The following people spent time at the University of London as either teaching staff or students. In 2015 there were a total of around 2 million University of London alumni across the world.
Until year 2008, all colleges within the federal collegiate system, solely awarded a University of London degree. From 2003 onwards some colleges received their own degree-awarding powers. However, these were held in abeyance until 2008, when a number of colleges began to award their own degrees.
Nobel laureates
There are a total of 84 Nobel laureates who were either students or staff members at the University of London. Their respective college or colleges is shown in parenthesis. The following table shows the number of Nobel laureates from each college:
There are also many non-formal graduates of the University of London who have been awarded honorary degrees and doctorates to Nobel Laureates. Notable names include Amartya Sen (Hon. DSc), Shirin Ebadi (Hon. LLD), George Akerlof (Hon. DSc), Robert Mundell (Hon. DSc), Muhammad Yunus (Hon. DSc)
Politicians
Presidents and prime ministers
- Aung San Suu Kyi â incumbent State Counsellor of Myanmar (SOAS)
- TarÃ
 AsÃ
 â former prime minister of Japan (2008âÂÂ2009); deputy prime minister and Minister of Finance (2012âÂÂ2021)
- Clement Attlee â prime minister of the United Kingdom (CITY)
- H. H. Asquith â prime minister of the United Kingdom (CITY)
- Hossein Ala' â prime minister of Iran
- Harmodio Arias â president of Panama, 1932âÂÂ1936 (LSE)
- ÃÂscar Arias â president of Costa Rica, 1986âÂÂ1990, 2006âÂÂpresent (LSE)
- Marouf al-Bakhit â prime minister of Jordan, 2005âÂÂ2007 (KCL)
- Errol Walton Barrow â prime minister of Barbados, 1962âÂÂ1966, 1966âÂÂ1976, 1986âÂÂ1987 (LSE)
- Sükhbaataryn Batbold â prime minister of Mongolia, 2009âÂÂpresent (LBS)
- Abd ar-Rahman al-Bazzaz â prime minister of Iraq, 1965âÂÂ1966 (KCL)
- Marek Belka â prime minister of Poland, 2004âÂÂ2005 (LSE)
- Godfrey Binaisa â president of Uganda, 1979âÂÂ1980 (KCL)
- Tony Blair â prime minister of the United Kingdom (CITY)
- Heinrich Brüning â chancellor of Germany, 1930âÂÂ1932 (LSE)
- Kim Campbell â prime minister of Canada, JuneâÂÂNovember 1993 (LSE)
- Eugenia Charles â prime minister of Dominica, 1980âÂÂ1995 (LSE)
- Ellis Clarke â prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, 1976âÂÂ1987 (UCL)
- John Compton â premier of Saint Lucia, 1964âÂÂ1979, and prime minister of Saint Lucia, FebruaryâÂÂJuly 1979 & 1982âÂÂ1996 (LSE)
- Sher Bahadur Deuba â prime minister of Nepal, 1995âÂÂ1997, 2001âÂÂ2002, 2004âÂÂ2005 (LSE)
- Luisa Diogo â prime minister of Mozambique, 1991âÂÂ1992 (SOAS)
- Bülent Ecevit â former prime minister of Turkey (SOAS)
- Robert Fico â current prime minister of Slovakia (UCL)
- Rajiv Gandhi â prime minister of India 1984âÂÂ1989 (ICL)
- Natalia Gherman â acting prime minister of Moldova, 2015 (KCL)
- Chaim Herzog â president of Israel 1983âÂÂ1993 (UCL)
- Htin Kyaw â 9th and incumbent president of Myanmar (ICS)
- Hirobumi Ito â prime minister of Japan, 1885âÂÂ1888, 1892âÂÂ1896, 1898, 1900âÂÂ1901 (UCL)
- Guðni Th. Jóhannesson â Icelandic politician; president of Iceland (2016âÂÂ) (QMUL)
- Jomo Kenyatta â first president of Kenya, 1964âÂÂ1978 (LSE)
- Mwai Kibaki â president of Kenya, 2002âÂÂpresent (LSE)
- Glafcos Klerides â president of Cyprus, 1993âÂÂ2003 (KCL)
- Junichiro Koizumi â prime minister of Japan, 2001âÂÂ2006 (UCL)
- Thanin Kraivichien â prime minister of Thailand, 1976âÂÂ1977 (LSE)
- Yu Kuo-Hwa â premier of Taiwan, 1984âÂÂ1989 (LSE)
- Hilla Limann â president of Ghana, 1979âÂÂ1981 (LSE)
- Alfonso López Pumarejo â president of Colombia, 1934âÂÂ1938, 1942âÂÂ1945 (LSE)
- Ramsay MacDonald â prime minister of the United Kingdom 1924, 1929âÂÂ1935 (BBK)
- Nelson Mandela â president of South Africa (UOL)
- Michael Manley â prime minister of Jamaica, 1972âÂÂ1980, 1989âÂÂ1992 (LSE)
- Kamisese Mara â prime minister of Fiji 1970âÂÂ1992, President of Fiji 1994âÂÂ2000 (LSE)
- Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud â president of Somaliland (LSE)
- Sir Lee Moore â prime minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis, 1979âÂÂ1980 (KCL)
- Robert Mugabe â president of Zimbabwe (UOL)
- Emmerson Mnangagwa â president of Zimbabwe (UOL)
- Kocheril Raman Narayanan â president of India, 1997âÂÂ2002 (LSE)
- Kwame Nkrumah â president of Ghana, 1960âÂÂ1966 (LSE)
- Basdeo Panday â prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, 1995âÂÂ2001
- Tassos Papadopoulos â president of Cyprus, 2003âÂÂ2008 (KCL)
- Percival Patterson â prime minister of Jamaica, 1992âÂÂ2006 (LSE)
- Sir Lynden Pindling â prime minister of the Bahamas, 1969âÂÂ1992 (KCL)
- Romano Prodi â prime minister of Italy, 1996âÂÂ1998, 2006âÂÂpresent, President of the European Commission, 1999âÂÂ2004 (LSE)
- Navinchandra Ramgoolam â prime minister of Mauritius, 1995âÂÂ2000 (LSE)
- France-Albert René â prime minister of Seychelles 1976âÂÂ1977, and president of Seychelles 1977âÂÂ2004 (KCL)
- Sir Veerasamy Ringadoo â first president of Mauritius, MarchâÂÂJune 1992 (LSE)
- A.N.R. Robinson â prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, 1986âÂÂ1981, and President of Trinidad and Tobago, 1997âÂÂ2003
- Moshe Sharett â prime minister of Israel, 1953âÂÂ1955 (LSE)
- Constantine Simitis â prime minister of Greece, 1996âÂÂ2004 (LSE)
- Margaret Thatcher â prime minister of the United Kingdom (CITY)
- Anote Tong â president of Kiribati, 2003âÂÂpresent (LSE)
- Pierre Trudeau â prime minister of Canada, 1968âÂÂ1979, 1980âÂÂ1984 (LSE)
Other prominent political figures
- Yusuf Hassan Abdi â Kenyan politician
- Christopher Addison, 1st Viscount Addison â British minister (QMUL)
- B. R. Ambedkar â architect of the Indian Constitution, Indian independence leader, minister and anti-caste system activist (LSE)
- Obed Asamoah â Ghanaian Foreign Minister (KCL)
- Kemi Badenoch â Leader of the Opposition and Former Secretary of State for Business and Trade (BBK)
- Ziad Bahaa-Eldin â deputy prime minister of Egypt (KCL)
- Pengiran Bahrin â Attorney General of Brunei
- Martin Bourke â governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands (KCL)
- Ed Broadbent â Canadian political leader (LSE)
- Dame Lois Browne-Evans â Bermudian opposition leader (KCL)
- Rudranath Capildeo â Leader of the Opposition of the Commonwealth of Trinidad and Tobago
- Alex Chalk â Secretary of State for Justice (CITY)
- Maragatham Chandrasekhar â Indian cabinet minister (KCL)
- Michael Collins â Irish independence leader (KCL)
- Sir John Cockburn â Premier of South Australia
- Thérèse Coffey â Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (UCL)
- Abdulai Conteh â vice president of Sierra Leone (KCL)
- Yvette Cooper â Home Secretary (LSE)
- Sir Stafford Cripps â former Chancellor of the Exchequer (UCL)
- David Currie, Baron Currie of Marylebone â British politician, member of the House of Lords (QMUL)
- Edwina Currie â British minister (LSE)
- Hugh Dalton â Chancellor of the Exchequer (LSE)
- Joseph B. Dauda â Sierra Leonean Finance Minister (KCL)
- Frank Dobson â British minister (LSE)
- Anneliese Dodds â Minister of State for Development (LSE)
- Marlene Malahoo Forte â Jamaican Foreign Minister (KCL)
- Mahatma Gandhi â Indian Independence Leader (UCL)
- Natalia Gherman â deputy prime minister of Moldova (KCL)
- John Glen â Chief Secretary to the Treasury (KCL)
- Sir Sydney Gun-Munro â governor-general of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (KCL)
- Eurfyl ap Gwilym â Welsh politician (KCL)
- Peter Hain, Baron Hain â British minister and anti-apartheid campaigner (QMUL)
- William Hare, 5th Earl of Listowel â governor general of Ghana (KCL)
- Peter Hennessy â Baron Hennessy of Nympsfield â British politician, member of the House of Lords (QMUL)
- Farrer Herschell, 1st Baron Herschell â Lord Chancellor (UCL)
- Ibrahim Jazi â Jordanian Minister of State for Prime Ministry Affairs
- Tessa Jowell â British minister (GCUL)
- William Joyce â wartime propagandist (BBK)
- Abdul Wahab Juned â deputy minister at the Prime Minister's Office
- Ajay Kakkar, Baron Kakkar â British surgeon, Professor of Surgery at University College London, member of the House of Lords (QMUL)
- Gillian Keegan â Secretary of State for Education (LBS)
- Ruth Kelly â British minister (LSE)
- Muhammad Zafrulla Khan â Pakistani Foreign Minister (KCL)
- David Lammy â Foreign Secretary (SOAS)
- Emily Lau â Hong Kong political leader (LSE)
- Ambrose Lau â Hong Kong political leader
- James Lowther, 1st Viscount Ullswater â Speaker of the House of Commons (KCL)
- John MacGregor, Baron MacGregor of Pulham Market â Leader of the House of Commons (KCL)
- Masidi Manjun â State Minister of Local Government and Housing, Sabah, Malaysia
- Ferdinand Alexander "Sandro" Araneta Marcos III â Member of the Philippine House of Representatives, eldest son of President Bongbong Marcos and First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos (CITY)
- Horace Maybray King, Baron Maybray-King â Speaker of the House of Commons (KCL)
- Anne McLellan â deputy prime minister of Canada (KCL)
- V. K. Krishna Menon â 3rd Defence Minister of India (UCL, LSE)
- Ken Michael â governor of Western Australia (ICL)
- Ed Miliband â Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (LSE)
- Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner â British Cabinet Minister (KCL)
- Francis Minah â vice president of Sierra Leone (KCL)
- Nickolay Mladenov â Bulgarian Foreign Minister (KCL)
- Grace Mugabe â former First Lady of Zimbabwe & spouse of Robert Mugabe
- Lisa Nandy â Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (BBK)
- James Nyamweya â Kenyan Foreign Minister (KCL)
- David Owen, Baron Owen of Plymouth â British Foreign Secretary (KCL)
- Jacques Parizeau â Premier of Quebec (LSE)
- Lucy Powell â Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council (KCL)
- Enoch Powell â British minister and right-wing politician (SOAS)
- Victoria Prentis â Attorney General for England and Wales & Advocate General for Northern Ireland (RHUL)
- S. Rajaratnam â deputy prime minister of Singapore and Cabinet minister (KCL)
- Sir Shridath Ramphal â Commonwealth Secretary-General and Guyanese Foreign Minister (KCL)
- Badruddin Tyabji â High Court Judge and Former President of the Indian National Congress (UCL)
United Nations
United States
Monarchs and royalty
Armed forces and military
Clergy and religious figures
Other religious figures
Nobel Peace Prize
Nobel Prize for Literature
Scientists and mathematicians
Biologists and botanists
Chemists
Computer scientists
Engineers and Inventors
Geologists, environmental scientists and physical geographers
Immunologists
- Noreen Murray â molecular geneticist who helped develop a vaccine against hepatitis B (KCL)
- Anne O'Garra (UCL)
- Max Theiler â 1951 Nobel laureate who developed a vaccine against yellow fever (KCL)
Mathematicians
Nurses
Physicians
Physicists and astronomers
Psychologists, sociologists and anthropologists
The arts
Novelists, poets and playwrights
Actors, comedians and TV stars
Directors and film-makers
Musicians, composers and conductors
Artists
Businesspeople
Economists
Historians
Journalists
Judges and lawyers
Hong Kong
United Kingdom
United States
Philosophers
Sportspersons
Others
Honorary degrees
The University of London presented its first honorary degrees in June 1903. This accolade has been bestowed on several members of British royal family and a wide range of distinguished individuals from both the academic and non-academic worlds. Honorary degrees are approved by the Collegiate Council, part of the university's governance structure.
References
Notes
External links