Lord Chris Smith

Lord Chris Smith was the Labour MP for Islington South and Finsbury for 22 years; he was Secretary of State for Culture from 1997 to 2001, establishing the Film Council and introducing tax incentives for film; he stood down from the Commons in 2005 and became a life peer; he was subsequently Chair of the Advertising Standards Authority and Chair of the Environment Agency; he became Master of Pembroke College, Cambridge, for ten years from 2015; he was elected in 2025 as Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. 

Lord Chris Smith giving the opening address at the 2026 Opening Ceremony