Month: January 2018

It is with great sadness that we announce Ragnar Norberg, Emeritus Professor of Statistics at LSE, passed away on the 18 December 2017. Professor Norberg is one of the most influential academics working on both insurance and financial mathematics.

Ragnar started his long career at the University of Oslo and then at the Laboratory of Actuarial Mathematics at the University of Copenhagen. He joined LSE as a professor in the Department of Statistics in the spring of 2000 and stayed with us until his retirement in 2010. He finished his career as Chercheur (Research Officer) at Institut de Science Financi`ere et d’Assurances (ISFA) in Lyon, probably the biggest department of its kind in Europe.

He was a visitor at many prestigious institutions around the world. Moscow State University in the old Soviet Union (Ragnar spoke many languages including Russian), ETH Zurich, the University of Manheim,  The University of Stanford and the University of Melbourne. He also engaged in regulatory work serving as an advisor for the Norwegian Insurance Council. Ragnar regarded a paper that he produced for them as the best in his career and maintained that he learned  more in a year there than he learned during his whole academic career. He was a member of Actuarial Socities in Norway, Denmark, Italy and the UK.

During his time at LSE, he contributed enormously to the rapid expansion of the Department of Statistics by establishing the Risk and Stochastics group (now called the Probability in Finance and Insurance group and is the largest in the department) and starting a new MSc programme spanning the interface between Actuarial and Financial Mathematics.

He enjoyed teaching and he had his own style which was based on challenging the students. He turned his office hours into mini-seminars and we fondly remember the long queues of students waiting to pick his brains outside his room. Ragnar’s contribution was not just the large number of papers and books he wrote and edited but also a unique way of thinking that influenced  colleagues and students. This extract is from the Festschrift in a forthcoming book and is in Ragnar’s own words and demonstrates this thinking:

Philosophy and bird watch in finance. “In 2012 ISFA organized a conference on management of financial risk. There was an invited talk on the Black Swan, a lot of talks on how to improve market models, but no talks on how to improve the market. The organizers had been incautious enough to invite my participation in a round table discussion at the end of the conference. I said what I thought and ended with an allegory: “Maybe there are black birds out there that we haven’t seen, but to sit wool-gathering over their possible existence is self-delusion. Instead we should analyze and act upon what we have seen. There are black birds that we know all too well (crows, ravens and vultures feeding on defenceless small animals and on carcasses), and action is needed to cull them. But, alas, there are white birds (geese infamous for their credulity), and there and black and white birds (ostriches burying their heads in the sand), and they do little to improve the quality of bird life. The philosophers have only etc.” By registered sound level and duration of the applause, my 5 minutes intervention was the best received contribution to the conference. Why? I do not think it was just because I presented in a kind of French (the do-as-the-Romans trick), which I did without any ulterior motive (it was a no nonsense Conference Francophone). What I do think is that the audience didn’t think that mathematical and philosophical thinking alone can bring cosmos to the chaos of the deregulated financial markets.”

Professor Angelos Dassios, Department of Statistics

Peter was a big man in every way. He had strong views which he expressed with robust eloquence, he was incredibly quick to pick up sloppy thinking and was always intellectually challenging.

However, what I will remember most about him is his generosity, kindness, compassion and charm. At a somewhat difficult time for the School when I became Interim Director he was always available, generously giving advice, helping us deal with inevitable media interest and providing much needed support to all members of the Director’s Management team.

Despite his many other commitments and interests Peter always made time for LSE. He passionately believed in the importance of education, and the need for open debate over potentially contentious issues; the international character of LSE’s staff and students chimed well with his own strongly held views on the importance of international cooperation.

When Chairing LSE’s Council and Court, Peter could be combative but always in a good humoured way and with the ability to rapidly read the mood of the meeting and defuse tensions. He was a past master at getting difficult decisions made while allowing everyone to have their say. In so many ways Peter was an ideal Chairman, he carefully scrutinized executive decisions and actions, supporting them where properly justified and appropriate but challenging them when greater thought and clarity was required.

Peter was a wonderful man to be with, full of fascinating tales and great wit, and with the ability to make everyone feel that they had something important to contribute. It was a privilege to know him and he will be sorely missed.

Sincere condolences to Maruja his wife and their three children.

Professor Dame Judith Rees
Vice-Chair, Grantham Institute on Climate Change and the Environment 
Interim Director 2011-2012

It was with great sadness that we learned that Peter Sutherland passed away on Sunday 7 January in Dublin, aged 71. Peter was an extraordinary and inspirational man who was a great friend of the School, and served as the Chair of Council and Court from 2008 to 2015.

Peter had an enormously distinguished career before taking on the this role at LSE. He was appointed as the youngest ever Attorney General of Ireland in 1981, and became the youngest  European Commissioner in 1985 (during which time he implemented the establishment of the ERASMUS scheme). In 1993 he became the first Director General of the GATT/World Trade Organisation, and in 2006 became the special representative of the United Nations on migration issues. He was an honorary  ambassador of the UN industrial development organisation, the Chairman of BP and of Goldman Sachs International and the Financial Adviser to the Vatican. He was appointed Honorary Knight Commander of St Michael and St George in 2004 for services to industry.

Handling the LSE council, Court and Council committees was a new experience for Peter but one in which he took on with enthusiasm, in fact with relish, as he had done with so many challenges before in very different working environments. He wanted to know what made LSE tick and genuinely welcomed the input from all the members of Council, and was as interested in the concerns of the student representatives as much as the views of academics and lay governors. Despite being bemused at times by the issues which aroused passions amongst academics and students, he was always prepared to listen patiently, if occasionally with poorly-concealed amazement, to all opinions and was then able to bring Council to agreement on sometimes difficult and sensitive issues. He was unfailingly supportive  to all the members of the Director’s Management Team and took a genuine interest in all aspects of our work, from student-centred initiatives like the Faith Centre and PhD scholarships to significant new research and financial initiatives. Above all, he showed absolute dedication to the School by devoting an enormous amount of time and energy to steer it through very difficult times.

Peter had an insatiable intellectual curiosity and a formidable intellect. He enjoyed being associated with LSE because he relished academic debate. He had a genuine interest in the academic work being undertaken at the School and made contacts with colleagues across many different disciplines. He was awarded an honorary doctorate at LSE in 2015 in recognition of his exceptional contribution to EU and world affairs. He had a passionate interest in the EU and in migration within the EU and globally. He has left a permanent significant legacy to the School through his establishment of the Sutherland Chair in European institutions held in the European Institute.  After he stepped down as Chair he also retained his connection with LSE by becoming  Professor in Practice  in the Institute of Global Affairs and became the leading figure in the Institute’s Global Migration Initiative. He was also wonderful company with an endless supply of good stories and a gift for the perfect punch line. Peter seems to have met everyone worth meeting during an extraordinary career, and had an insightful comment or humorous anecdote to impart about all of them.

It was a privilege to work with Peter and a joy to be in his company. He truly was one of a kind. The School is greatly in his debt and we will miss him sorely.

Professor Janet Hartley
Department of International History
Pro Director Teaching and Learning 2007-12

If you would like to post a tribute to Peter Sutherland, leave your condolences or share any memories you have of him, please comment on this post.