 In
Memoriam: Ulrich Klöti
Professor Ulrich Klöti died suddenly on Sunday, February 5, 2006,
in Uster near Zurich, Switzerland. Ulrich (Ueli to his family and
friends) was one of the most prominent and respected members of the
Structure and Organization of Government (SOG) Research Committee of
IPSA, a former co-chair of SOG’s Executive Board, and a member of
the Editorial Board of GOVERNANCE. In March 2004, Professor Klöti
was appointed Vice-President (Pro-Rektor) of the University of
Zurich. He died at 63, at the height of his academic career. As
co-chairs of the Executive Board for ten years (1990-2000), Ulrich
Klöti and Joel Aberbach effectively managed the affairs and
activities of SOG, advancing its status to that of a leading
research committee of IPSA. At the same time, they actively
participated in numerous SOG conferences held in many parts of the
world. Professor Klöti’s significant contribution was due to his
exceptional knowledge of Swiss government, public policy process and
Swiss federalism in the context of comparative politics and
comparative public administration. In September 1989, Ulrich
organized a SOG conference at the University of Zurich focusing on
the relationship between government and organized interests in
developed democracies. With over 30 leading participants, it was one
of the most successful SOG research conferences ever. Without any
doubt, Ulrich Klöti’s personal involvement and influence over the
years has significantly enhanced the quality and the output of SOG’s
research and related activities.
Ulrich Klöti was Director of the Institute of Political Science
(Institut fur Politikwissenschaft) at the University of Zurich for
twelve years (1988-2000), leaving a strong and unmistakable impact
on its graduate teaching and research. While he was President of the
Swiss Political Science Association (1984-86), Professor Klöti led
the planning and publication of a three-volume comprehensive Manual
of Swiss Politics (Handbüch der Schweizer Politik) with chapters
written by leading specialists in their respective fields. The
Manual is now recognized as a unique and highly authoritative source
of the existing knowledge about the Swiss political system. Ulrich’s
academic activities extended to many areas of public life including,
inter alia, the presidency of the social science section of the
Swiss Academy of Humanities, membership in the Swiss National
Research Council, and advisory work for the Association of Swiss
Cities, for several cantonal governments, for the Federal Office of
Refugees, etc.
In 2004, Ulrich Klöti assumed a senior management position at the
University of Zurich. As one of the three Vice-Presidents, he was in
charge of the implementation of the European Union-initiated Bologna
reforms intended to standardize university curricula, graduate
teaching programs, and higher degrees; he supervised contacts
between the University of Zurich and other universities in Europe
and elsewhere, including the University of Vienna and the Humboldt
University of Berlin, which have developed a special relationship
with the University of Zurich; he started a project of cooperation
with universities in the developing/third world countries, i.e. the
Makerere University in Uganda; and he had an overall responsibility
for the maintenance of high quality teaching at all levels of
university life. I first met Ueli in Berne in the summer of 1978. He
was then working in the Chancellor’s Office as Personal
Secretary/Assistant to Dr. Karl Huber, the Federal Chancellor. Ueli
completed his doctorate in sociology and economics at the University
of Berne and did a year of post-graduate studies in political
science in the United States at Princeton (with Harry Eckstein) and
at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (summer program in
empirical research methods). His Ph.D. dissertation published in
1972 [Senior Officials in the Swiss Federal Administration (Die
Chefbeamten der schweizerischen Bundesverwaltung)] quickly became
the classic study of the structure and behavior of the civil
service. In the Introduction he wrote: “The public service is the
great unknown and until today its impact on the decision-making
process remains unexplained and poorly understood.” Clearly, Ulrich
Klöti shared the interest and increasing concern among political
scientists about the relationship between politicians in power and
public servants in office opening the avenues for new research and
new theoretical approaches to this subject in the United States,
Canada, United Kingdom, Germany and other countries.
Ueli, of course, was not only the quintessential academic. The
unique qualities of his character, his intellect, and his wonderful
humanity were best expressed by his daughter, Anita, in her moving
speech during the service on the 9th of February, 2006, at the
Reformed Church in Uster:
”Dearest Papi, there are so many things you exemplified to us
throughout your life: your fundamental respect for others, no
matter who they are or how they look; your personal modesty and
your scrupulous efforts to be always correct and fair to
everyone; your dislike of imposing your views on others even
(perhaps especially) when you held them strongly; your refusal
to argue that one course of action is better than the other;
your respect for precision and factual accuracy and, at the same
time, insistence that all should hold and value opinions on
their own; your ingenious capacity to give subtle and cautious
hints preventing a quick and premature coming to a definitive
judgment; your whimsical way of meeting and talking to people
you really liked; your delightful humour and poetry (little
verses), and your love.”
Ueli left his wife, Ruth Klöti-Kammer, his son, Lorenz, and his
two daughters, Sara and Anita.
GEORGE J. SZABLOWSKI, Professor Emeritus, York University, Toronto,
Canada |
