The society is governed by its council, which is chaired by the society's
president,
according to a set of statutes and standing orders. The members of
council, the president and the other officers are elected from and by
its fellowship.
Fellows
Isaac Newton was one of the earliest Fellows of the Royal Society, elected in 1672
The society's core members are the fellows: scientists and engineers
from the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth selected based on having
made "a substantial contribution to the improvement of natural
knowledge, including mathematics, engineering science and medical
science".
[59] Fellows are elected for life and gain the right to use the
postnominal Fellow of the Royal Society
(FRS). The rights and responsibilities of fellows also include a duty
to financially contribute to the society, the right to stand for council
posts and the right to elect new fellows.
[60] Up to 52 fellows are elected each year and in 2014 there were about 1,450 living members in total.
[28]
Election to the fellowship is decided by ten sectional committees (each
covering a subject area or set of subjects areas) which consist of
existing fellows.
The society also elects royal fellows, honorary fellows and foreign members. Royal fellows are those members of the
British Royal Family, representing the
British monarchy's
role in promoting and supporting the society, who are recommended by
the society's council and elected via postal vote. There are currently
[when?] five royal fellows:
The Duke of Edinburgh,
The Prince of Wales,
The Duke of Kent, the
Princess Royal, and
The Duke of Cambridge.
[61]
Honorary fellows are people who are ineligible to be elected as fellows
but nevertheless have "rendered signal service to the cause of science,
or whose election would significantly benefit the Society by their
great experience in other walks of life". Six honorary fellows have been
elected to date, including
Baroness O'Neill of Bengarve.
[62]
Foreign members are scientists from non-Commonwealth nations "who are
eminent for their scientific discoveries and attainments". Eight are
elected each year by the society and also hold their membership for
life. Foreign members are permitted to use the post-nominal ForMemRS
(Foreign Member of the Royal Society) and currently
[when?] number about 140.
[63]
The appointment of fellows was first authorised in the second
charter, issued on 22 April 1663, which allowed the president and
council, in the two months following the signing, to appoint as fellows
any individuals they saw fit. This saw the appointment of 94 fellows on
20 May and 4 on 22 June; these 98 are known as the "Original Fellows".
After the expiration of this two-month period any appointments were to
be made by the president, council and existing fellows.
[64]
Many early fellows were not scientists or particularly eminent
intellectuals; it was clear that the early society could not rely on
financial assistance from the king, and scientifically trained fellows
were few and far between. It was therefore necessary to secure the
favour of wealthy or important individuals for the society's survival.
[65] While the entrance fee of £4 and the subscription rate of one
shilling a week should have produced £600 a year for the society, many fellows paid neither regularly nor on time.
[66]
Two-thirds of the fellows in 1663 were non-scientists; this rose to
71.6% in 1800 before dropping to 47.4% in 1860 as the financial security
of the society became more certain.
[67]
In May 1846, a committee recommended limiting the annual intake of
members to 15 and insisting on scientific eminence; this was
implemented, with the result being that the society now consists
exclusively of scientific fellows.
[68]
Council
The
council is a body of 21 fellows, including the officers (the president,
the treasurer, two secretaries—one from the physical sciences, one from
life sciences—and the foreign secretary),
[69] one fellow to represent each sectional committee and seven other fellows.
[70]
The council is tasked with directing the society's overall policy,
managing all business related to the society, amending, making or
repealing the society's standing orders and acting as trustees for the
society's possessions and estates. Members are elected annually via a
postal ballot, and current standing orders mean that at least ten seats
must change hands each year.
[71] The council may establish (and is assisted by) a variety of committees,
[71] which can include not only fellows but also outside scientists.
[70] Under the charter, the president, two secretaries and the treasurer are collectively the officers of the society.
[72] The current officers are:
President
The President of the Royal Society is head of both the society and
the council. The details for the presidency were set out in the second
charter and initially had no limit on how long a president could serve
for; under current society statute, the term is five years.
[74]
The current president is
Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, who took over from
Paul Nurse on 30 November 2015.
[75] Historically, the duties of the president have been both formal and social. The
Cruelty to Animals Act 1876
left the president as one of the few individuals capable of certifying
that a particular experiment on an animal was justified. In addition,
the president is to act as the government's chief (albeit informal)
advisor on scientific matters. Yet another task is that of entertaining
distinguished foreign guests and scientists.
[76]
