Lady Elish Angiolini appointed as Lord High Commissioner to the 2025 General Assembly

A trailblazing lawyer who was Scotland's first female Lord Advocate has been appointed Lord High Commissioner to the 2025 General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.

Lady Elish Angiolini LT DBE PC KC FRSE, the first female Lord Clerk Register of Scotland, was chosen by His Majesty The King as his personal representative at the annual event.

"This is an immense honour, and I very much look forward to the General Assembly in May," she said.

The General Assembly is the supreme court of the Church of Scotland and is taking place in the General Assembly Hall on The Mound in Edinburgh from Saturday, 17 May until Thursday, 22 May.

Commissioners to the General Assembly, which was first held in 1560, the year of the Scottish Reformation, examine the work and laws of the Church and make decisions that affect its future.

The Lord High Commissioner makes opening and closing addresses and carries out a number of official functions throughout the course of the week.

Lord Advocate

Lady Elish grew up in Govan in Glasgow and studied law at the University of Strathclyde.

Immediately after graduation in 1982, she joined the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and, following her traineeship, spent eight years as a depute procurator fiscal in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire.

In 1992 she moved to the Crown Office in Edinburgh to work as part of the Lord Advocate's Secretariat, when she developed her now long-standing interest in improving the support offered to vulnerable victims and witnesses, particularly children.

Lady Elish was installed as the first non-political Solicitor General for Scotland in 2001 and served as Lord Advocate, the most senior law officer in Scotland, from 2006-2011.

While in office she took forward the most wide-ranging programme of modernisation in the department's history.

Lady Elish was the first Lord Advocate to remain in office despite a change in government.

After demitting office in May 2011, she practised as a QC in Scotland and was appointed as a visiting professor of law at the University of Strathclyde.

In September 2012, Lady Elish took up her appointment as the principal of St Hugh's College in Oxford.

She was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for services to the administration of justice in 2011

In 2020, Lady Elish published a report of her review into the handling of complaints against the police in Scotland.

She is currently the chair of the public inquiry into the abduction, rape and murder of Sarah Everard in London.

In 2022, Lady Elish was appointed by Her Late Majesty The Queen to the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle.

She was made a Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford in 2017 and in 2021 she became the chair of the charity, Reprieve.

In October 2023, Lady Elish was sworn in as the new Lord Clerk Register of Scotland – the first woman to hold the role.

Honoured

Rev Fiona Smith, Principal Clerk of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, said: "We are honoured that His Majesty has appointed Lady Elish Angiolini as Lord High Commissioner.

"We very much look forward to welcoming her to the General Assembly 2025."

Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh, served as Lord High Commissioner last year.

His nephew HRH Prince William, the Prince of Wales, held the role in 2021.

His Majesty The King attended while Prince of Wales in 2000 and Princess Anne, The Princess Royal, and Prince Andrew have also been Lord High Commissioners

The late Queen Elizabeth attended the General Assembly in person in 1969 and 2002 and also visited the General Assembly in 1977 as part of her Silver Jubilee celebrations.

The Moderator Designate for 2025-26 is Rev Rosemary (Rosie) Frew who will chair proceedings for the week and thereafter serve as the Church's ambassador at home and abroad for 12-months.

She will succeed Rt Rev Dr Shaw Paterson.