Jonathan Sumption, Lord Sumption, OBE, PC, FSA, FRHistS, KC (1967) has been elected an Honorary Fellow of Magdalen College.
As well as being a demy at Magdalen, Lord Sumption was a Fellow by Examination in History at College between 1971 and 1975.
Following his time at Magdalen, Lord Sumption was called to the bar of England and Wales, where he practised mainly in commercial and public law. In January 2012, he was appointed a Justice of the Supreme Court, a role he held until his retirement in December 2018.
In parallel with his legal career, Lord Sumption pursued the historical studies he began at Magdalen, publishing several works on the European Middle Ages, including a five-volume history of the Hundred Years War.
Lord Sumption has also written extensively about law and public affairs and delivered the 2019 BBC Reith Lectures on the theme of ‘Law and the Decline of Politics’, which he subsequently published in book form as Trials of the State.
“I spent some of the most productive times of my youth at Magdalen,” said Lord Sumption. “Today, the College is the same and yet challengingly different. To return as an Honorary Fellow is both a great honour and a real joy.”