Condolences

It is with great sadness that we share the passing of our dear colleague Majid Fayaz, at the age of 46. Majid was a valued member of our LSE Security Team, known for his dedication, kindness, and unwavering commitment to keeping our workplace safe.

Beyond his role at work, Majid was a devoted husband and a loving father to his two young children. Our thoughts and deepest sympathies go out to his family during this incredibly difficult time. As colleagues, we mourn his loss, but we also remember the kindness, dedication, and quiet strength that defined his time with us.

In honour of Majid’s memory, we encourage staff to share their condolences here and support his family. May he rest in peace, knowing he made a lasting impact on those around him.

It is with deep sadness that we share the news that our colleague Dr. Edward (Eddie) H. Hunt passed away earlier this month.

Eddie’s long association with Economic History at LSE began in the 1960s when he arrived for his undergraduate studies. He remained at the School and completed his PhD with the topic Regional Wage Variations in Britain, 1850-1914. 

He briefly left in the late ‘60s to take up a position as Assistant Lecturer in Economic History at Queen’s University, Belfast, before returning to Houghton Street in 1969 where he stayed for rest of his career. 

Described as being “among the most promising of economic historians of my generation” by Patrick O’Brien, Eddie participated in the life of the Department and the field of Economic History more generally, with relish being Assistant Editor (1971-75), then Book Review Editor (1982-86) of The Economic History Review, the journal published by the Economic History Society. 

Along with his co-author Stephen Pam, Eddie published widely on agricultural history, most notably debunking the long-held theory that Essex farmers had needed rescuing by the incoming Scots. Their paper Essex Men Vindicated: output, incomes and investment in agriculture, 1850-73 (1993) has been downloaded from the LSE archive more than 1,200 times. 

Eddie’s research, especially his studies of wages in the long-nineteenth century, remains a vital ingredient of discussions in economic history and his monograph British Labour History, 1815-1914 was ground-breaking in the way it covered the changing face of the life and labour of the British working class in the century before the First World War. 

It is as the head of the MSc Programme, a position he inherited from Walter Stern in the mid-1970s, that Eddie will be remembered most fondly. Stern had nurtured the programme while it was still regarded as a vehicle for those who had read history (possibly economics) to obtain a broad understanding of the discipline but, under Eddie the number of Masters’ students grew, and different programmes were added to the portfolio of offerings. Most notably, the MSc Economic History (Research) designed to represent a shift to a four-year doctorate, with the MSc training year becoming a formal requirement for entry onto the MPhil/PhD programme. 

Eddie was unfailingly kind and generous, with a wicked sense of humour, and a great raconteur. He enjoyed travelling (particularly to vineyards) and once gave a particularly nice bottle of Zinfandel to one of the administrators as a gift following a trip to California. When, a couple of days later, he asked what she had enjoyed it with, he was horrified to be told “Eastenders”. The following Christmas she was gifted a bottle of port as ‘punishment’! 

Eddie passed away on Saturday 8 February and will be deeply missed by family, friends, and colleagues. The funeral will take place on Monday 10 March, and full details (including a link to the webcast for those who can’t be there in person) can be found here. 

It is with profound sadness that we share the news that our colleague John Smith passed away in January whilst in hospital after a short illness.

John was the Chef in the Garrick and was known to many LSE staff and students. He was held in deep affection by all those who knew and worked with him. An incredibly supportive manager to his team, his passing has left us heartbroken.

Larry Kramer as LSE President has written privately to John’s family to express the sympathy of our whole School community. Our deepest condolences to John’s wife, Christel and daughter Skye.

John’s funeral is being held on Friday 21 February at 1pm at Medway Crematorium, Robin Hood Lane (upper), Chatham, Kent, ME5. 9QU.

John’s family and friends will be gathering after the ceremony at La Villetta, 8 Pudding Lane, Maidstone ME14 1lN.

If you want to attend the service with John’s colleagues from LSE Catering, please contact Alice To in the catering office.

With thanks to Ian Spencer, Director of Residential Services for the tribute.

It is with great sadness that we have learned of the death of Costas Simitis, former Prime Minister of Greece, and an LSE alumnus. Prof. Simitis’ relationship with the LSE stretches back many years – to 1961, when he was a student at the School. In 2023, in Athens, the School was pleased to bestow upon him the award of an honorary fellowship. The award of Honorary Fellow recognises those who have made an outstanding contribution and Costas Simitis amply fulfilled these criteria.

He served as Prime Minister of Greece from 1996 to 2004, a longer continuous period than any of his predecessors in the period after the 1974 restoration of democracy. During his premiership, Greece entered the ‘euro’ currency system and Cyprus acceded to the EU. Greece’s profile and reputation in Europe was heightened. International leaders showed him their warmth and respect. New infrastructure projects abounded – the landscape was transformed with a new Athens airport, the new Egnatia highway, and the new Athens Metro system, for example. It was fitting that, under his premiership, Greece looked forward to hosting the Olympic Games, once more. The Simitis project addressed crucial dimensions and had a clear narrative: the relationship of the citizen with the state; Greece’s place in Europe; bold and innovating initiatives in foreign policy; and, at home, unleashing new economic potential. The state was there to serve, to enable, and to provide more effectively. It is testament to the quality and depth of his political project that Costas Simitis wrote a number of books, as well as informed articles.

Some two years’ before he became PM, the LSE held a conference entitled, ‘Greece: Prospects for Modernization’. It was an important intellectual landmark: examining the project already associated with Costas Simitis and considering the ways forward. The instigators of that conference included Nikos Mouzelis, Spyros Economides and Elias Mossialos, long-term members of the School.

Shortly afterwards, a new endowment funded from Greece enabled the Eleftherios Venizelos Chair in Contemporary Greek Studies to be created. And the Hellenic Observatory was established as a research unit. Costas Simitis supported these initiatives. A structure was created, supported by an advisory board of leading public figures and chaired by the Governor of the Bank of Greece.

Over the years, Prof. Simitis spoke at the LSE on a number of occasions. He also supported the School’s activities in Athens and the Hellenic Alumni Association of the LSE (HAALSE). His daughter Marilena, now Professor Simiti, obtained her PhD from the LSE.

Costas Simitis, the politician, made an imprint and leaves a legacy. He set standards and defined a project. He sought out talent and gave new opportunities, creating a new political generation. In government, Costas Simitis unleashed Greece’s better-self. He did so with his own distinctive personal style: the antidote to flamboyance and excess – the PM who would stand in line for a ticket at the cinema. Instead of populism, he offered task-orientation and pragmatism.

We send our condolences to Prof. Simitis’ family and friends.

It is with great sadness that we mark the passing of Professor Ivana Marková on 1 December 2024. Ivana was Professor Emerita of the University of Stirling, Visiting Professor at the London School of Economics (UK), Senior Member of Wolfson College Cambridge, Fellow of The British Psychological Society, Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and Fellow of the British Academy.

Born in Czechoslovakia in 1938, Ivana experienced first-hand the impact of WWII in Europe and the historical events that were to have a profound impact on her outlook and life. Assigned by the communist party to work as a technician in a chemical plant and not allowed to study full-time, she became an external student at Charles University in Prague, earning her doctorate in 1964. Following the Soviet Invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, she was forced to relocate her young family to England. After postdoctoral positions at the University of Cambridge and the University of London, she was appointed lecturer and then professor at the University of Stirling. From there she went on to become a leading voice in linguistics and psychological science, producing influential work on the epistemology of psychology, social and cultural psychology, dialogicality and linguistics. A leader of social psychology in Europe and beyond, she developed long-standing associations with the Maison des Sciences de L’Homme and the London School of Economics.

Rooted in the Czech linguistic tradition, Ivana was uncompromisingly interdisciplinary in her writings, operating within far-reaching and wide intellectual vistas. She developed the dialogical approach to social psychology and argued for the primacy of social and ethical relationships, viewing relations as an open-ended dialogue, in which respect and responsibility are crucial. She was especially attuned to the tensions that could arise due to contradictory commitments (e.g., to family and an institution). With a deep scholarly foundation in Hegel, Herder, and Bakhtin, she made paradigmatic contributions to the study of language, human awareness, social representations, persuasion and trust.

In her empirical work, Ivana addressed social issues as they emerged: the social representations of AIDS in the 1980s, changing representations of democracy in post-Soviet countries in the 1990s, trust in contemporary institutions in the 2000s, and more recently, the challenges posed by bureaucratisation in public services and universities. In all these contributions, she combined the highest level of scholarship with humility and a sensitivity to the complexities of human life.

Ivana held visiting professorships in many universities, gave keynote addresses in numerous countries, and was an inspirational mentor to generations of social psychologists. Her absence will be sorely felt in academic communities across the globe.

It is with great sadness that we learnt of the announcement of the passing of Shri Ratan Tata ji, a dear friend and Honorary Fellow of LSE, who passed away peacefully at the age of 86 on 9 October. He was the most steadfast of friends; attentive, caring, a man of deep compassion and humility.

Ratan Tata was a leading philanthropist in India, deeply committed to education, medicine and rural development. A visionary leader, he served as the chairman of Tata Group and Tata Sons from 1991 to 2012 and held the position of interim chairman from October 2016 to February 2017. Tata once said: “Leadership is not about being in charge, it is about taking care of those in your charge.” And a real leader he was: this quality, along with courage and solidarity with his employees, was exemplified in the terrorist attacks on the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai in November 2008, when he went straight to the hotel and stayed there for the ensuing days of the terrorist occupation.

His investments in these areas have touched millions of lives, reinforcing the Tata Group’s tradition of corporate social responsibility. As Peter Casey, author of The Story of Tata, noted, the ethos of the company “yokes capitalism to philanthropy, by doing business in ways that make the lives of others better”. This guiding principle has inspired the Tata Trusts and the family for over a century, underscoring their dedication to social causes and community upliftment. Tata embodied this ethos, as we can see by the enduring impact of his philanthropy at LSE and elsewhere.

In 2007, Tata became an Honorary Fellow of LSE for his outstanding contribution to the School and its community. Tata was an avid advocate for LSE in India and globally, serving dutifully for many years on the LSE-India Advisory Board. We are immensely grateful for his support and exemplary guidance. Over several decades, Tata enthusiastically maintained and deepened a partnership between LSE and the Tata Trust which first began over a century ago when LSE founders Beatrice and Sidney Webb visited India in 1912 and met Tata’s grandfather, Sir Ratan Tata.

Tata’s commitment to education was exemplified by the establishment of the Sir Ratan Tata Post-doctoral Fellowship in 1997, based in the LSE India Observatory. This Fellowship has supported more than 20 early career post-doctoral researchers to engage in six months of impactful social science research on economic and social development in India and South Asia.

In recognition of his contributions, Ratan Tata received the ‘Padma Bhushan’ in 2000 and the ‘Padma Vibhushan’ in 2008, the third and second highest civilian honours awarded by the Government of India, respectively. He also received various state civilian honours, including the ‘Maharashtra Bhushan’ in 2006 for his work in public administration in Maharashtra, and ‘Assam Baibhav’ in 2021 for his contributions to cancer care in Assam.

Ratan Tata was one of the truly great citizens of the world. His loss is profound, not only for India but for all who knew him or were touched by his work. His legacy will continue to inspire future generations of leaders and philanthropists, and LSE will be honoured to continue to celebrate the impact of his partnership and support.

With thanks to Professor Lord Nicholas Stern, Co-Chair of the India Observatory, for sharing this tribute.

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Vhon Barrett.

Vhon joined LSE in October 1999 and served as part of the Estates Maintenance team for almost 25 years.

He was also a member of LSE’s staff network EmbRace, and his enthusiasm for the group’s mission and community did not go unnoticed.