Cambridge Union

The Cambridge Union Society, also known as the Cambridge Union, is a historic debating and free speech society in Cambridge, England, and the largest society in the University of Cambridge. The society was founded in 1815 making it the oldest continuously running debating society in the world. Additionally, the Cambridge Union has served as a model for the foundation of similar societies at several other prominent universities, including the Oxford Union and the Yale Political Union. The Union's membership is open to all students of Cambridge University and Anglia Ruskin University, as well as members of the public (as an ‘open member’). Alumni of both universities in addition to present and former staff are also permitted to join. The Cambridge Union is a registered charity and is completely separate from the Cambridge University Students' Union.

The Cambridge Union has a long and extensive tradition of hosting prominent figures from all areas of public life in its chamber, including UK Prime Ministers Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher, and John Major, US presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan, presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, the Dalai Lama, Bill Gates, Stephen Hawking, comedian Stephen Fry, as well a James Baldwin and William F. Buckley. Previous presidents of the Cambridge Union have included economist John Maynard Keynes, novelist Robert Harris, politician Kenneth Clarke, and author Arianna Huffington.