In memoriam Stein Rokkan 1921-1979

It is with deep sorrow that we must inform our readers that Stein Rokkan
died peacefully on July 22, 1979.

Stein Rokkan graduated in political philosophy at the University of Oslo in 1948. Subsequently he was a Fellow under the Rockefeller Foundation at Columbia and Chicago Universities (1948-50), Research Director at the Institute of Social Research, Oslo (1951-60), and at the Christian Michelsen Institute, Bergen (1958-66). In 1966 he became Professor of Political Sociology at the University of Bergen, and in 1979 Research Fellow at the Christian Michelsen Institute.

Stein Rokkan was also Recurring Visiting Professor at Yale University (1963, 1969-73); Visiting Professor at Manchester University (1964), Stanford University (1970), London School of Economics (1973), University of Geneva (1973-74), the Institut d' Etudes Politiques, Paris (1976-77); and Fellow at the Centre for Advanced Studies, Stanford University (1959-60, 1967, 1970). After 1975 he was also Director of the Norwegian Social Science Data Services.

On an international level his many activities were reflected in his election as Vice President of the International Sociological Association (1966-70), President of the International Political Science Association (1970.73), President of the International Social Science Council under UNESCO (1973-76), and Chairman of the European Consortium for Political Research (1970-76).

His active role internationally did not prevent him from participation in Norwegian and Scandinavian political science. Stein took the initiative in the foundation of the Nordic Association for Political Science, serving as Chairman in 1975-76. He was instrumental in the establishment of Scandinavian Political Studies as a yearbook in 1966, serving as editor in 1973, 1974, and 1977: he was also active in its transition to a quarterly, serving as co-editor (1978-79).

Stein's extraordinary contributions to Norwegian, Scandinavian, and
international social science have been recognised and honoured in a

number of ways. He was awarded honorary doctorates at the Universities of Aarhus, Geneva, Helsinki, and Uppsala. He was elected to the Norwegian and Finnish Academies of Science, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences (Washington, DC), and the American Philosophical Society. In March of this year he was made Knight Commander of the Norwegian Order of St. Olav. In April the Council of the European Consortium for Political Research unanimously elected him Honorary Chairman of the Consortium, in recognition of his efforts in its establishment and subsequent development.

Behind the honours and the offices lay the man: a talented and admired academic, a tireless worker, and a trusted colleague and friend. It is perhaps no exaggeration to say that a whole generation of political scientists has been influenced and inspired by Stein¹ s writings. His originality of thought and breadth of vision offered exciting vistas of exploration, most especially perhaps to those younger scholars who entered the academic community during the past two decades. All of us have cause to be deeply grateful to him because of his concern with and successful efforts in extending the possibilities for international research cooperation and exchange of ideas. Above all, those who knew him - from the most senior professor to graduate student - will remember him as a man who never allowed his numerous activities and duties to prevent him from offering his many gifts at a personal level as a critic, adviser, and friend.

All of us will miss him as an academic, colleague, and friend. Stein
Rokkan was one of the great scholars of the social sciences in our time.
The international community of social scientists will never forget him.