Dr Vautrey will take on the role from Professor Dame Clare Gerada in November and serve a two-year term. His appointment follows a vote by college members.
The college has also announced results for six nationally-elected council members, which include former chair of the BMA, and Dr Vautrey's predecessor as chair of the BMA GP committee in England, Dr Chaand Nagpaul.
The six GPs elected to the RCGP council are:
- Dr Azza Elghonaimy
- Dr Aneez Esmail
- Dr Chaand Nagpaul
- Dr Heather Ryan
- Dr Selvaseelan Selvarajah
- Dr Emma Wong
The new council members will begin a three-year term starting in November.
New RCGP president
Unlike other royal colleges, the RCGP president role is largely ceremonial, with the chair of council, currently Professor Kamila Hawthorne, setting the strategic and policy direction for the college.
Dr Vautrey has been a GP partner in Leeds for nearly 30 years and has also worked in Nigeria. He was chair of the BMA GP committee in England from 2017 until 2021 and was a member of the GP committee negotiating committee and exectuve team from 2004 until he stood down as chair in 2021.
Alongside his role on the BMA, Dr Vautrey also has 13 years of experience as a member of the RCGP council – he was a GP committee observer between 2005 and 2010 and a nationally elected member from 2010 to 2017 and was elected to the council again in 2022.
Dr Vautrey beat off competition from six other candidates to be elected president.
Following the election RCGP interim chief operating officer and college returning officer Mark Thomas said: 'Congratulations to Richard and to all our new nationally elected members - and thank you to everyone who put themselves forward for election.
'At a time when GPs are facing enormous workload pressures amid severe workforce shortages, the need for strong college representation has arguably never been more important to our grassroots membership.
'We look forward to working with our new president and new council members to improve the working lives of our members and the care they deliver to their patients, now and in the future.'
