This list of University of Leeds people is a selected list of notable past staff and students of the University of Leeds.
Students
Politics
Kwabena Kwakye Anti, Ghanaian politician
John Battle, former Labour Member of Parliament for Leeds West (English, 1976) Irwin Bellow, Baron Bellwin, former Conservative Minister of State for the Environment (LLB in Law) Sir Bracewell Smith, businessman, Conservative Member of Parliament (1932–45) and Lord Mayor of London (1946). Alan Campbell, Labour Member of Parliament for Tynemouth and former Government Whip (PGCE) Mark Collett, former chairman of the Young BNP, the youth division of the British National Party; Director of Publicity for the Party before being suspended from the party in early April 2010 (Business Economics, 2002) Nambaryn Enkhbayar, former President of Mongolia (2000-2004) (exchange student, 1986) José Ángel Gurría, economist, secretary general of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Ken Hind, barrister and former Conservative Member of Parliament for West Lancashire (Law, 1971) Eric Illsley, Labour Member of Parliament for Barnsley Central (LLB in Law) Chris Leslie, Former Labour Member of Parliament for Shipley (1997-2005) and Nottingham East (2010–19) (Politics and Parliamentary Studies, 1994) Andrew Leung, current President of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. Alison Lowe, first black woman Leeds City Councillor (History, matriculated 1987) Simba Makoni, Zimbabwean Politician and candidate for Zimbabwe elections 2008 Jess Phillips, Labour Member of Parliament for Birmingham Yardley (UK Parliament constituency) (Economics and Economic History and Social Policy, 2003) Khalid Samad, Malaysian politician and former Minister Of Federal Territories; Current Member of Parliament for Shah Alam Clare Short, former Labour Member of Parliament for Birmingham Ladywood and International Development Secretary (Political Science, 1969) Jeanne Siméon, current Minister of Habitat, Lands, Infrastructure, and Land Transport in the Seychelles (Education Management and Teacher Training) Alex Sobel, Labour Co-op Member of Parliament for Leeds North West (Information Systems, 1997) Keir Starmer, Leader of the Labour Party from 2020, MP for Holborn and St Pancras from 2015, Director of Public Prosecutions, 2008–2013 (LLB Law, 1985) Jack Straw, barrister and Labour Member of Parliament for Blackburn; former Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary (LLB in Law, 1967) Paul Truswell, former Labour Member of Parliament for Pudsey (History, 1977) Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi, former Chairman of the Conservative Party and Minister without Portfolio (LLB in Law) Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, Chief Minister Terengganu and former lecturer (Aerospace)
Media
Timothy Allen, photojournalist (Zoology, 1989) Steve Bell, political cartoonist for The Guardian (Fine Art, 1974) Mark Brayne, BBC foreign correspondent (BA, Modern Languages, 1973) Mark Byford, deputy Director-General of the BBC (LLB in Law, 1979) James Cooper, Co-host of My Dad Wrote a Porno Martine Croxall, TV journalist and news presenter BBC News (BA Geography, 1990) Barry Cryer, comedian and scriptwriter (English, did not graduate, awarded an honorary doctorate in 2017) Paul Dacre, editor of the Daily Mail (English, 1970) Gavin Esler, Newsnight anchor (MA Anglo-Irish Literature, 1975) Polly Evans, television presenter, South East Today (English & Theatre, 1990s) Jenni Falconer, television presenter (Student, Spanish and Italian, 1990s) Tatiana Hambro, fashion writer and editor for Moda Operandi and British Vogue Nancy Kacungira, Ugandan presenter and correspondent, BBC News Andy Kershaw, DJ and broadcaster (Politics) Liz Kershaw, journalist and radio DJ (Textiles, 1978) Alice Levine, Co-host of My Dad Wrote a Porno and former BBC Radio 1 DJ Peter Morgan, screenwriter (Fine Art, 1985) Jamie Morton, Co-host of My Dad Wrote a Porno Naga Munchetty, TV presenter and journalist (English Literature and Language, 1997) Nick Owen, English television presenter and newsreader (Classics, 1969) Richard Quest, reporter for CNN (Law, 1985) Anita Rani, English radio and television presenter and journalist (Broadcasting) Jay Rayner, features writer and restaurant critic, The Observer (Political Studies, 1987) Steve Rosenberg, BBC Russia editor (Russian Studies, 1991) Georgie Thompson, Sky Sports News presenter (Broadcast Journalism, 1999) Fergus Walsh, BBC medical editor (English Literature, 1983) Mark Wheat, radio DJ at The Current from Minnesota Public Radio (English, 1981) Nicholas Witchell, BBC newsreader and royal and diplomatic correspondent (LLB in Law, 1976) Alan Yentob, BBC Creative Director (LLB in Law, 1968)