Colorado State Representative Matt Soper presents flag to University of Edinburgh

On 5 August 2022, State Representative Matt Soper (LLM, 2008; Grad LLB, 2010) of the Colorado House of Representatives presented the Colorado State flag to Professor Peter Mathieson and Professor Jo Shaw.

The flag ceremony took place in the Old College Quadrangle, where Rep Soper presented the Colorado State flag that had been flown over the Colorado State Capitol in honour of the University of Edinburgh. It was received by Professor Peter Mathieson, Principal and Vice Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh, and Professor Jo Shaw, Head of Edinburgh Law School.

Representative Soper graduated from Edinburgh Law School with an LLM in Public International Law in 2008 and a Grad LLB in 2011. He has since served two terms in the Colorado House of Representatives, having been first elected in 2018 to serve District 54, and is currently the only American legislator with both an LLM and a LLB from the University of Edinburgh.

Representative Soper said at the ceremony: “As a proud alumnus, and member of the Colorado House of Representatives, it is my honour to present a Colorado State Flag, flown over the State Capitol Building in Denver in honour of the University of Edinburgh to the leadership of my alma mater.”

“Presentation flags flown over the Capitol has been a tradition dating from the founding. These are to mark historical events. This flag represents the Edinburgh impact and having an alum in the legislature. Hopefully it inspires future leaders. The world needs more Edinburgh educated leaders.”

Professor Jo Shaw said: “As Head of Edinburgh Law School, I’m am always happy to see evidence of the global impact of our teaching and research at Edinburgh Law School, and we are pleased to know that we have given Representative Soper a foundation in law that has helped him serve the people of Colorado. The Principal and I were honoured to receive the Colorado State flag from Representative Soper, and do hope it will be an inspiration to our students.”

The flag will be permanently displayed in Edinburgh Law School and flown over the University of Edinburgh on 1 August 2023 to mark Colorado Day, which commemorates the admittance of Colorado as a state of the Union on 1 August 1876.

About the Colorado State flag

The Colorado State flag was designed by Andrew Carlisle Johnson and adopted by an act of the General Assembly on 5 June 1911. The colours in the Colorado flag represent the blue of the Colorado skies, the gold of her metal, the white of the mountain snows, and the red of her soil.

Read Representative Matt Soper’s alumni profile