The Royal Asiatic Society is incorporated by Royal Charter and is a UK registered charity (No. 209629). The Society is governed by an elected Council. Officers of the Council usually serve for a three-year term and members of the Council usually serve for a four-year term.
Dr Norbert Peabody (2024-2027)
Professor Sarah Ansari (2025-2028)
Mrs Elizabeth Robb (2025-2028)
Dr Mehreen Chida-Razvi (2026-2030)
Dr Annabel Teh Gallop (2026-2030)
Professor Simon Kaner (2026-2030)
Professor Prashant Kidambi (2026-2030)
Professor Scott Redford (2026-2030)
Dr Tom Young (2026-2030)
Dr Elizabeth Driver (2025-2029)
Dr Gordon Johnson (2025-2029)
Dr Jagjeet Lally (2025-2029)
Dr Yuri Stoyanov (2025-2029)
Dr Gai Jorayev (2024-2028)
Professor Javed Majeed (2024-2028)
Dr Jochen Sokoly (2024-2028)
Professor Surya Subedi, OBE, KC (2024-2028)
Dr Weipin Tsai (2023-2027)
Professor Susan Whitfield (2023-2027)
The Society received its Royal Charter in 1824 which confers its independent legal personality and defines its purposes. A Supplemental Charter was granted in 1987. These documents can be viewed here.
Additionally, the Society is governed by its Byelaws and Standing Orders, which further outline the regulations that govern its management and operations. These documents can be viewed here and are available to download as PDF files:
The Society acknowledges the contributions of those who give their time freely to help achieve its goals. We have a Volunteer Policy which outlines the relationship between the Society and our volunteers.
Our Privacy Policy can be viewed here.
Annual Reports and Financial Statements are presented at the Society’s Anniversary General Meetings as an overview of the Society’s achievements and financial performance for the year under review. Past reports and statements in PDFs can be viewed below:
Report and Financial Statements 2025
Report and Financial Statements 2024
Report and Financial Statements 2023
Report and Financial Statements 2022
Report and Financial Statements 2021
Report and Financial Statements 2020
Report and Financial Statements 2019
Report and Financial Statements 2018
Report and Financial Statements 2017
Report and Financial Statements 2016
Report and Financial Statements 2015