Our patron
Alexander McCall Smith
“If you want to help Africa, my recommendation is GARC. This is money that is very very well spent. Not only is it saving human life, it is improving animal welfare.”
Alexander McCall Smith is best known for The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, set in Botswana, which has risen to the top of bestseller lists throughout the world. The fifth novel in the series, The Full Cupboard of Life, received the UK Saga Award for Wit. The series has been translated into 43 languages and has sold over 15 million copies worldwide.
In total, he has written more than 60 books, including specialist academic titles, short story collections, and children's books.
He has a special affection for Africa. He was born in (what is now) Zimbabwe and was educated there and in Scotland. He returned to Africa as a law professor, and helped set up a new law school at the University of Botswana.
He was Professor of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh for many years, and has been a visiting professor at a number of other universities, including in Italy and the United States.
In addition to his university work, McCall Smith was vice-chairman of the Human Genetics Commission of the UK for four years, the chairman of the British Medical Journal Ethics committee, and a member of the International Bioethics Commission of UNESCO.
Alexander McCall Smith lives in Edinburgh with his wife, Elizabeth, and he has two daughters. His hobbies include playing wind instruments, and he is the co-founder of an amateur orchestra called "The Really Terrible Orchestra".
In 2007, he was made a CBE in the Queen's New Year Honours List, for services to literature. He retired several years ago to concentrate on his writing career, and is now Professor Emeritus of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh.
