Former solicitor Loretta Minghella will be the next master of Clare College, Cambridge, succeeding Lord Grabiner QC in 2021. Minghella’s legal career was built in financial regulation, and she was the first head of enforcement law for the Financial Services Authority. Senior Fellow Dr Fred Parker informed college members in an email on 2 November.

As chief executive of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme from 2004 Minghella was in post for the 2007-08 financial crisis, and oversaw the payment of over £21bn to victims of bank and other financial failures. She was chief executive of Christian Aid and joins Clare from the position of First Church Estates Commissioner, which she has held since 2017.

Minghella will be the third lawyer to lead the college in recent decades and the first woman to hold the position. As well as Grabiner, who serves a single five-year term, Sir Bob Hepple QC is a predecessor. Other notable Clare lawyers include fellow David Howarth, who was the city’s MP from 2005-10.

A Clare graduate, Minghella will be in post to mark the 50th anniversary of the admission of women undergraduates to the college, which is Cambridge’s second oldest.

Dr Parker said: ‘Among many strong candidates, she stood out not only for her distinguished career, but for the strength of her commitment to fostering the whole community life of the college. Her combination of high-level organisational acumen with remarkable personal engagement has impressed Fellows, staff and students alike.’