The governance of the Royal Society, which is a registered charity, rests with a Council of 21 Fellows, who are elected by the Fellowship. The Council manages all the Society’s business and its members are Trustees of the Society under charity legislation. They have the power to make, appeal or amend the Standing Orders (PDF) for the regulation of the Society’s affairs in accordance with its Statutes (PDF).
The Council is elected annually and takes up office on Anniversary Day, 30 November, each year. All Council members give their time voluntarily. Each year, ten Council members are replaced and the remainder put up for re-election.
The Council for 2012-2013 is:
Sir Paul Nurse FRS (President)
Professor Anthony Cheetham FRS (Treasurer)
Professor John Pethica FRS (Physical Secretary)
Dame Jean Thomas DBE FRS (Biological Secretary)
Professor Martyn Poliakoff CBE FRS (Foreign Secretary)
Professor Gillian Bates FMedSci FRS
Sir John Beddington CMG FRS
Professor Geoffrey Boulton FRS OBE
Dr Simon Campbell CBE FMedSci FRS
Professor John Collinge FRS
Dame Athene Donald DBE FRS
Professor Carlos Frenk FRS
Professor Alexander Halliday FRS
Professor Judith Howard CBE FRS
Professor Frances Kirwan FRS
Professor Ottoline Leyser CBE FRS
Dr Robin Lovell-Badge FRS
Professor Roger Owen FREng FRS
Professor Tim Pedley FRS
Professor Nicholas Tonks FRS
Professor John Wood FRS