# List of University of Exeter people

This is a list of University of Exeter people, including office holders, current and former academics, and alumni of the University of Exeter.
In post-nominals, the University of Exeter is abbreviated as Exon. (from the Latin Exoniensis), and is the suffix given to honorary and academic degrees from the university.

## Chancellors

* Mary Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, GCVO, CBE (1955–1972)
* Derick Heathcoat-Amory, 1st Viscount Amory of Tiverton, KG, PC, GCMG, TD, DL (1972–1981)
* Sir Rex Richards, FRS, FRSC (1982–1998)
* Robert Alexander, Baron Alexander of Weedon, QC, FRSA (1998–2005)
* Floella Benjamin, Baroness Benjamin, OBE (2006–2016)
* Paul Myners, Baron Myners, CBE (2016–2021)
* Sir Michael Barber, (2022-)

## Vice-chancellors

Principals of the University College of the South West of England
* Hector Hetherington (1920-1924)
* Walter Hamilton Moberly (1925–1926)
* John Murray (1926–1951)
* Sir Thomas Taylor (1952–1953)
* Sir James Cook (1954–1955); final Principal, first Vice-Chancellor
Vice-chancellors of the University of Exeter
* Sir James Cook (1955–1966); former Principal, first Vice-Chancellor,
* Sir John Llewellyn (1966–1972)
* Harry Kay (1973–1984)
* Sir David Harrison (1984–1994)
* Sir Geoffrey Holland (1994–2002)
* Sir Steve Smith (2002–2020)
* Professor Lisa Roberts (2020-)

## Notable academics

* Richard Acland, Education
* John Adair, Management (Leadership)
* Omar Ashour, Middle East Studies
* Manuel Barange, Biosciences
* Barry Barnes, Sociology
* Jeremy Black, History
* Barbara Borg, Classical Archaeology
* Adam Curle, Psychology and Education
* Uri Davis, Middle East Studies
* John Dupré, Philosophy
* John Endler, Animal Behaviour
* Edzard Ernst, Complementary Medicine
* Timothy Gorringe, Theology
* Alex Haslam, Psychology
* Philip Hensher, Creative Writing
* Ghada Karmi, Middle East Studies
* Paul Kline, Psychology
* William Lewis, Chemistry
* Alastair Logan, Theology
* Linda Long, Biochemistry
* Richard Lynn, Psychology
* Peter Cox (climatologist), Climatology
* Colin MacCabe, Film Studies
* Moelwyn Merchant, English
* Gerd Nonneman, Middle East Studies
* Richard Overy, History
* Ilan Pappe, Middle East Studies
* Philip Payton, Cornish Studies
* David Rees, Pure Mathematics
* Nicholas Rodger, History
* Roy Sambles, Physics
* Richard Seaford, Classics
* Dikran Tahta, Mathematics educator
* Nick Talbot, FRS, Molecular genetics
* Andrew Thorpe, History
* Malcolm Todd, History
* Sir John Tooke, Medicine
* Garry Tregidga, History
* Paul Webley, Psychology
* Canon Vernon White, Theology (Lecturer and Lazenby Chaplain)
* Michael Winter, Politics
* Ted Wragg, Education
* Tim Lenton, Climatology

## Notable alumni
### Academics

* Sir Michael Berry - mathematical physicist, known for the Berry Phase and recipient of the Ig Nobel Prize for using magnets to levitate a frog
* Iwona Blazwick - OBE, art critic and lecturer
* Stephen J. Ceci - cognitive psychologist - PhD Psychology (1978)
* Imogen Coe - biochemist and Dean of Toronto Metropolitan University
* Rose Ferraby - archaeologist and artist
* Andrew D. Hamilton - former vice-chancellor of the University of Oxford, current president of New York University
* David Maguire - Vice-Chancellor of the University of East Anglia
* Sami Moubayed - historian and writer
* Rachel Owen - photographer, printmaker and lecturer on medieval Italian literature
* Raymond St. Leger - mycologist, entomologist and molecular biologist
* Sir William Wakeham - former vice-chancellor of Southampton University
* Namira Nahouza - French author, academic researcher, university lecturer, teacher of Arabic and religious studies, and research fellow at Cambridge Muslim College
* Max Baker-Hytch - analytic philosopher and fellow of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford.

### Actors and directors

* Samantha Baines - actress and comedian
* Phil Cameron - theatre producer
* Adam Campbell - actor
* Steven Culp - actor
* Stephen Dillane - actor
* Michael Garner - actor
* Nick Hendrix - actor
* Vanessa Kirby - actress
* Jeremy Meadow - theatre director/producer
* Nicholas Pegg - actor/director
* Julian Richings - actor
* Andrew Havill - actor
* Christopher Smith - American actor and improviser
* Elaine Tan - actress

### Business people

* George Hobart-Hampden, 10th Earl of Buckinghamshire - former HSBC executive
* Rachel Burnett - IT lawyer, author and president of the British Computer Society
* Phil Cameron - owner of No.1 Traveller
* Dennis Gillings - CBE, founder of the Fortune 500 company Quintiles
* Sam E. Jonah - president of AngloGold Ashanti
* Toki Mabogunje founder, Toki Mabogunje & Co and the 3rd female president Lagos Chamber of Commerce (LCCI)
* Henry Staunton - media mogul
* Neil Woodford - founder and CEO, Woodford Investment Management
* Sarah Turvill, retired chairman of Willis International

### Entertainers and journalists

* Toby Amies - TV presenter, film-maker
* Katy Ashworth - children's TV chef
* Emma B - Heart 106.2 Drivetime presenter
* Steve Backshall - BBC television presenter
* Nick Baker - wildlife TV expert
* William Bemister - Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaker and journalist
* Raef Bjayou - former contestant on BBC's The Apprentice
* Alison Booker - radio DJ
* John Crace - Guardian features writer
* Tom Deacon - comedian and Radio 1 DJ
* Tim Footman - journalist and author
* Daphne Fowler - game show champion, winner of Fifteen to One, Going for Gold, and Brain of Britain
* Frank Gardner - BBC security correspondent
* Alex George - contestant on season 4 of Love Island UK
* Rhod Gilbert - comedian
* Frank Gillard - broadcaster and BBC executive
* Simon Greenberg - Chelsea FC's Director of Communications
* Lloyd Griffith - comedian, actor and classical singer
* Isabel Hardman - assistant editor of The Spectator
* Stefano Hatfield - former editor of the i
* Lindsey Hilsum - Channel 4 journalist and international editor
* Katie Hopkins - presenter and former contestant on BBC's The Apprentice
* Paul Jackson - television producer
* Jon Kay - television presenter and journalist
* Raph Korine - Runner-up, Big Brother UK 2017
* Ted Kravitz - Formula 1 commentator
* Mark Labbett - Professional quizzer and TV personality on The Chase
* Tim Montgomerie - editor of ConservativeHome
* Clemmie Moodie - Daily Mirror associate features editor
* James Pearce - journalist and presenter for BBC Sport
* Mark Power - journalist and photographer
* Tim Taylor - creator and producer of Channel 4's series Time Team
* Rob Walker - British sports commentator, television presenter and freelance reporter
* Matthew Wright - TV presenter of The Wright Stuff

### Judges, lawyers and law enforcement

* Patrick Kwateng Acheampong - Inspector General of Police of the Ghana Police Service - MA Police Studies and Criminal Justice (1990)
* Steve Edge (lawyer) - Partner at Slaughter and May
* Sir Patrick Elias - Lord Justice of Appeal - LLB (1969)
* Sir John Goldring - Lord Justice of Appeal, and member of the Judicial Appointments Commission
* Tito Karnavian - Current Indonesian National Police chief - MA Police Studies (1993)
* Sir Robert Michael Owen - High Court Judge
* Fiona Shackleton - high-profile divorce lawyer
* Ambiga Sreenevasan - former president of the Malaysian Bar Council and human rights activist
* David Syed - Head of Sovereign Practice at Dentons Europe
* Jeremy Wright - Attorney General for England and Wales
* George L. Savvides - Attorney General of the Republic of Cyprus

### Military personnel

* Admiral Sir Jonathon Band GCB, ADC, formerly the First Sea Lord chief of the Naval Staff (head of the Royal Navy)
* General Sir Patrick Sanders, Chief of the General Staff.
* Lieutenant Colonel Lucy Giles, first female College Commander at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst commanding New College.
* Major General Matthew Holmes, former Commandant General Royal Marines.

### Musicians

* Felix Buxton of Basement Jaxx
* Anthony Drewe - lyricist
* Matthew Herbert - electronic musician
* Hannah Kendall - composer
* Jackie Oates - folk star and multiple BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards winner
* Simon Shackleton - electronic musician
* George Stiles - composer
* Thom Yorke - singer Radiohead
* Will Young - singer and actor
* Call Me Loop - singer and songwriter
* Principal Edwards Magic Theatre - performance artists of the 1960s/70s
* Members of Semi-Toned - all-male A cappella group, winner of Gareth Malone's BBC 2 series The Choir: Gareth's Best in Britain

### Politicians

* Nana Ama Dokua Asiamah Adjei - Member of the Ghanaian Parliament and Deputy Minister of Information
* Nickie Aiken - Conservative MP
* Tonia Antoniazzi - Labour MP
* Tengku Zafrul Aziz - Malaysian Minister of Finance
* Adrian Bailey - Labour MP
* James Brokenshire - Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
* David Burrowes - Conservative MP
* Esra Limbacher - Member of the German federal Parliament Bundestag
* Martin Cauchon - former Minister of Justice in Canada
* Derek Clark - UKIP MEP
* Feryal Clark - Labour MP
* Major James Coldwell - former MP and leader of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation party in Canada.
* Mark Drakeford - First Minister of Wales
* Michael Frendo - Foreign Minister of Malta
* Zewde Gebre-Sellassie - former Deputy Prime Minister of Ethiopia and Minister of Foreign Affairs
* Carl Barrington Greenidge - Former Vice President and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Guyana
* Kate Griffiths - Conservative MP
* Abdullah Gül - former President of Turkey (2007–14)
* Ameenah Gurib - President of Mauritius
* Vilmundur Gylfason - former Icelandic politician, historian and poet
* Robert Halfon - Conservative MP and Deputy Chairperson
* Philip Ian Hope - Labour MP and vocational education minister
* Moussa Ibrahim - spokesman for Gaddafi during the 2011 Libyan civil war
* Bernadette Jagger - Member of the Namibian Parliament and Deputy Minister of Environment and Tourism
* Sajid Javid - Former Chancellor of the Exchequer (2019–2020)
* Sigrid Kaag - Dutch politician and Minister
* Luay al-Khatteeb - Former Minister of Electricity of Iraq
* Jonathan Kwesi Lamptey - Former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of Ghana
* Mark Lancaster - Conservative MP
* Andrew Lansley - Former MP and Former Secretary of State for Health
* Lau Kong Wah - Secretary for Home Affairs of Hong Kong.
* Caroline Lucas - MP and former Co-Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales
* Gabriel Makhlouf - Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland and Former Secretary to the New Zealand Treasury
* Anthony Mangnall - Member of UK Parliament
* Eliud Mathu - First African member of the Legislative Council of Kenya
* Linah Mohohlo - Governor of the Bank of Botswana
* Hind Abdul Rahman al-Muftah - Member of the Qatari Consultative Assembly
* Prem Nababsing - Former Deputy Prime Minister of Mauritius
* Jonny Oates - Chief of Staff to the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg
* Pieter Omtzigt - Member of the Dutch House of Representatives
* Park Jae-kyu - former Unification Minister and National Security Council Chairman of South Korea
* Roy Perry - Conservative Politician and former MEP
* Álvaro Santos Pereira - Former Minister of Economy, Labour, Transport, Public Works and Communications of Portugal
* Luke Pollard - Labour MP
* George L. Savvides - former Minister of Justice and Public Order of the Republic of Cyprus
* Abubakar Boniface Siddique - Member of the Ghanaian Parliament and Minister of State
* Mehmet Simsek - Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey, Minister of Finance (2009–2015)
* Andy Slaughter - Labour MP
* Iain Stewart - Conservative MP for Milton Keynes South
* Abdullah Omran Taryam - First UAE Minister of Justice and Minister of Education, and founder of the newspapers Al Khaleej and Gulf Today
* Robin Teverson - Liberal Democrat MEP and Peer
* Abdirahman Ahmed Ali Tuur - 1st president of Somaliland (1991-1993)
* Jeremy Wright - Attorney General
* Derek Wyatt - Labour MP
* Ahmed Zaki Yamani - former Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources in Saudi Arabia
* Yip Hon Weng - Member of the Parliament of Singapore
* Óscar Iván Zuluaga - nominee for President of Colombia in the 2014 election

### Religion

* Metropolitan Seraphim of Glastonbury - head of the British Orthodox Church
* James Stuart Jones - Bishop of Liverpool - Theology (1970)
* Peter Smith - Archbishop-emeritus of Southwark, Vice-President of the Bishops Conference of England and Wales
* Sadiq Al-Ghariani - Grand Mufti of Libya
* Andrew Williams - bishop of the Anglican Diocese in New England

### Royalty

* Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi - ruler of Sharjah - PhD History (1985)
* Infanta Elena of Spain - eldest daughter of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía - MA Sociology and Education - (1990)
* Peter Phillips - eldest grandson and first grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh - Sport Science (2000)
* Zara Phillips - eldest granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II - Physiotherapy

### Sports people

* Tom Abell - Somerset cricketer
* Mark Bamford - former cricketer
* Andy Beattie - England rugby player
* Richard Capstick - Exeter Chiefs rugby player
* Ben Collins, Formula 3 racing driver, who appeared in Top Gear as the Stig
* Richard Dawson - Yorkshire and England cricketer
* Paul Downton - former England cricketer
* Richard Ellison - former Kent and England cricketer
* Immanuel Feyi-Waboso - Exeter Chiefs and England national team rugby player
* Richard Hill - former England rugby captain
* Lasha Jaiani - Georgian national team rugby player
* Dafydd Jenkins - Exeter Chiefs rugby player and Wales national team captain
* Pete Laverick - Exeter Chiefs rugby player
* Tom Lawday - Harlequins rugby player
* Jack Maunder - Exeter Chiefs rugby player
* Sam Maunder - Exeter Chiefs rugby player
* John Scott - former England national team rugby player
* Henry Slade - Exeter Chiefs and England national team rugby player
* Sam Skinner - Exeter Chiefs and Scotland national team rugby player
* Samantha Smith - tennis player and commentator
* David Sole - former Scottish rugby captain
* Jeff Squire - former Lions and Wales national team rugby player
* Tom Stayt - cricketer
* Arul Suppiah - Malaysia and Somerset cricketer
* Christ Tshiunza - Exeter Chiefs and Wales national team rugby player
* Gerald Trump - cricketer and schoolteacher
* Ross Vintcent - Exeter Chiefs and Italian national team rugby player
* Matthew Wheeler - former Northamptonshire cricketer

### Writers and artists

* Nina Allan - author of speculative fiction and winner of the Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire for Best Foreign Novel in 2014
* Steve Bell - cartoonist (PGCE 1975, St Luke's)
* Alice Birch - playwright and screenwriter
* Robert Bolt - Oscar and BAFTA-winning playwright and screenwriter
* Nick Burbridge - author of poetry, plays, novels and songs; founder of folk-rock band McDermott's Two Hours
* Stanley Donwood (aka Dan Rickwood) - artist and writer
* Jon Edgar - sculptor
* David Eldridge - playwright
* Milly Johnson - author
* Santa Montefiore - author
* Abi Morgan - screenwriter
* Ian Mortimer - historian and historical biographer
* Roger Nash - philosopher and poet
* Suniti Namjoshi - writer
* John O'Farrell - author
* Primrose Pitman - artist
* Mark Power - photographer
* J. K. Rowling - author of the Harry Potter books - BA French and Classics
* Robert Shearman - playwright, short story writer and screenwriter (including Doctor Who episode Dalek (2005))
* Robert Sloman - playwright and writer for Doctor Who in the 1970s
* Carol Shields - author and Pulitzer Prize winner
* Zoë Skoulding - poet
* Lady Teresa Waugh - novelist
* William John Seward Webber sculptor, attended Exeter School of Art

### Others

* Belabbes Benkredda - Algerian-German social innovator, founder of The Munathara Initiative, and 2013 NDI Democracy Award recipient
* Laurie Brokenshire - Commodore and puzzle specialist
* Laury Haytayan - MENA officer in the Natural Resource Charter framework, and civil activist in Lebanon
* Dame Suzi Leather - Chairwoman of the Charity Commission
* Catherine Nettleton CMG OBE - Senior British diplomat
* Tuppy Owens - sexuality campaigner

### Fictional alumni

* Debbie Aldridge - character in radio soap opera The Archers, played by Tamsin Greig