Professor Gideon Henderson
Biography
Professor Gideon Henderson was Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from October 2019 to June 2025. He was also Director General for Science and Analysis.
He was responsible for overseeing the quality of evidence that the Department relies on for policy decisions. He also provided ministers with scientific advice and set the priorities for scientific research and evidence-gathering.
He has been Professor of Earth Sciences at the Department of Earth Sciences in the University of Oxford since 2006.
He has also jointly held positions as Senior Research Fellow at University College, Oxford since 2012 and as Adjunct Associate Research Scientist at the Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University since 1999.
His awards include the 30th Annual Plymouth Marine Science Medal 2016, European Union of Geosciences outstanding young scientist award in 2001, and the Leverhulme Prize Fellowship in 2001. In 2013 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS).
Previous roles in government
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Director General for Science and Analysis
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Defra Chief Scientific Adviser