Professor Andrew Wathey reappointed as Chair of The National Archives Board

Professor Andrew Wathey CBE has been reappointed for a second term as Chair of The National Archives Board. The term will begin in April 2025 and run for 5 years.

Andrew was Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of Northumbria University from 2008 to 2022, and previously Senior Vice-Principal and Professor of Music History at Royal Holloway University of London. Since 2023 he has been an External Member of the Council of the University of Cambridge.

He is a graduate of the University of Oxford, where he also took his doctorate in Music. He has held posts in the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Lancaster. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and of the Society of Antiquaries. He was a Visiting Fellow at All Souls College, Oxford in 2023-24.

Andrew chaired the UK Standing Committee for Quality Assessment from 2016 to 2022. He was a Non-Executive Director of the Student Loans Company 2018-23, and a Council Member of the All Party Parliamentary Universities Group, 2013-22. He was appointed a CBE in 2016 for services to Higher Education.

Saul Nassé, Chief Executive, The National Archives, said: ‘I am very pleased that Andrew will continue as Chair for the next five years. His expertise and advice are invaluable to The National Archives, as we strive to deliver our vision of becoming a living, digital national archive of the state.’

Professor Andrew Wathey said: ‘The National Archives is one of the world’s great collections, an immense storehouse of raw history, a key guardian of trust in public information, and so much more. It has been a privilege and a delight to work as its Chair over the past three years and I look forward to continuing to work alongside colleagues as we confront the opportunities and challenges of our mission to collect, preserve and make accessible the archive in the digital and AI age.’