Robert Skidelsky
Life Peerage | |
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Personal details | |
Born | Robert Jacob Alexander 25 April 1939 'Continuing' SDP (1988–90) Conservative (1992–2001) |
Alma mater | |
Website | Official website |
Robert Jacob Alexander, Baron Skidelsky, FBA (born 25 April 1939) is a British economic historian. He is the author of a three-volume award-winning biography of British economist John Maynard Keynes (1883–1946). Skidelsky read history at Jesus College, Oxford, and is Emeritus Professor of Political Economy at the University of Warwick, England.
Early life
Skidelsky's parents, Boris Skidelsky and Galia Sapelkin, were British subjects of Russian ancestry, Jewish on his father's side and Christian on his mother's.[1] His father worked for the family firm L. S. Skidelsky,[2] which leased the Mulin coalmine in northern[3] Manchuria from the Chinese government in 1920.[4] Boris had three brothers, one of whom was the British novelist and bridge player and writer S. J. "Skid" Simon (1904–1948). In 1919, a factory was built by L. S. Skidelsky in Harbin for obtaining albumin from blood.[5]
When war broke out between Britain and Japan in December 1941, he and his parents were interned first in
Education
From 1953 to 1958, Skidelsky was a boarder at Brighton College. He went on to read history at Jesus College, Oxford. Between 1961 and 1969 he was successively research student, senior student and research fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford. In 1967 he published his first book, Politicians and the Slump, based on his DPhil dissertation, which explores the ways in which British politicians handled the Great Depression.[6]
Academic career
During a two-year research fellowship at the
From 1976 to 1978, Skidelsky was Professor of History, Philosophy and European Studies at the
Skidelsky currently writes a column on economic history for Project Syndicate, an international media organization.[10]
Political career
Skidelsky has been a member of four political parties. Initially a member of the
In 2001 Skidelsky left the Conservative Party for the cross benches. He was Chairman of the Social Market Foundation between 1991 and 2001.[6]
In September 2015 Skidelsky endorsed
Russia
In March 2014, it was reported that Skidelsky was a director on the board of the Russian state-owned company Rusnano Capital.[14] After Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, Skidelsky declined to resign from Rusnano, criticised sanctions that targeted Russia and argued that the Russian-speaking parts of Ukraine should be given an opportunity to separate from Ukraine.[14]
Between 2016 and 1 January 2022, Skidelsky was a non-executive director on the board of Russian oil company Russneft.[15][16][17]
On 28 February 2022, he signed a letter to the Financial Times on the subject of Ukraine, along with David Owen and others, that stated: "NATO governments have rightly said they are willing to address Russia's security concerns, but then say in the same breath that Russia has no legitimate security concerns because NATO is a purely defensive alliance. Whether we like it or not, a NATO that now borders Russia and could in future border even more of Russia is seen by Russia as a security concern."[18][19]
On 17 April 2022, he argued against Finland's joining NATO[20][21] and shortly after against the imposition of economic sanctions on Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.[22] In June 2023 Skidelsky attended a party held by Russian embassy in London and later explained he wanted to show "respect and affection for the Russian people on their national day, especially in these circumstances".[23]
On 9 November 2023, it was recommended that he be suspended from the House of Lords for 1 month.[24] on 22nd November 2023 he was suspended from the House of Lords for 1 month [1]
Awards
External videos | |
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Booknotes interview with Skidelsky on John Maynard Keynes: Fighting for Freedom, 1937–1946, 28 April 2002., C-SPAN |
The second volume of Skidelsky's three-volume biography of
Personal life
Skidelsky has two sons, Edward Skidelsky, a lecturer in philosophy at the University of Exeter;[25][26] and William Skidelsky, a journalist and author of Federer and Me: A Story of Obsession.
Selected works
- 1967: Politicians and the Slump
- 1969: English Progressive Schools
- 1975: Oswald Mosley
- 1983: John Maynard Keynes: Hopes Betrayed, 1883–1920 (Vol. 1)
- 1992: John Maynard Keynes: The Economist as Saviour, 1920–1937 (Vol. 2)
- 1993: Interests and Obsessions: Historical Essays (Macmillan)
- 1995: The World After Communism: A Polemic for Our Times (Macmillan)
- Published in America as The Road from Serfdom: The Economic and Political Consequences of the End of Communism
- 1996: Keynes (Oxford University Press: Past Masters)
- 2000: John Maynard Keynes: Fighting for Freedom, 1937–1946 (Vol. 3)
- 2009: Keynes: The Return of the Master (London: Allen Lane)
- 2012: How Much Is Enough? Money and the Good Life. with Edward Skidelsky (Allen Lane)
- 2018: Money and Government: The Past and Future of Economics
- 2020: What’s Wrong with Economics?: A Primer for the Perplexed
- 2022: Economic Sanctions: A Weapon out of Control?[27]
References
- ^ Lord Skidelsky (12 September 2003). "My A-level hell, by Lord Skidelsky". The Guardian.
- ^ a b Skidelsky, R (January 2006). "A Chinese homecoming". Prospect.
- ISSN 1757-8981.
- ^ Pan, MH (2020). The Harbin Jewish Community and the Regional Conflicts of Northeast China, 1903-1963 (PhD thesis). Concordia University.
- ^ Yin-tʻang Chang (1933). The Economic Development and Prospects of Inner Mongolia (Chahar, Suiyuan, and Ningsia). Commercial Press, Limited. p. 117.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Biography". Archived from the original on 9 October 2008.
- ^ "SCHOOL OF CIVIC EDUCATION filing history – Find and update company information – GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk.
- ^ "Professor Lord Robert Skidelsky". University of Warwick. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
- ^ "How Much is Enough? The Economics of the Good Life". University of Warwick. Archived from the original on 17 January 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
- ^ "Robert Skidelsky – Project Syndicate". Project Syndicate. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
- ^ "No. 52606". The London Gazette. 18 July 1991. p. 10975.
- ^ "Pendennis: Lord Owen of lost cause". The Observer. 16 June 1991.
- ^ Skidelsky, Robert (10 September 2015). "Why We Should Take Corbynomics Seriously". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
- ^ a b Pickard, Jim (26 March 2014). "Leading Britons' business links with Russians under spotlight". Financial Times. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- ^ "Skidesky, London's new oil baron". Intelligence Online. 7 December 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
- ^ "Biographies of the Members of the Board of Directors | Corporate Governance | Shareholders and Investors". russneft.ru. Archived from the original on 18 April 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
- ^ "Lord Skidelsky". members.parliament.uk. n.d. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
- ^ "Letter: Remember Kissinger's advice to the Ukrainians". Financial Times. 28 February 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
- ^ "Letter: Remember Kissinger's advice to the Ukrainians". Robert Skidelsky. n.d. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
- ^ Skidelsky, Robert [@RSkidelsky] (17 April 2022). "Application by Finland to join NATO would be a catastrophic mistake" (Tweet). Retrieved 29 May 2022 – via Twitter.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link) - ^ "Letter: Remember Kissinger'". 3 March 2022.
- ^ Inman, Phillip (11 June 2022). "Sanctions are hitting hard enough to hurt Russia, if not stop it". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
Robert Skidelsky, the economist and Labour peer who until last year was a board member of a Russian company, argues against the use of wide-ranging sanctions during the current war in a new pamphlet, Economic Sanctions: A Weapon Out of Control
- ^ "Two British peers attend Russian ambassador's party in London". Yahoo News. 3 July 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
- ^ "Report: The conduct of Lord Skidelsky (PDF)" (PDF).
- ^ "Dr Edward Skidelsky". University of Exeter. Archived from the original on 3 June 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
- ^ Fraser, Giles (15 June 2012). "How Much is Enough? by Robert Skidelsky and Edward Skidelsky; What Money Can't Buy by Michael Sandel – review". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 3 June 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
- ^ "Books".
External links
- Official website
- Lord Skidelsky: Registered Interests at parliament.uk
- Robert Skidelsky's Interview in the New Statesman about Keynes: the Return of the Master.
- How Much is Enough?: Money and the Good Life Archived 11 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine Free Webinar with Professor Skidelsky, 20 November 2012
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Library of Economics and Liberty.
- Works by or about Robert Skidelsky at Internet Archive