Notable alumni of University of Sussex

Thabo Mbeki

economist · b. 1942

President of South Africa from 1999 to 2008

Ian McEwan

film screenwriter · b. 1948

British author (born 1948)

Festus Mogae

politician · 1939–2026

President of Botswana from 1998 to 2008

Billy Idol

guitarist · b. 1955

English singer

Kemi Badenoch

software developer · b. 1980

British politician and Leader of the Opposition to the British Government (2024–present) and Leader of the Conservative Party since 2024 (born 1980)

Burna Boy

songwriter · b. 1991

Nigerian singer and songwriter (born 1991)

Virginia Wade

tennis player · b. 1945

British tennis player

Carlos Alvarado Quesada

journalist · b. 1980

President of Costa Rica (2018-2022)

Norman Davies

university teacher · b. 1939

British historian

Guy Scott

economist · b. 1944

Zambian politician

Jessie Ware

pop musician · b. 1984

British singer

Mohammad Shtayyeh

economist · b. 1958

former Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority Government under Abbas and Fattah

Tony Banks

keyboardist · b. 1950

British musician

Philippa Gregory

novelist · b. 1954

English novelist

Euclid Tsakalotos

philosopher · b. 1960

Greek economist and politician

English actress (born 1986)

Froyla Tzalam

anthropologist · b. 1971

Governor-General of Belize

Jim Carter

film actor · b. 1948

British actor

Hilary Benn

politician · b. 1953

British politician (born 1953)

Enele Sopoaga

diplomat · b. 1956

Tuvaluan politician and diplomat

British singer (1955–2019)

John Gribbin

science fiction writer · b. 1946

British science writer

Marina Mahathir

activist · b. 1957

Daughter of Mahathir Mohamad

Jem

recording artist · b. 1975

Welsh singer, songwriter, and record producer

A. C. Grayling

philosopher · b. 1949

English philosopher

Kim Newman

film critic · b. 1959

English novelist (born 1959)

Bruno Heller

director · b. 1960

British screenwriter and producer (born 1960)

Guy Standing

university teacher · b. 1948

British economist

Brendan Foster

marathon runner · b. 1948

Athletics competitor, long distance runner

Alan Woods

journalist · b. 1944

British political theorist

Owen Smith

journalist · b. 1970

Welsh politician and MP

Steve Toussaint

film actor · b. 1965

British actor

Zhang Xin

chief executive officer · b. 1965

Chinese business executive

Howard Marks

autobiographer · 1945–2016

Welsh author and drug smuggler (1945-2016)

Irene Solà

visual artist · b. 1990

Catalan poet and writer

Georgina M. Mace

ecologist · 1953–2020

British ecologist (1953–2020)

Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala

women's rights activist · b. 1979

the first Sri Lankan to summit Mount Everest

British writer (1947–2007)

Peter Hain

politician · b. 1950

British politician (born 1950)

Bertie Carvel

film actor · b. 1977

English actor, singer and director

Albie Sachs

activist · b. 1935

South African anti-Apartheid activist leader, author and judge of the Constitutional Court (born 1935)

Barbadian poet (1930–2020)

Grenadian Deputy Prime Minister in the People's Revolutionary Government of the New Jewel Movement

British novelist (born 1952)

Sherry Rehman

journalist · b. 1960

Pakistani politician and diplomat

Frankie Boyle

autobiographer · b. 1972

British comedian

Nigel Planer

film actor · b. 1953

English actor, comedian and writer

British costume designer

Chryssa Kouveliotou

university teacher · b. 1956

Greek astrophysicist and astronomer

Clive Hamilton

political scientist · b. 1953

Australian public intellectual

Ben Bradshaw

journalist · b. 1960

British politician (born 1960)

Bogolo Kenewendo

economist · b. 1987

Motswana economist and politician

John M. Ball

university teacher · b. 1948

British mathematician

Simon Busuttil

politician · b. 1969

Maltese politician

Rebeca Grynspan

economist · b. 1955

Costa Rican politician

Lucy Worsley

television presenter · b. 1973

British historian, author, curator, and television presenter

Mura Masa

recording artist · b. 1996

British music producer and songwriter (born 1996)

Dave Camp

employee · b. 1953

American politician

José Ángel Mañas

writer · b. 1971

Spanish novelist

Adrian Peter Bird

geneticist · b. 1947

Geneticist and Professor at the University of Edinburgh

Olufunke Baruwa

activist · b. 1976

Nigeria gender activist

Geoffrey Van Orden

politician · b. 1945

British politician (born 1945)

Gambian climate activist,focused on education, conservation and planting trees

Walter O'Brien

white hat · b. 1978

Irish businessman, founder of Scorpion Computer Services

British neuroscientist

Dimitri Nanopoulos

theoretical physicist · b. 1948

Greek physicist

Teresa Lago

astrophysicist · b. 1947

Portuguese astrophysicist

Nigerian ecofeminist

Peter J. Bowler

historian of science · b. 1944

Irish historian of biology (1944-)

Peter Kyle

politician · b. 1970

British politician (born 1970)

American sociologist

Polly Arnold

chemist · b. 1972

Professor of Chemistry

Caroline Nokes

politician · b. 1972

British politician (born 1972)

Lucie Green

university teacher · b. 1975

British astronomer

Kenan Malik

philosopher · b. 1960

English writer, lecturer and broadcaster

Beardyman

vlogger · b. 1982

British musician and beatboxer

Hélio Oiticica

draftsperson · 1937–1980

Brazilian visual artist (1937-1980)

Srđa Trifković

journalist · b. 1954

writer and political consultant

Diana Evans

dancer · b. 1971

British novelist (born 1971)

Andrew George

politician · b. 1958

British politician (born 1958)

Paul Gilroy

music historian · b. 1956

Scholar of the Black diaspora and culture

Nazhat Shameem

jurist · b. 1960

Fijian judge and prosecutor

British playwright

Raj Rajaratnam

financier · b. 1957

American investments manager

Mateusz Szczurek

university teacher · b. 1975

Polish politician

Andrew Morton

journalist · b. 1953

English journalist and biographer

Becky Anderson

journalist · b. 1967

British journalist

Rosemary Coogan

astrophysicist · b. 1991

ESA astronaut

Mo Foster

session musician · 1944–2023

British session musician, playing primarily jazz, jazz-fusion and rock bass guitar

Thomas Elsaesser

film historian · 1943–2019

German film historian (1943–2019)

Jeremy Deller

video artist · b. 1966

British artist (born 1966)

Kirsten Brosbøl

politician · b. 1977

Danish politician

Michael Fabricant

politician · b. 1950

British politician (born 1950)

Ben Sidran

jazz pianist · b. 1943

American pianist and vocalist

Ayesha Imam

women's rights activist

Nigerian human rights activist

Sara Pascoe

stand-up comedian · b. 1981

English writer, stand-up comedian and actress

Eberechi Wike

judge · b. 1972

Nigerian judge

Peter L. Knight

university teacher · b. 1947

British physicist

Taras Kuzio

university teacher · b. 1958

Academic in Ukrainian politics and Economy of Ukraine

Maksym Butkevych

social activist · b. 1977

Ukrainian human rights activist and journalist

Elizabeth F. Churchill

psychologist · b. 1962

psychologist

Peter Brimelow

journalist · b. 1947

American white supremacist writer

Anil Seth

neuroscientist · b. 1972

British neuroscientist

Peter Coles

astrophysicist · b. 1963

British astrophysicist

Daniel Catán

composer · 1949–2011

Mexican composer and writer (1949–2011)

Ghanaian business woman

Kenyan academic (1953–2017)

British children's author

John Altman

bandleader · b. 1949

British film composer

Nigerian politician

Noel Tata

businessperson · b. 1956

Indian–born Irish businessman (born 1957)

french–South African filmmaker

Julie Umerle

painter · b. 1950

British artist

Kira Cochrane

journalist · b. 1977

British journalist

British film director and producer

Shamshad Akhtar

banker · 1954–2025

Pakistani banker

Avraham Neguise

activist · b. 1958

Israeli politician

Peter Marshall

philosopher · b. 1946

British author, philosopher, historian (born 1946)

Jamie Shea

diplomat · b. 1953

NATO official (born 1953)

Rob Davies

university teacher · b. 1948

South African politician

Robert H. Crabtree

university teacher · b. 1948

British American inorganic chemist

British politician (born 1944)

Maggie Jones, Baroness Jones of Whitchurch

trade unionist · b. 1955

British trade unionist and politician (born 1955)

Ricardo Lagos Weber

lawyer · b. 1962

Chilean politician

Yannis Ragousis

economist · b. 1965

Greek economist and politician

British historian

British author, historian and academic

Welsh columnist and novelist

British entrepreneur and financier

Naana Otoo-Oyortey

social activist

Ghanaian social activist

British investigative journalist, author and academic

philosopher

Scottish author (1914–2013)

mathematician

Gail Rebuck

publisher · b. 1952

Chair, Penguin Random House UK

British sociologist

lawyer, development activist, and politician

Suma Chakrabarti

economist · b. 1959

British economist

Patrick Gill

physicist · b. 2000

British physicist

Renée Jones-Bos

diplomat · b. 1952

Dutch diplomat

Dave Laing

music historian · 1947–2019

British writer

Angela Barnes

stand-up comedian · b. 1976

British comedian

Tony Baldry

barrister · b. 1950

British politician (born 1950)

Patience Agbabi

poet · b. 1965

British poet and performer (1965-) who emphasizes the spoken word

British politician (born 1953)

British psychologist (1947-2011)

Caroline Ansell

politician · b. 1971

British politician

Duncan Campbell

investigative journalist · b. 1952

British investigative journalist (1952-)

former 5th Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia

David Lewis

journalist · b. 1942

British neuropsychologist

British historian

Rohan Pethiyagoda

conservationist · b. 1955

Sri Lankan biodiversity explorer and conservationist

Argentinian academic and writer (1937–2023)

English musician

Canadian writer, academic and political activist

Alice Arnold

journalist · b. 1962

British newsreader, continuity announcer and actress

British historian

David Pollock, 3rd Viscount Hanworth

university teacher · b. 1946

Member of the House of Lords (born 1946)

British politician, writer, actor and model

Spanish novelist

Lai Shin-Yuan

university teacher · b. 1956

Taiwanese politician

Kay Carberry

trade unionist · b. 1950

British trade unionist (born 1950)

Cariad Lloyd

improviser · b. 1982

British comedian, actor and writer

Richard Calder

science fiction writer · b. 1956

British writer

Abdalla Uba Adamu

ethnomusicologist · b. 1956

Nigerian academic

Jordanian princess

Sakiko Fukuda-Parr

economist · b. 1950

Japanese economist

British theatre director

Pakistani-English historian

Dorothee Haroske

mathematician · b. 1968

German mathematician

Hattie Hayridge

film actor · b. 1959

comedian

Keith Lewin

scientist

Education specialist

Steve Bassam, Baron Bassam of Brighton

politician · b. 1953

British politician and activist (born 1953)

American biologist

British computational linguist

British political consultant (1950-2011)

Howie Severino

journalist · b. 1961

journalist

British writer

Nigerian Academician

Islamic author

British magazine editor

British filmmaker and journalist

Theo Sowa

writer · b. 1957

Ghanaian writer and human rights activist

Australian historian & scholar

Linda Bellos

activist · b. 1950

British politician (born 1950)

Leo Hickman

journalist · b. 1975

British journalist

Aaron Sloman

artificial intelligence researcher · b. 1936

philosopher and researcher on artificial intelligence and cognitive science

Chilean musician

Peter Jonas

Theaterintendant · 1946–2020

British arts administrator (1946–2020)

Giles Ji Ungpakorn

historian · b. 1953

Thai academic

British life peer (born 1943)

Simon Segars

chief executive officer · b. 1967

Chief Executive Officer of ARM Holdings plc

Wale Edun

banker

Nigerian economist & investment banker

Nigerian environmentalist and author

Kenyan diplomat

Dan Norris

council member · b. 1960

British politician (born 1960)

British musician

Helen Benedict

novelist · b. 1952

British-American novelist

Tadzio Müller

LGBTQ rights activist · b. 1976

German climate and LGBT+ activist

Abdul Moyeen Khan

politician · b. 1947

Bangladeshi politician