Education and Career
He studied philosophy, classical philology, and sociology at Hamburg University between 1947 and 1952. He became a doctor of philosophy and classics (PhD) in 1952. He continued his academic research at London School of Economics under Karl Popper as a Leverhulme Research Scholar in 1953–54, gaining a PhD degree in sociology in 1956. He was a professor of sociology in Hamburg (1957–60), Tübingen (1960–64) and Konstanz (1966–69).
From 1968 to 1969, Dahrendorf was a member of the Parliament of Baden-Württemberg. From 1969 to 1970 he was a member of the German parliament for the Freie Demokratische Partei (Free Democratic Party) (the German liberals). From 1969 to 1970 he was also a Parliamentary Secretary of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 1970 he became a Commissioner in the European Commission in Brussels.
In 1974 the BBC invited him to present the annual Reith Lectures. In this series of six radio talks, entitled The New Libertyhe examined the definition of freedom.
From 1974 to 1984 Dahrendorf was director of the London School of Economics when he returned to Germany to become Professor of Social Science, Konstanz University (1984–86).
From 1967 to 1970 he was Chairman of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Soziologie, resigning it when he took up his office at Brussels. Between 1976 and 1979 he led the educational sub-committee of the Benson Commission.
Ralf Dahrendorf again settled in the United Kingdom in 1986, becoming a Governor of the London School of Economics. From 1987 to 1997, he was also Warden of St Antony's College at the University of Oxford, succeeding the historian Sir Raymond Carr.
Dahrendorf was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in 1982. He adopted British citizenship in 1988, and became known as Sir Ralf Dahrendorf, as only KBEs who are British subjects are entitled to use that title. In 1993, he was granted a life peerage and was named Baron Dahrendorf of Clare Market in the City of Westminster by the Queen. Clare Market is nearby the London School of Economics, and is also used for car parking by LSE staff. Dahrendorf chose this name to honour the School in this way, and also as a sign of his liberal humour. He sat in the House of Lords as a cross-bencher. Between 2000 and 2006 Dahrendorf served as Chairman of the Judging Panel of the FIRST Award for Responsible Capitalism . He received the FIRST Responsible Capitalism lifetime Achievement Award in 2009. On 11 July 2007, he was awarded the Prince of Asturias Award for Social Studies.
In January 2005, he was appointed a Research Professor at the Social Science Research Center in Berlin (WZB).
Dahrendorf held dual citizenship in the UK and Germany. After retiring, he lived partially in Germany and partially in the United Kingdom, with a home in London and one in Bonndorf in south-western Germany. When asked which city he considered his home, he once said, "I am a Londoner". He also once said that his life was marked by a conflict between the obligation he felt to the country of his birth, Germany, and the attraction he felt for Britain.
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