Sir Anthony Seldon is leaving his role as vice-chancellor of the University of Buckingham.

In a tweet posted on 1 May, Seldon said: “It’s been an absolute privilege to serve as @UniOfBuckingham’s vice-chancellor for the past five years. I’ll be taking a proper break for a few months after I leave – but I’m not retiring, and look forward to seeing what comes next.”

Seldon – who has written biographies of former British prime ministers Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair, and served as master of Wellington College for eight years – was wished well by Twitter users. One wrote: “There are few, if any, more hardworking and inspirational than Anthony Seldon.”

Born in 1953 to Arthur Seldon, co-founder of the Institute of Economic Affairs, Anthony was educated at Tonbridge School and Worcester College, Oxford, where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in politics, philosophy and economics.

He became a teacher in 1983 with Whitgift School in Croydon, London, where he was head of politics and taught in its sixth form. After returning to his alma mater, he became headmaster of Brighton College in 1997, where he worked until 2006, when he joined Wellington College.

In a statement, the University of Buckingham, one of the UK’s oldest private universities, said that during Seldon’s tenure, “the university has expanded; it has raised more money in donations than in the previous 40 years; it has erected major new buildings in Buckingham and at Milton Keynes Hospital; it has brought in an entirely new senior leadership team; a new team of academic deans, a new chancellor; it has forged close links with government and stakeholders at local, regional and national levels; it has set up the UN Institute, and has been a national pioneer in student wellbeing and positive psychology; and its new medical school has graduated its first two cohorts of doctors.”

Seldon is a leading British historian, whose catalogue of books spans contemporary history, politics, education and more.

He is on the board of several charities, has served as an honorary historical advisor to the British government and is UK special representative for Saudi education, according to his website.