Ralf Gustav Dahrendorf, Lord | Biography

The son of Gustav and Lina Witt Dahrendorf, Ralf Gustav Dahrendorf was born in Hamburg, Germany, May 1, 1929, became a British citizen in 1988, and was knighted in 1993. A noted social and political thinker and writer, he is regarded as an important contributor to human understanding of the modern world. Dahrendorf, who has received 24 honorary degrees from various universities, earned a Ph.D. from the University of Hamburg in 1952, with postgraduate studies at the London School of Economics, 1952-1954.

Dahrendorf taught at the University of Saarbrücken in the then Federal Republic of Germany before becoming a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Palo Alto, California, 1957-1958. He returned to the University of Hamburg, where he was a professor of sociology, 1958-60, moving to the University of Tubingen for the next six years. From 1966-69, he taught at the University of Konstanz. For the next few years, Dahrendorf turned to politics. He served as a member of the parliament in the government of the Federal Republic of Germany and as parliamentary secretary of state in the German Foreign Office, 1969-1970. He was a member of the European Economic Community in Brussels, Belgium, 1970-1974, and director of the London School of Economics, 1974-1984. He returned to Konstanz for three years as a professor of social sciences, and from 1987-1997, Dahrendorf served as warden, St. Antony's College in Oxford, England.

Besides being a Decorated Knight commander, order of the British Empire, Dahrendorf has received awards from the governments of then West Germany, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Senegal. He is a Fellow in the Anglo Germany Society, a member of the British Academy, Royal Society of the Arts, Royal College of Surgeons, the American Philosophical Society, and others.

Dahrendorf is the author of numerous publications, his early works all in German. Acknowledged as an original and experienced social and political writer, he has received praise for such works as The Modern Social Conflict, 1989. It is a survey of social and political conflict in Western societies from the eighteenth century. It details where Western democracies stand today, how they got there, and what must happen for their political and social freedom to continue. Another praised publication is his 1996 book LSE: A History of the London School of Economics and Political Science, 1895-1995, which covers the story of crises, philanthropists, foreign foundations, negotiated settlements, and the University of London. Other works include: Reflections on the Revolution in Europe, 1990, an attempt to make sense of communism's collapse in Europe; On Britain, 1982; The New Liberty, 1975; and Class and Class Conflict in Industrial Society, 1959, first published in German.