The late twentieth century saw number theory draw sustained attention from mathematicians working to resolve problems that had long defied proof. Andrew Wiles, born on 11 April 1953 in Cambridge, is a British mathematician whose career has been shaped by engagement with such problems, most notably his proof of Fermat's Last Theorem.

Wiles was educated at King's College School, The Leys School, Clare College, Merton College, and the University of Cambridge, before going on to work as a mathematician and university teacher. He holds the position of Royal Society Research Professor at the University of Oxford and, in 2018, was appointed the first Regius Professor of Mathematics at Oxford. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society.

The honours Wiles has received across his career reflect recognition from a range of major institutions. He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2000 and was named a MacArthur Fellow in 1997. Further awards include the Whitehead Prize, the Cole Prize in Number Theory, the Clay Research Award, the Shaw Prize, and the Copley Medal, demonstrating the breadth of formal acknowledgement his work has attracted over several decades.

The Abel Prize was also awarded to Wiles, representing one of the most formally significant honours available to a mathematician. Taken together with his 2018 appointment as Oxford's first Regius Professor of Mathematics, these distinctions mark a career that has been recognised repeatedly by prize committees and academic institutions alike. That professorship, created specifically to mark a place of distinction within the university, stands as a concrete institutional record of his standing in the field.