Lord Smith’s Admission as Master of Pembroke

Following the retirement of Sir Richard Dearlove this summer, Pembroke is pleased to welcome Lord Chris Smith as the fifty-fourth Master of College. Lord Smith's admission took place last night (1st October) in the College Chapel. Eighty-three members of the Fellowship attended the ceremony, which was conducted by Professor Nick Davies. The evening was marked by beautiful autumn sunshine.

Lord Smith matriculated at Pembroke in 1969, graduating with a first-class honours degree in English. He subsequently completed his PhD here and was made an Honorary Fellow in 2004. He served as an MP from 1983 until 2005, when he was appointed to the House of Lords as Baron Smith of Finsbury. Among his most recent and current roles, he was Chair of the Environment Agency and remains Chair of the Advertising Standards Authority. In his spare time, Lord Smith enjoys mountaineering; he was the first MP to climb all of the 'Munro' mountains in Scotland.

Photo by Nigel Luckhurst; article by Katie McIvor, College Recorder