921 | November 1922 |
| 58 | William Maw | November 1922 | November 1923 |
| 59 | Sir Charles Langbridge Morgan | November 1923 | November 1924 |
| 60 | Sir Basil Mott | November 1924 | November 1925 |
| 61 | Sir William Henry Ellis | November 1925 | November 1926 |
| 62 | Sir Frederick Palmer | November 1926 | November 1927 |
| 63 | Ernest Crosbie Trench | November 1927 | November 1928 |
| 64 | Sir Brodie Henderson | November 1928 | November 1929 |
| 65 | William Grierson | November 1929 | November 1930 |
| 66 | Sir George William Humphreys | November 1930 | November 1931 |
| 67 | Sir Cyril Kirkpatrick | November 1931 | November 1932 |
| 68 | Sir Murdoch MacDonald | November 1932 | November 1933 |
| 69 | Sir Henry Maybury | November 1933 | November 1934 |
| 70 | Sir Richard Redmayne | November 1934 | November 1935 |
| 71 | John Duncan Watson | November 1935 | November 1936 |
| 72 | Brigadier-General Sir Alexander Gibb | November 1936 | November 1937 |
| 73 | Sydney Donkin | November 1937 | November 1938 |
| 74 | William James Eames Binnie | November 1938 | November 1939 |
| 75 | Sir Clement Hindley | November 1939 | November 1940 |
| 76 | Sir Leopold Halliday Savile | November 1940 | November 1941 |
| 77 | Sir Charles Inglis | November 1941 | November 1942 |
| 78 | Sir John Edward Thornycroft | November 1942 | November 1943 |
| 79 | Sir David Anderson | November 1943 | November 1944 |
| 80 | Francis Wentworth-Shields | November 1944 | November 1945 |
| 81 | Sir Thomas Peirson Frank | November 1945 | November 1946 |
| 82 | Sir William Halcrow | November 1946 | November 1947 |
| 83 | Sir Roger Gaskell Hetherington | November 1947 | November 1948 |
| 84 | Sir Jonathan Davidson | November 1948 | November 1949 |
| 85 | Vernon Robertson | November 1949 | November 1950 |
| 86 | Sir William Glanville | November 1950 | November 1951 |
| 87 | Sir Allan Stephen Quartermaine | November 1951 | November 1952 |
| 88 | Henry Cronin | November 1952 | November 1953 |
| 89 | Wilfred Shepherd-Barron | November 1953 | November 1954 |
| 90 | David Mowat Watson | November 1954 | November 1955 |
| 91 | William Kelly Wallace | November 1955 | November 1956 |
| 92 | Harold Gourley | November 1956 | January 1957 |
| 93 | Sir Frederick Arthur Whitaker | January 1957 | November 1958 |
| 94 | Alfred Pippard | November 1958 | November 1959 |
| 95 | Arthur Hartley | November 1959 | February 1960 |
| 96 | Sir Herbert Manzoni | February 1960 | November 1961 |
| 97 | Sir George Matthew McNaughton | November 1961 | November 1962 |
| 98 | Reginald William Mountain | November 1962 | November 1963 |
| 99 | Sir Harold Harding | November 1963 | November 1964 |
| 100 | Sir Robert Wynne-Edwards | November 1964 | November 1965 |
| 101 | James Arthur Banks | November 1965 | November 1966 |
| 102 | Sir Ralph Freeman | November 1966 | November 1967 |
| 103 | Sir Hubert Shirley-Smith | November 1967 | November 1968 |
| 104 | John Holmes Jellett | November 1968 | November 1969 |
| 105 | Angus Fulton | November 1969 | November 1970 |
| 106 | Sir Angus Paton | November 1970 | November 1971 |
| 107 | George Ambler Wilson | November 1971 | November 1972 |
| 108 | Roger Le Geyt Hetherington | November 1972 | November 1973 |
| 109 | Sir Kirby Laing | November 1973 | November 1974 |
| 110 | Sir William Gordon Harris | November 1974 | November 1975 |
| 111 | Sir Norman Rowntree | November 1975 | November 1976 |
| 112 | John Walter Baxter | November 1976 | November 1977 |
| 113 | Sir Alan Muir Wood | November 1977 | November 1978 |
| 114 | Reginald Coates | November 1978 | November 1979 |
| 115 | William George Nicholson Geddes | November 1979 | November 1980 |
| 116 | Peter Arthur Cox | November 1980 | November 1981 |
| 117 | Ian MacDonald Campbell | November 1981 | November 1982 |
| 118 | John Vernon Bartlett | November 1982 | November 1983 |
| 119 | James Anthony Gaffney | November 1983 | November 1984 |
| 120 | John Anthony Derrington | November 1984 | November 1985 |
| 121 | Donald Reeve | November 1985 | November 1986 |
| 122 | David Gwilym Morris Roberts | November 1986 | November 1987 |
| 123 | Sir William Francis | November 1987 | November 1988 |
| 124 | Alastair Craig Paterson | November 1988 | November 1989 |
| 125 | Peter Frank Stott | November 1989 | November 1990 |
| 126 | Roy Thomas Severn | November 1990 | November 1991 |
| 127 | Robin Lee Wilson | November 1991 | November 1992 |
| 128 | Michael Norman Tizard Cottell | November 1992 | November 1993 |
| 129 | Stuart Mustow | November 1993 | November 1994 |
| 130 | Edmund Hambly | November 1994 | March 1995 |
| 131 | Tony Ridley | March 1995 | November 1996 |
| 132 | David Green | November 1996 | November 1997 |
| 133 | Alan Cockshaw | November 1997 | November 1998 |
| 134 | Roger Norman Sainsbury | November 1998 | November 1999 |
| 135 | George Fleming | November 1999 | November 2000 |
| 136 | Sir Joseph Dwyer | November 2000 | November 2001 |
| 137 | Mark Whitby | November 2001 | November 2002 |
| 138 | Adrian Long | November 2002 | November 2003 |
| 139 | Douglas Oakervee | November 2003 | November 2004 |
| 140 | Colin Clinton | November 2004 | November 2005 |
| 141 | Gordon Grier Thomson Masterton | November 2005 | November 2006 |
| 142 | Quentin John Leiper | November 2006 | November 2007 |
| 143 | David Malcolm Orr | November 2007 | November 2008 |
| 144 | Jean Venables | November 2008 | November 2009 |
| 145 | Paul William Jowitt | November 2009 | November 2010 |
| 146 | Peter Hansford | November 2010 | November 2011 |
| 147 | Richard Coackley | November 2011 | November 2012 |
| 148 | Barry Clarke | November 2012 | November 2013 |
| 149 | Geoff French | November 2013 | November 2014 |
| 150 | David Balmforth | November 2014 | November 2015 |
| 151 | Sir John Armitt | November 2015 | November 2016 |
| 152 | Tim Broyd | November 2016 | November 2017 |
| 153 | Robert Mair, Baron Mair | November 2017 | November 2018 |
| 154 | Andrew Wyllie | November 2018 | November 2019 |
| 155 | Paul Sheffield | November 2019 | November 2020 |
| 156 | Rachel Skinner | November 2020 | November 2021 |
| 157 | Ed McCann | November 2021 | November 2022 |
| 158 | Keith Howells | November 2022 | November 2023 |
| 159 | Anusha Shah | November 2023 | November 2024 |
| 160 | Jim Hall | November 2024 | Incumbent |