Notable alumni of SOAS University of London

Aung San Suu Kyi

foreign minister · b. 1945

former State Counsellor of Myanmar and Leader of the National League for Democracy

John Evans Atta Mills

university teacher · 1944–2012

sixth President of the Republic of Ghana (1944–2012)

Bülent Ecevit

journalist · 1925–2006

16th Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey (1925–2006)

Paul Robeson

activist · 1898–1976

American singer, actor, and political activist (1898–1976)

Luísa Diogo

economist · 1958–2026

Mozambican politician (1958–2026)

Bernard Lewis

Islamicist · 1916–2018

British-American historian (1916–2018)

Mette-Marit, Crown Princess of Norway

aristocrat · b. 1973

wife of Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway

Francesca Albanese

international law scholar · b. 1977

Italian lawyer and academic (born 1977), independent United Nations human rights expert

Jung Chang

autobiographer · b. 1952

Chinese-British author (born 1952)

Romila Thapar

university teacher · b. 1931

Indian historian (born 1931)

Antony Flew

philosopher · 1923–2010

British analytic and evidentialist philosopher (1923-2010)

Freya Madeline Stark

explorer · 1893–1993

British travel writer (1893-1993)

Halil İnalcık

academic · 1916–2016

Turkish historian (1916–2016)

Danish Orientalist and historian (1945–2015)

Martin Lings

philosopher of religion · 1909–2005

English writer and scholar (1909-2005)

Orde Wingate

army officer · 1903–1944

British Army officer, creator of the Chindit mission in World War II (1903–1944)

Salma Jayyusi

anthologist · 1926–2023

Palestinian poet, writer, translator and anthologist (1926–2023)

Fatima Bhutto

journalist · b. 1982

Pakistani writer

Zeinab Badawi

radio journalist · b. 1959

Sudanese-British broadcaster (born 1959)

Ehsan Yarshater

writer · 1920–2018

Iranian historian and linguist (1920–2018)

Walter Rodney

activist · 1942–1979

Guyanese Marxist, Pan-Afrianist, and historian (1942-1980)

Shaista Suhrawardy Ikramullah

diplomat · 1915–2000

Pakistani diplomat (1915–2000)

Andrew Bertie

language teacher · 1929–2008

Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller and Servant of God (1929–2008)

Salahuddin of Selangor

politician · 1926–2001

Sultan of Selangor (1926-2001)

Varun Gandhi

politician · b. 1980

Indian politician

Maajid Nawaz

essayist · b. 1978

British activist (born 1977)

Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche

commentator · b. 1961

Buddhist master, writer and filmmaker

Samia Nkrumah

chairman of the executive board · b. 1960

Ghanaian journalist and politician

Inger Andersen

United Nations official · b. 1958

Danish economist and environmentalist

Adriano Maleiane

civil servant · b. 1949

Former prime Minister of Mozambique

Ananda Devi

short story writer · b. 1957

Mauritian writer

Tessy Antony de Nassau

humanitarian · b. 1985

Luxembourgian businesswoman and non-profit executive

Ghanaian writer (1924-1996)

British scholar in Iranian Studies (1920–2006)

Mirza Tahir Ahmad

Khalifa · 1928–2003

Fourth Caliph of the Messiah (1928–2003)

Jemima Goldsmith

activist · b. 1974

British screenwriter, television, film and documentary producer

British widow, Islamist and fugitive

Canadian sinologist and academic (1922–2013)

Timothy Winter

Islamicist · b. 1960

British islamicist (1960-)

Gita Sahgal

film producer · b. 1950

Indian writer and activist

English actress

Nigerian poet, anthropologist, and essayist

Frank Dikötter

sinologist · b. 1961

Dutch historian

British academic (1946–1999)

Har Dayal

Indologist · 1884–1939

Indian revolutionary (1884–1939)

Achim Steiner

environmental consultant · b. 1961

German politician and public servant (born 1961)

David Wilson

diplomat · b. 1935

administrator and diplomat from England (born 1935)

Michael Cook

orientalist · b. 1940

British historian

Alanoud Alsharekh

political historian · b. 2000

Senior Fellow at the International Institute of Strategic Studies and Senior Political Analyst at the Kuwait National Security Bureau

Konon Molody

spy · 1922–1970

KGB officer (1922-1970)

Nigerian bishop

Najma Chowdhury

university teacher · 1942–2021

Bangladeshi academic

Andrew Mango

historian of Modern Age · 1926–2014

British historian

Moussa Ibrahim

politician · b. 1974

Libyan politician

Wang Gungwu

sinologist · b. 1930

Chinese Australian historian, sinologist, and writer

Abdel Bari Atwan

linguist · b. 1950

Palestinian journalist

Nasser Khalili

philanthropist · b. 1945

British scholar, collector and philanthropist

Finnish-Nigerian journalist

Arthur Llewellyn Basham

Indologist · 1914–1986

British historian and Indologist (1914-1986)

Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas

philosopher · 1931–2026

Expert in Islamic studies and writer from Malaysia (1931–2026)

Edith Penrose

university teacher · 1914–1996

American-born British economist

British sinologist (1925–2006)

Belgian and Austro-Este Imperial and Royal

Indian politician

American sinologist and linguist (born 1943)

Alya Ahmed Saif Al-Thani

politician · b. 1974

Qatari diplomat

Jacob M. Landau

orientalist · 1924–2020

Israeli orientalist, political scientist and historian (1924-2020)

Frank Furedi

university teacher · b. 1947

Hungarian-Canadian sociologist (born 1947)

Alizeh Agnihotri

actor · b. 2000

Indian actress (born 2000)

Ekaterina Mizulina

public figure · b. 1984

Russian politician and activist (born 1984)

Ann Lambton

linguist · 1912–2008

British academic and spy (1912-2008)

British historian and Islamicist (born 1944)

Suki Kim

journalist · b. 1970

American writer

Ivan van Sertima

linguist · 1935–2009

British Africanist in New Jersey

Femi Fani-Kayode

essayist · b. 1960

Nigerian politician

British historian, novelist, and writer on Arabic literature (1946–2024)

Islamic scholar

Yuriko Backes

civil servant · b. 1970

Luxembourgish diplomat and politician (born 1970)

Abdur Rahman ibn Yusuf Mangera

ulema · b. 1974

British Islamic scholar (born 1974)

Indian historian and Indologist (1919–2011)

Navin Chawla

biographer · 1945–2025

Retired Indian civil servant and 16th Chief Election Commissioner of India

Akbar S. Ahmed

anthropologist · b. 1943

Anthropologist, bureaucrat, scholar, writer

American historian (born 1953)

Greek historian (1931-2018)

Kamal Salibi

religious studies scholar · 1929–2011

Academic, writer, historian, researcher

Felix Finkbeiner

non-fiction writer · b. 1997

German enivronmentalist

Hechmi Hamdi

journalist · b. 1964

Tunisian politician

Fred Halliday

university teacher · 1946–2010

Irish writer and academic (1946-2010)

Gold Panda

musician · b. 1980

Composer and musician

Ghanaian politician and academic (1932-2006)

Orzala Ashraf Nemat

activist · b. 1977

Afghan scholar and civil society activist

British linguist (1926–2001)

British administrator, diplomat and sinologist (1924–1986)

Shirani Bandaranayake

lawyer · b. 1958

former Chief Justice of Sri Lanka

Ysabelle Lacamp

novelist · 1954–2023

French writer and actress (1954–2023)

Swapan Dasgupta

journalist · b. 1955

Indian politician, journalist and columnist

Dewi Fortuna Anwar

research professor · b. 1958

Indonesian research professor and Indonesian President's fourth spokesperson

German Arabic scholar (1941–2014)

Andrew Mwenda

journalist · b. 1972

Ugandan journalist

British anthropologist

Ali Ansari

iranologist · b. 1967

Iranian professor

J. H. Kwabena Nketia

ethnomusicologist · 1921–2019

ethnomusicologist (1921-2019)

Bethwell Allan Ogot

university teacher · 1929–2025

Kenyan historian (1929-2025)

Hüseyin Çelik

university teacher · b. 1959

Turkish statesperson (born 1959)

Zimbabwean politician (1923-1975)

Aaron Mike Oquaye

parson · b. 1944

Ghanaian politician, lawyer and academic

Minister in the Cabinet of Zimbabwe (1941-2012)

Nur Masalha

university teacher · b. 1957

Palestinian historian and writer

Kenyan film producer (born 1997)

Lebanese journalist and activist

South African poet (1930–2006)

British scholar and Sinologist and Professor of Classical Chinese at the University of London (1919-1991)

Emma Dabiri

presenter · b. 1979

Irish television and radio presenter, writer and researcher

British radio personality, music journalist (1951-)

British intelligence officer (1912–2011)

Aisha Lemu

religious education teacher · 1940–2019

British writer

Crystal Chow

journalist · b. 1986

Hong Kong Chinese journalist

Benedict Rogers

journalist · b. 1974

London-based human rights activist

Australian academic

Jonathan Cook

opinion journalist · b. 1965

British journalist

Karen Yu

politician · b. 1980

Taiwanese politician

Dharma Vira

civil servant · 1906–2000

Indian official

Indian politician (1920-2005)

Tibetan writer

British assyriologist & academic (1920–2005)

Nigerian lawyer and civil rights activist

Vanessa Tsehaye

journalist · b. 1996

Eritrean human rights activist

Stefano Lentini

songwriter · b. 1974

composer, singer-songwriter

Israeli linguist (1915-1996)

Andrew Robinson

opinion journalist · b. 1957

British author and newspaper editor

Nigerian judge

Jason Chan Chi-san

film actor · b. 1977

actor

British-Iranian women rights activist who was held in solitary confinement in Evin Prison for protesting for equal access to sporting events in Iran

Stella Assange

human rights defender · b. 1983

Swedish-Spanish lawyer, wife of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange

Louise Perry

activist · b. 1992

British journalist and author

British historian (1944–2023)

Ghida Fakhry

journalist · b. 1970

journalist

Ambeth Ocampo

historian · b. 1961

Filipino historian

Michael Williams

diplomat · 1949–2017

British diplomat and life peer (1949-2017)

A. G. Hopkins

university teacher · b. 1938

British historian (born 1938)

Najma Idrees

writer · b. 1952

Kuwaiti writer and poet

Ethiopian historian

Yasmin Shariff

architect · b. 1956

Ugandan architect

Irene Mambilima

politician · 1952–2021

7th Chief Justice of Zambia (1952–2021)

Sudanese academic, politician, and journalist

Zimbabwean politician

Francis K. Butagira

Speaker of the Parliament of Uganda · b. 1942

Ugandan politician

Gamal Nkrumah

journalist · b. 1959

Ghanaian journalist, Pan-Africanist and newspaper editor

Pakistani politician and historian

Catholic archbishop (1929–2007)

Mia Kang

model · b. 1988

Model

Sada Mire

Africanist · b. 1976

Somaliland archaeologist

Andrew West

Tangutologist · 1960–2025

British sinologist and typographer (1960–2025)

Pakistani scholar

Muhammad Abdul Hye

linguist · 1919–1969

Bengali educationist, linguist and writer

Mohamed Dahir Afrah

novelist · 1952–2021

Novelist and playwright

Indian historian (1910–1990)

Jordanian historian and politician

Montserrat-born British artist (born 1956)

Nigerian academic and development economist

French curator

Tanzanian politician

American historian and sinologist (1933–2016)

South African politician

Professor of East Asian history

British academic (1915-1993)

Emma McCune

humanitarian · 1964–1993

British foreign aid worker in Sudan (1964-1993)

Johnnie Carson

diplomat · b. 1943

American diplomat

Leslie Griffiths

parson · b. 1942

British minister (born 1942)

Mahmoud Al-Samra

philologist · 1923–2018

Jordanian academic and politician, Minister of Culture (1991–1993)

Tunisian writer, illustrator, and historian of art

Indian academic

British art historian and sinologist (born 1943)

M. K. Asante

rapper · b. 1982

American writer, filmmaker and academic

Manuel de Araújo

economist · b. 1970

Mozambican politician

Petra Stienen

columnist · b. 1965

Dutch writer and columnist

Catherine West

politician · b. 1966

Australian-British politician (born 1966)

Turkish Cypriot attorney and statesperson (born 1958)

Egyptian scholar and researcher

Budiman Sudjatmiko

politician · b. 1970

Indonesian politician

British historian

Chibli Mallat

university teacher · b. 1960

Lebanese lawyer and activist

British writer (1924-2018)

American theologian (born 1945)

British historian

Samten G. Karmay

compiler · b. 1936

French Tibetologist

British diplomat (1934-2010)

Ugandan artist and professor (born 1962)

Pavin Chachavalpongpun

historian · b. 1971

Thai historians

Idza Luhumyo

writer · b. 1993

Kenyan short story writer (born 1993)

Iraqi scholar and poet

British-Iranian anthropologist

Turkish-British historian (born 1950)

Indonesian news presenter

Carter Page

businessperson · b. 1971

American oil industry consultant

Nigerian businessperson

Margarette May Macaulay

lawyer · b. 1901

Commissioner of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (OAS)

Hammad Azhar

barrister · b. 1981

Pakistani politician

Verena Ross

economist · b. 1968

German economist, CEO of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA)

Pirouz Mojtahedzadeh

university teacher · b. 1946

Iranian academic