Author: Internal Communications

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.

It is with great sadness that friends and colleagues from across the LSE share news of the death of Anne Shepherd, on Thursday 6 June 2024.

Anne joined LSE in 2002, and until her retirement last autumn, she managed the Editorial Office of Population Studies, deftly overseeing all aspects of the day-to-day production of the journal. She also served as the Secretariat for the Population Investigations Committee (PIC) and the British Society for Population Studies (BSPS). Anne’s unwavering and unparalleled commitment to her work has left an indelible mark.

Anne’s extremely competent, extremely knowledgeable, and no-nonsense approach to all she did, earned her much respect and admiration, both within and outside of the School. Countless members of the demographic research community who encountered Anne as PIC-funded MSc students, BSPS council members, authors, reviewers, and editors will have fond memories of her inimitably patient, good-humoured – but uncompromising and occasionally irreverent – manner and approach. She will be dearly missed by everyone who had the pleasure of working with her.

LSE Library is greatly saddened by the death of George Carey, a former member of the Collection Management team, a great colleague and friend to many of us. George joined LSE Library in 2000 and stayed for 21 years before retiring in 2021.

We will miss his enthusiastic contribution to the team; he had a mischievous sense of humour and was a great personality to be around. George was very supportive of his colleagues and always enjoyed helping library users.

George had a keen interest in football and music (especially Elvis Presley) and visited Liverpool several times to see the historical places associated with the football club, the Beatles, and the individual members of the group. George was also an avid traveller and visited multiple European cities, often sending postcards back to colleagues in the library detailing his numerous escapades.

He had a sharp, investigative mind and often after a shift in the Library would spend some time observing the proceedings in the Royal Courts of Justice. He never took himself too seriously and often joked about writing a sit-com based on the multiple things that could go wrong in a library.