This is a list of presidents of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE). The president's role is to represent the institution and to promote the profession to the public. The first president was

Thomas Telford Thomas Telford FRS, FRSE, (9 August 1757 – 2 September 1834) was a Scottish civil engineer. After establishing himself as an engineer of road and canal projects in Shropshire, he designed numerous infrastructure projects in his native Scotla ...

who had the office bestowed upon him for life in recognition of his contributions to the

civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewage ...

profession. It became a biennial office with the election of

Sir William Cubitt Sir William Cubitt FRS (bapt. 9 October 1785 – 13 October 1861) was an eminent English civil engineer and millwright. Born in Norfolk, England, he was employed in many of the great engineering undertakings of his time. He invented a type o ...

in 1849 and an annual office with the election of Sir George Berkley in 1891, which it has remained since. On 18 December 1956 Harold Gourley died just six weeks after assuming the office in November. Gourley was the first regularly elected president to die in office (Telford, who was elected president for life, died in office) and the ICE council, who were authorised to fill any vacancy except that of President, were forced to call a

Special General Meeting An extraordinary general meeting, commonly abbreviated as EGM, is a meeting of members of an organisation, shareholders of a company, or employees of an official body that occurs at an irregular time.' The term is usually used where the group wou ...

of members. As a result of this meeting, Sir Frederick Arthur Whitaker was elected to the position in February 1957 and was allowed to serve out the remainder of Gourley's term in addition to his own full term. Subsequent deaths-in-office saw Sir Herbert Manzoni succeed Arthur Hartley in February 1960; and

Tony Ridley Tony Melville Ridley CBE (born 1933) is a British civil engineer and professor. He worked as a design and site engineer in the US and Britain before becoming chief research officer of the highways and transport department of the Greater London ...

succeed

Edmund Hambly Dr Edmund Cadbury Hambly (28 September 1942 – 28 March 1995) was a British structural engineer. Edmund Hambly was born in Seer Green, near Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire in 1942.

in March 1995. Current practice is for candidates to be nominated by the ICE Presidential Selection Panel. The candidate will then serve as one of several vice-presidents of the institution, becoming senior vice-president in the session preceding their term as president. The candidate is formally elected as president by the ICE council in the January of their senior vice-presidential term. The new president takes office at the start of the ICE session in November, the opening meeting being an address from the incoming president. The first female president,

Jean Venables Professor Jean Venables Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE, BSc (Eng), MSc, DSc, FREng, CEng, CEnv, FICE, FCGI, MCIWEM (born June 1948) is a British civil engineer who in November 2008 became the 144th President of the Institutio ...

, was elected in May 2008, and the second, Rachel Skinner, in 2020. The current president is Keith Howells.

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References

{{Reflist Civil engineering organizations

Institution of Civil Engineers

See also

Notes

References