Honorary degrees 2007

Honorary degrees were given to eight eminent people from the world of international affairs, education, research and the arts to reflect their enormous contribution to these fields.

Three individuals became Honorary Doctors of Law.

Swedish-born diplomat and politician Dr Hans Blix is former head of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission. He was educated at the University of Uppsala and studied for a PhD at Trinity Hall, Cambridge. From 1981 to 1997 Dr Blix oversaw inspections of Iraq's nuclear programme, and presided over the re-introduction of inspectors in 2002.

Ann Cotton is the founder and director of CAMFED (Campaign for Female Education), a charity that raises money to educate girls in Africa. Beginning as a stall on Cambridge market, selling food to pay for girls in Zimbabwe to attend school, CAMFED now reaches more than 427,000 children across four African countries. Ann's achievements in girls' education have won her a series of awards, including an OBE.

Philosopher Baroness O'Neill is President of the British Academy and chair of the Nuffield Foundation, one of the country's best know charitable trusts. From 1992 to 2006 she was Principal of Newnham College, Cambridge. Onora O'Neill is a leading authority in medical ethics and has written widely on political philosophy, international justice and bioethics. She became a Life Peer in 1999.

Alumnus and Honorary Fellow of Peterhouse, Sir Nicholas Stern was the Chief Economist and Senior Vice-President of the World Bank from 2000 to 2003. He is now an economic adviser to the British government. In 2005 he was appointed to lead a review of the economics of climate change, which led to the publication of the Stern Review. He was knighted in 2004.

The following people were presented with Honorary Doctorates in Science.

Renowned palaeo-anthropologist Dr Richard Leakey has spent much of his life in Kenya. Fossils discovered by his team include the 1.6 million-year-old Turkana Boy, one of the most complete examples of Homo Erectus found. Dr Leakey has authored and co-authored more than 100 scientific articles and books, including the Origin of Humankind. He has been active in Kenyan politics and in 1997 was elected to Kenyan parliament.

Developmental biologist Sir John Gurdon is known for his pioneering research in nuclear transplantation and cloning. Cloning experiments he carried out in the 1960s led to the development of tools and techniques still used today. In 1989 he was a founding member of the Wellcome/Institute for Cell Biology and Cancer in Cambridge, which was renamed in his honour in 2004. From 1995 to 2002 he was Master of Magdalene College.

Two individuals became Honorary Doctors of Letters.

Most famous of all contemporary British artists, David Hockney began his career at Bradford School of Art, winning a place at the Royal College of Art in 1959. Developing a distinctive modern style, he moved to the USA to become a key figure in the Pop Art movement. He has worked in photography and stage design, producing sets for the Metropolitan Opera in New York and Covent Garden in London. He divides his time between Los Angeles and Miami.

Prize-winning biographer, Claire Tomalin has explored the life and times of many eminent figures, including Mary Wollstonecraft, Jane Austen and Samuel Pepys. Her most recent book is Time-Torn Man: A Life of Thomas Hardy (2006). She was educated at Newnham College, Cambridge, and worked in publishing and journalism, becoming literary editor of the New Statesman and the Sunday Times. Claire is an Honorary Fellow of both Newnham College and Lucy Cavendish College, and an Honorary Member of Magdalene College.