List of presidents of the Royal Statistical Society

The president of the Royal Statistical Society is the head of the Royal Statistical Society (RSS), elected biennially by the Fellows of the Society. (The time-period between elections has varied in the past, and in fact elections only rarely occur.).

The president oversees the running of the Society and chairs its council meetings. In recent years, almost all presidents have been nominated following many years' service to the Society, although some have been nominated to mark their eminence in society generally, such as Harold Wilson.

There has only been one contested election in the Society's history; in 1977, many fellows objected to the nomination by the Council of Campbell Adamson because he was not a statistician, was said to have made derogatory comments about statisticians, and principally because in the previous year he had been defeated in an election to the Council of the Society, and fellows felt that he was being foisted upon the Society by the current 'establishment' in an essentially undemocratic fashion. Henry Wynn was nominated by several fellows (including Adrian Smith, himself later president, and Philip Dawid) and won the election.

Despite women being elected fellows from 1858, only five have been president of the society.

In 2010, Bernard Silverman stepped down very early in his presidential term. This was due to being appointed as chief scientific advisor to the Home Office which presented a conflict of interest as the society sometimes issues expert statements on statistical matters in public life. In 2022 then president-elect David Firth withdrew on health grounds, prompting a further election in which Andrew Garrett, the current president, was elected. The president elect is currently Prof Sir John Aston.

Honorary presidents
Three Princes of Wales have been an honorary president:
 * 1872 - 1901 Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (later Edward VII)
 * 1902 - 1910 George, Prince of Wales (later George V)
 * 1921 - 1936 Edward, Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII)

19th century
• 1834–1836	The Marquess of Lansdowne

• 1836–1838	Sir Charles Lemon, Bt

• 1838–1840	The Earl FitzWilliam

• 1840–1842	Viscount Sandon

• 1842–1843	The Marquess of Lansdowne

• 1843–1845	Lord Ashley

• 1845–1847	The Lord Monteagle of Brandon

• 1847–1849	The Earl FitzWilliam

• 1849–1851	The Earl of Harrowby

• 1851–1853	The Lord Overstone

• 1853–1855	The Earl FitzWilliam

• 1855–1857	The Earl of Harrowby

• 1857–1859	Lord Stanley

• 1859–1861	Lord John Russell

• 1861–1863	Sir John Pakington, Bt

• 1863–1865	William Henry Sykes

• 1865–1867	The Lord Houghton

• 1867–1869	William Ewart Gladstone

• 1869–1871	William Newmarch

• 1871–1873	William Farr

• 1873–1875	William Guy

• 1875–1877	James Heywood

• 1877–1879	George Shaw-Lefevre

• 1879–1880	Thomas Brassey

• 1880–1882	James Caird

• 1882–1884	Robert Giffen

• 1884–1886	Rawson W. Rawson

• 1886–1888	George Goschen

• 1888–1890	Thomas Graham Balfour

• 1890–1892	Frederic J. Mouat

• 1892–1894	Charles Booth

• 1894–1896	The Lord Farrer

• 1896–1897	John Biddulph Martin

• 1897	Alfred Edmund Bateman

• 1897–1899	Leonard Courtney

• 1899–1900	Henry Fowler

• 1900–1902	The Lord Avebury

20th century
• 1902–1904	Patrick George Craigie

• 1904–1905	Sir Francis Powell, Bt

• 1905–1906	The Earl of Onslow

• 1906–1907	Richard Martin

• 1907–1909	Sir Charles Dilke, Bt

• 1909–1910	Jervoise Athelstane Baines

• 1910–1912	Lord George Hamilton

• 1912–1914	Francis Ysidro Edgeworth

• 1914–1915	The Lord Welby

• 1915–1916	Lord George Hamilton

• 1916–1918	Bernard Mallet, Registrar General

• 1918–1920	Herbert Samuel

• 1920–1922	R. Henry Rew

• 1922–1924	The Lord Emmott

• 1924–1926	Udny Yule

• 1926–1928	The Viscount D'Abernon

• 1928–1930	A. William Flux

• 1930–1932	Sir Josiah Stamp

• 1932–1934	The Lord Meston

• 1934–1936	Major Greenwood

• 1936–1938	The Lord Kennet

• 1938–1940	Arthur Lyon Bowley

• 1940–1941	Henry William Macrosty

• 1941	Hector Leak

• 1941–1943	William Beveridge

• 1943–1945	Ernest Charles Snow

• 1945–1947	The Lord Woolton

• 1947–1949	David Heron

• 1949–1950	Sir Geoffrey Heyworth

• 1950–1952	Austin Bradford Hill

• 1952–1954	Ronald Fisher

• 1954–1955	The Lord Piercy

• 1955–1957	Egon Pearson

• 1957–1959	Harry Campion

• 1959–1960	Hugh Beaver

• 1960–1962	Maurice Kendall

• 1962–1964	Joseph Oscar Irwin

• 1964–1965	Sir Paul Chambers

• 1965–1966	L. H. C. Tippett

• 1966–1967	M. S. Bartlett

• 1967–1968	Frank Yates

• 1968–1969	Arthur Cockfield

• 1969–1970	R. G. D. Allen

• 1970–1971	Bernard Benjamin

• 1971–1972	George Alfred Barnard

• 1972–1973	Harold Wilson

• 1973–1974	D. J. Finney

• 1974–1975	Henry Daniels

• 1975–1977	Stella Cunliffe

• 1977–1978	Henry Wynn

• 1978–1980	Sir Claus Moser

• 1980–1982	David Cox

• 1982–1984	Peter Armitage

• 1984–1985	Walter Bodmer

• 1985–1986	John Nelder

• 1986–1987	James Durbin

• 1987–1989	John Kingman

• 1989–1991	Peter G. Moore

• 1991–1993	T. M. F. Smith

• 1993–1995	D. J. Bartholomew

• 1995–1997	Adrian Smith

• 1997–1999	Robert Nicholas Curnow

• 1999–2001	Denise Lievesley

21st century

 * 2001–2003 Peter Green
 * 2003–2005 Andrew P. Grieve
 * 2005–2007 Tim Holt
 * 2008–2009 David Hand
 * 2010–2010 Bernard Silverman (resigned Feb 2010; replaced pro tem by David Hand)
 * 2011–2012 Valerie Isham
 * 2013–2014 John Pullinger
 * 2014–2016 Peter Diggle
 * 2017–2018 David Spiegelhalter
 * 2019–2020 Deborah Ashby
 * 2021–2022 Sylvia Richardson
 * 2023–2024 Andrew Garrett
 * 2025– John Aston