22 June 2009

GPPi Advisory Board member Ralf Dahrendorf passes away on 17 June 2009

Lord Ralf Dahrendorf, a founding GPPi Advisory Board member and a member of the British House of Lords, died on 17 June 2009 at the age of 80. Born 1 May 1929, Dahrendorf was a German-British sociologist, philosopher, political scientist and a leading authority amongst liberal politicians.

A Member of the British House of Lords, Dahrendorf held numerous scientific and political offices including: member of the German Parliament; European Commissioner for External Relations and Trade; European Commissioner for Research, Science and Education as well as Director of the London School of Economics and Warden of St. Antony’s College at the University of Oxford.

Born in Hamburg, Dahrendorf studied classics and philosophy at the University of Hamburg, but later switched to social sciences in which he received his first Ph.D. Dahrendorf received his second doctorate from the London School of Economics for a thesis on unskilled labor in British industry. In his professional career he was an academic who delved into politics and, at the same time, a political advocate who brought together intellectual and moral perspectives to strengthen the functioning of democracy. His decades of work and dedication, underpinned with intellectual rigor and political insight, earned him the respect of all those around him, who recognized Dahrendorf as one of the foremost intellectuals of his generation. Theo Sommer, editor-at-large at DIE ZEIT and a fellow GPPi advisory board member, pointed out, “In the many worlds between which Ralf Dahrendorf traveled effortlessly his voice found more recognition than that of any German of his generation.”

GPPi Director Wolfgang Reinicke extended condolences to the family of Lord Dahrendorf. Reinicke pointed out the critical support provided by Lord Dahrendorf in the early years of GPPi, “Our institute owes a lot to the vision and dedication of Lord Dahrendorf”.

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