An Oxford University historian has been announced as the new president of the British Academy.

Professor Sir David Cannadine will be the 13th president and will take up office in July 2017 for four years.

He is also a dodge professor of history at Princeton University and the editor of the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

He said: "I am hugely thrilled and honoured to be following Nick Stern as the next president.

"In more ways than one, these are challenging times for the academy, the people it represents and the values it embodies."

The British Academy is the UK's national body for the humanities and social sciences – the study of peoples, cultures and societies, past, present and future.

During its annual general meeting on Thursday it also elected 42 UK academics as fellows in recognition of their contribution to research.

Among those are eight academics who have an affiliation with Oxford University.

These include: Professor Stephen Broadberry (Professor of Economic History), Professor Patricia Clavin (Professor of International History), Professor Judith Freedman (Pinsent Masons Professor of Taxation Law and Associate Dean for Development), Professor Elizabeth Eva Leach (Professor of Music), Michael Macdonald (Research Associate at Faculty of Oriental Studies and Khalili Research Centre), Professor Catherine Morgan (Professor of Classics and Archaeology), Professor Duncan Snidal (Professor of International Relations) and Professor Fiona Williams OBE (Emeritus Professor of Social Policy).

Justice Kate O’Regan, a former judge in the constitutional court of South Africa and visiting professor at the University of Oxford, has also been awarded an honorary fellowship.