New Chair appointed to National Library of Scotland Board

Professor Christopher Smith has been appointed Chair of the National Library of Scotland.

Professor Smith has led national and international scholarship and science diplomacy in Scotland and across the world. He is deeply committed to the value of libraries as a fundamental infrastructure of knowledge, and their role as trusted partners in communities.

As Executive Chair of the Arts and Humanities Research Council, as International Champion for UKRI (UK Research and Innovation) and a member of the governing bodies of Science Europe and the Global Research Council, Christopher will bring an international perspective. And with more than 30 years’ experience at the University of St Andrews, Christopher remains deeply and profoundly committed to the heritage and the future of Scotland.

Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture, Angus Robertson said:

“Professor Smith has had an illustrious career both nationally and internationally and I am pleased to appoint him as Chair of the National Library of Scotland. He has a wealth of experience gained at prestigious bodies such as the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the University of St Andrews and the British School of Rome and I look forward to working with him.”

Professor Christopher Smith said:

“Libraries are the custodians of our past, places of wonder and discovery for everyone whatever their age, and critical to a future in which knowledge and truth remain prized. I am deeply honoured to have the opportunity to work with the National Library of Scotland as it fulfils its mission for Scotland and beyond.”

Smith was Professor of Ancient History at the University of St Andrews where he was also Dean of Arts (2002 to 2006), Provost of St Leonard’s College and Dean of Graduate Studies (2006 to 2009), and Proctor and Vice-Principal (2007 to 2009), before being seconded as Director of the British School at Rome, the UK’s leading humanities and creative arts research institute overseas, from 2009 to 2017.

From 2017 to 2020 he has held a Leverhulme Trust Major Research Fellowship on ‘The Roman kings: a study in power’ and held visiting positions in Erfurt, Princeton, Otago, Pavia, Milan, Siena, Aarhus and Paris Panthéon-Sorbonne.

Professor Smith’s research explores constitutionalism and state formation, with particular emphasis on the development of Rome as a political and social community and how this was represented in ancient historical writing and subsequent political thought.

He is the author or editor of more than 20 books and in 2017 was awarded the prestigious Premio ‘Cultori di Roma’. He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries Scotland, the Royal Society of Edinburgh, the Royal Historical Society, the Society of Antiquaries of London, the Royal Society of Arts and a Member of the Academia Europaea.

This appointment will be for four years and will run from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2029.