(Scotland) Act 1858.
The chancellor is the nominal head of the university. The chancellor since 2013 is Queen Camilla. She is the first female chancellor of the university. The chancellor, or, if necessary, his or her deputy, confers degrees on graduates and chairs the university's General Council.
The principal and vice-chancellor of the university is Professor George Boyne. He joined the university on 1 August 2018 and was officially installed in his role on 16 January 2019.
The rector of the university has been—since 1860—elected by the students to serve a three-year term of office; before that, the office was appointed. The rector's duties are to chair meetings of the University Court and to represent student views on that body. In November 2024, Iona Fyfe, a Scottish folk singer, was elected by the student body of the university as the new rector. Other notable Aberdeen rectors have included Winston Churchill, Andrew Carnegie, H. H. Asquith, Maggie Chapman and Clarissa Dickson Wright, who was Aberdeen's first female rector.
==== The University Court ====
This body was created by the commissioners during the merger of King's and Marischal in 1870. It was part of a series of reforms introduced to rectify the method of government, with the Court acting as a court of appeal from the Senatus. The Court originally consisted of six members; the rector, representing the students, the principal, and one assessor each to the chancellor, the rector, the General Council and the Senatus. However, today the Court consists of many more members. The Court's principal role is to oversee the management of the revenue, property and other resources of the university.
==== Senatus Academicus ====
The Academic Senate (Latin: Senatus Academicus) is the supreme academic body for the university. Its members include all the professors of the university, certain senior readers, a number of senior lecturers and lecturers and elected student senate representatives. It is responsible for authorising degree programmes and issuing all …
