The Right Honourable Dame Elish Angiolini DBE QC has been elected Principal of St Hugh’s College, Oxford. Dame Elish will take up her new post in September 2012 but will remain as a non-practising member of Terra Firma Chambers.
In 2006 Dame Elish became the first woman in 500 years to be appointed as Lord Advocate, Scotland's senior Law Officer and she created another legal first in 2008 when she and Frank Mulholland QC, the then Solicitor General were admitted as members of the Faculty of Advocates. Having stepped down from her post as Lord Advocate in May 2011, Dame Elish joined Terra Firma Chambers to become a practising member at the Scottish Bar.
Dame Elish was appointed Dame Commander of the British Empire in May 2011 for services to the administration of Justice and in June 2011 in Seoul, Korea, she received the Special Achievement Award from the International Association of Prosecutors in recognition of her achievements in the field of Criminal Justice both nationally in Scotland and internationally. She is currently chairing a Commission on female offenders in Scotland and is a visiting professor at the University of Strathclyde where she will develop a Masters course in Advocacy studies, the first of its kind in the UK.
Dame Elish said: 'Founded to give an excellent education to women who were otherwise excluded from Oxford, and now providing a focus for learning and scholarship for women and men from all backgrounds, St Hugh’s College has an inspiring history and an exciting future. I am eagerly anticipating joining the College and aim both to support and celebrate its important work.'
