Professor Anthony Cohen, CBE, FRSE is a British social anthropologist and served as Principal & Vice Chancellor of Edinburgh’s Queen Margaret University.
He conducted fieldwork in Springdale, Newfoundland (1968–70) on local-level politics; and in Whalsay (1973–90), the longest sustained study of a rural British community ever undertaken.
In 1988 he was appointed Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Edinburgh, a post he held until 2003.
In 2003, he became Principal and Vice-Patron of Queen Margaret University College, Edinburgh, and Professor of Social and Cultural Anthropology.
He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2008 Birthday Honours.