Westminster Seminary UK appoints new President from January 2025

After many months of prayer, discussion and planning, we are delighted to announce the appointment of Dr Donald John MacLean to the role of President from January 2025.

Dr MacLean brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the role, and will lead the seminary forward in its commitment to training ministers for a lifetime of faithful and fruitful ministry.

Dr MacLean will succeed Rev Dr Ian Hamilton, who has been Westminster’s President since 2021, and whose work has been characterised by clarity of vision, energy and wisdom. Dr Hamilton will continue to lead Westminster in a non-executive role as the new Chairman of the Board, and remains Professor of Historical Theology.

“I am delighted that Donald John Maclean has been chosen by the Westminster Seminary UK Board of Trustees to succeed me as President of the Seminary,” said Dr Hamilton. “I have known Donald John for over fifteen years, as a friend, a fellow elder in Cambridge Presbyterian Church, and as a colleague on the Board of the Banner of Truth Trust. Donald John will lead the Seminary with grace, humility, gospel courage and faithfulness to the living and abiding Word of God. His appointment fills me with enthusiasm and joy.”

Donald John MacLean holds a degree in mathematics from Heriot-Watt University, and earned his PhD in historical theology from the University of Wales, Trinity St David. He has over a decade’s experience of leadership at Executive and Board level, including as Managing Director in a leading international insurance provider.

He currently serves as Trustee of the Banner of Truth, Tyndale House, and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of England and Wales (EPCEW). He is Assistant Professor of Historical Theology at Westminster Seminary UK, and Adjunct Professor at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary.

As Editor of Affinity’s international journal, Foundations, and Associate Editor of the Banner of Truth Magazine, his journal articles have also been published by the Westminster Theological Journal, Confessional Presbyterian Journal, Scottish Bulletin of Evangelical Theology, and Puritan Reformed Journal. His published books include All Things Are Ready: Understanding the Gospel in its Fullness and Freeness. He is currently leading a substantial expansion of the present four-volume Collective Writings of Professor John Murray.

Dr MacLean said, “It is an immense joy to be called to serve as President of Westminster Seminary UK. There is a pressing need today for ministerial training that is theologically robust, pastorally sensitive and outreach minded. My firm belief is that Westminster Seminary UK, as a generous hearted and catholic spirited Reformed seminary, is well placed to meet that need. I take up this post with excitement and expectation, but very conscious that only God can give any growth (1 Cor. 3:7).”

An elder with more than ten years’ experience, Dr MacLean preaches extensively, both in his own church, Cambridge Presbyterian, and across the UK. He speaks at seminaries and conferences internationally.

He is married to Ruth, a Cambridge librarian; their two children, Hannah and Jonathan, share their father’s love of fly fishing, hillwalking and all things Scottish.

Westminster Seminary UK believes that Dr MacLean’s vision, experience and, above all, his faithfulness to the Lord Jesus Christ will help further its mission to prepare, train and send faithful ministers who are rooted in God’s Word and ready to proclaim it wherever Christ calls them.

Please join us in praying for Dr MacLean, Dr Hamilton and the wider Seminary as we move ahead with this succession and into a new season of training men for gospel ministry.