Lord Sainsbury of Turville has been confirmed as the new Chancellor of the University of Cambridge.
The former Government minister will replace the Duke of Edinburgh who stood down in June.
Lord Sainsbury, who read History and Psychology at King's College, Cambridge, before joining Sainsbury plc in 1963, said: "I am pleased and honoured to have been elected as the next Chancellor of Cambridge University, and would like to thank all those who have supported me, and the other candidates who have made this such a friendly election.
"I am particularly pleased that the election did not turn into a battle between the arts and humanities and science, or between political parties, and I look forward to championing the university in its entirety at home and abroad in the years ahead."
Lord Sainsbury faced competition for the post from the actor Brian Blessed, local shopkeeper Abdul Arain and the lawyer Michael Mansfield QC.
The contest was billed as the closest election for 164 years, when Queen Victoria's Consort Prince Albert narrowly beat the Earl of Powis to the post.
The university said it expected between 8,000 and 10,000 votes to elect the new chancellor, whose predecessor served from 1976.
David Sainsbury became Lord Sainsbury of Turville in October, 1997.
He was appointed Minister of Science and Innovation from July 1998 until November 2006, and had responsibility for the Office of Science and Technology, Innovation, Space, the Bioscience and Chemical Industries, and the Patent Office.
He is also the founder of the Gatsby Charitable Foundation, and in 2003 received, on behalf of the Sainsbury family, the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Philanthropy.