Zeinab Badawi

President of SOAS | University of London

Zeinab Badawi was born in the Sudan.  She has a BA Hons degree from Oxford University,  where she is an honorary fellow, and an MA awarded with a distinction from SOAS, London University.  

In addition to a long broadcast career that include an epic 20 part BBC tv series on the history of Africa , Zeinab is  President of SOAS, she is a member of the high-level group of the Africa-Europe Foundation, a board member of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation ,the Royal Foundation of the Prince and Princess of Wales, she is a member of the advisory boards of Afro-Barometer and MINDS - the Mandela Institute for Development Studies,  and sits on the Council of the UK’s Arts, Humanities and Research Council.  Zeinab has received many awards such as the Sir Brian Urquhart Award for distinguished service to the UN, the British Academy’s President Award for services to international broadcasting and female education and the Royal African Society’s Lifetime Achievement Award for services to Africa.  She has received several  honorary doctorates.  

Her book An African History of Africa was published in April 2024 and became an instant bestseller reaching the number one slot in The Times best hardback non-fiction category.   Zeinab has four children.