T14 Law Professor Awarded Honorary Knighthood By Queen Elizabeth

What a rare honor! Congrats!

Prof. Philip Bobbitt (Photo by Rick Patrick)

Plenty of law professors may be revered as knights in shining armor for gallantly saving students’ grades, but there’s only one who’s an actual knight.

Earlier this week, Professor Philip Bobbitt was awarded an honorary knighthood in recognition of his “services to UK/US relations and public life.” He’ll now be known as an honorary Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE). Because this knighthood is honorary, he won’t be able to refer to himself as Sir, but he can use the KBE title after his name.

Bobbitt is the Herbert Wechsler Professor of Federal Jurisprudence at Columbia University, where he serves as director of the school’s Center on National Security. (Above the Law readers may remember that “the James Bond of Columbia Law School” married Maya Ondalikoglu, a third-year law student from the school, in 2011. The pair are still happily married and have four children.) He’s also a Distinguished Senior Lecturer at The University of Texas in Austin. This is an incredibly rare honor — the last known time an American law professor received an honorary knighthood was in 1948.

Bobbitt is most widely known in the United Kingdom for his work on international security and constitutional law. He’s the author of 10 books, including The Shield of Achilles: War, Peace and the Course of History and Terror and Consent: The Wars for the 20th Century. Several of Bobbitt’s high-profile friends weighed in on the honor the Queen bestowed upon him:

“I am delighted that Philip has been recognised in this way. He has been a staunch, steadfast, and often passionate advocate for the USA/UK relationship, someone who combines the highest standards of intellectual thought and scholarship with a strong set of values and principles. He has been always a great friend to our nation and thoroughly deserves this recognition.”
–Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

“Philip Bobbitt warrants the uncommon granting of a UK knighthood for his important writings in law, philosophy and national security, his highly regarded teaching, his service in government, and his tireless commitment to preserving and enhancing the relationship between the US and UK. This is a well-deserved and timely honor.“
–Hillary Rodham Clinton, 67th United States Secretary of State

“Philip Bobbitt is one of the most distinguished philosophers of our time. I have benefited enormously from his wisdom and so have the readers of his extraordinary work. I’m happy that he has received this important recognition.”
–Henry Kissinger, 56th United States Secretary of State

“I’m greatly moved by this honour which I take as a recognition and reaffirmation of certain bonds that link the United States and the United Kingdom—commitment to the rule of law, collective security, and the preservation of the values of liberal democracy—to which my work has been devoted,” Bobbitt said, when he accepted the title. “Our many friends in America and Britain I imagine will be deeply pleased. They all know, however, that I am only a placeholder for the countless persons who have long nurtured a tradition of mutual affection, esteem, and reliance between our two countries.”

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Congratulations to Professor Philip Bobbitt on this extraordinary honor!


Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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