LMH Alumna Baroness Manningham-Buller Appointed Fellow of the Royal Society

The Royal Society is the UK’s national academy of sciences, which exists to recognise, promote and support excellence in science, and to encourage its use for the benefit of humanity. The Fellowship of the Royal Society includes leading scientists, engineers and technologists from the UK and around the world.

After completing her studies at LMH, Baroness Manningham-Buller taught for three years before joining the Security Service (MI5) in 1974. Over the course of her 33-year career, she held a range of operational and leadership roles. These included leading the Service’s investigation into the Lockerbie bombing, responsibility for intelligence on Irish republican terrorism in mainland Britain, and serving as senior liaison to the US intelligence community in Washington. She became Deputy Director-General, in charge of operations, in 1997, and Director-General in 2002, at a time when the Service had been given the budget to almost double in size in response to the threat from Islamist terrorism. 

Since leaving MI5 in 2007, Baroness Manningham-Buller has held a number of roles in science, health and public service. She joined the House of Lords as a crossbench peer in 2008 and chaired the Wellcome Trust from 2015 to 2021. She also chaired the Council of Imperial College London and served as co-president of Chatham House. In the Lords, Baroness Manningham-Buller most recently chaired the Conduct Committee and is currently chair of a year-long Select Committee on social mobility. In 2024, she was appointed Chancellor of the Order of the Garter by King Charles III.

Baroness Manningham-Buller’s election as a Fellow of the Royal Society is reflective of her significant contributions across science, health, and public life.