University of Essex

Notable alumni

• Alex Neve (Canada)

  Graduated from the University of Essex

  Earned a Master of Laws (LLM) degree in 1991.

  Lifetime achievements

  A lawyer, human rights activist and Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada. During his time at Amnesty International, Neve has contributed many reports, studies and legal submissions to parliamentary committees and United Nations human rights bodies, including the Maher Arar Commission.

• Ben Okri (Nigeria)

  Graduated from the University of Essex

  Earned a BA in Comparative Literature in 1981.

  Lifetime achievements

  The youngest ever Booker Prize winner in 1991 for his novel The Famished Road. He was made an honorary Vice-President of PEN International and a member of the board of the Royal National Theatre in London.

• Carlos Huneeus (Chile)

  Graduated from the University of Essex

  Earned an MA in Political Behaviour.

  Lifetime achievements

  Associate Professor at the Instituto de Estudios Internacionales, Universidad de Chile. He is the author of several books including El Régimen de Pinochet (The Pinochet Regime), and Chile Un Pais Dividido: La actualidad del pasado.

• Dr Ali. A Houshmand (USA)

  Graduated from the University of Essex

  Earned a BA in 1981 and an MSc in Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics in 1983.

  Lifetime achievements

  The president of Rowan University in New Jersey, USA since 2012. Under Houshmand’s leadership, the University has become a Carnegie-classified national research institution with 2 medical schools. Between 2012 and 2018, Rowan University’s enrolment grew from 11,000 students to 19,000 students, making it the 7th fastest growing research university in the USA.

• Fatimakhon Ahmedova (Tajikistan)

  Graduated from the University of Essex

  Earned an MA in 2004.

  Lifetime achievements

  Nobel Peace Prize-winning democracy and human rights activist and Fellow to the National Endowment for Democracy, USA. Ahmedova is also a professor and works for the Center for Democratic Transformation in Tajikistan. She researches issues such as human rights violations, prisoners, ethnic conflict and corruption.

• Rodolfo Neri Vela (Mexico)

  Graduated from the University of Essex

  Earned an MSc in Science, specialising in Telecommunications Systems, in 1976.

  Lifetime achievements

  Mexican scientist and astronaut who flew aboard a NASA Space Shuttle mission in 1985. He is the first Mexican, and the second Latin American to have travelled to space.

• Sir Christopher Pissarides (Cyprus)

  Graduated from the University of Essex

  Earned a BA in 1970, and an MA in 1971, in Economics.

  Lifetime achievements

  Awarded a joint Nobel Prize for Economics in 2010 with Peter A. Diamond and Dale Mortensen, for their contributions to the theory of search frictions and macroeconomics. In the words of the Nobel committee, they “help us understand the ways in which unemployment, job vacancies and wages are affected by regulation and economic policy”.

• Terence Chibula (Zambia)

  Graduated from the University of Essex

  Earned a Master of Laws (LLM) in International Human Rights Law in 2001.

  Lifetime achievements

  Director of Terence Ray Solicitors, a legal practice based in London since 2011, specialising in immigration, family and employment law.

• Yiu-Chung Leung (Hong Kong SAR)

  Graduated from the University of Essex

  Earned a BSc in Mathematics in 1978.

  Lifetime achievements

  A long-time member of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

• Yusli Mohamed Yusoff (Malaysia)

  Graduated from the University of Essex

  Earned a BA Economics in 1981.

  Lifetime achievements

  CEO of the Malaysian Stock Exchange (Bursa Malaysia) from 2004 to 2011. Yusoff was then an Independent Non-Executive Director of YTL Power International Bhd until 2018.