We are saddened to hear of the death of former Society President, The Earl of Selborne GBE FRS DL. Our thoughts are with his family at this sad time.
The Earl of Selborne was Society President between 1997 and 2000, and played an active role in the Society’s governance, providing advice and guidance to our Fundraising Advisory Group, Investment sub-committee (2013), External Affairs sub-committee (2013), and Information Resources committee (2013). He also served as Honorary Vice-President in 2013 and chaired the Shoals of Capricorn Programme run jointly by the Royal Society and the RGS-IBG between 1998 and 2001.
Professor Joe Smith, Director of the Society, said: “John Selborne committed far more than his three years as President in providing advice and guidance to the Society, remaining actively involved in our work well after his term came to an end. He took a keen interest in all of our activities and the Society is enormously grateful for his many years of support and counsel.”
The Earl of Selborne sat in the House of Lords between 23 February 1972 and 26 March 2020. He had particular interests in energy and the environment, education, and science and technology, which was reflected in his positions outside of his political career, being Chairman, and then Vice-President, of the Foundation for Science and Technology (2006-2021) and Chair of Trustees at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (2003-2009), amongst others.
A full obituary will follow in the Geographical Journal in due course.