Tributes for John Blundell

Sorry to hear that John Blundell, former Director General of the Institute of Economic Affairs, has died. He was only 61.

Our paths crossed occasionally but I can't say I knew him. He once interviewed me (sort of) for a job as PR consultant to the IEA, but that was the longest conversation we ever had, and I did most of the talking!

A mutual friend was Lord Harris of High Cross, chairman of Forest for 20 years but better known as one of the founders of the IEA.

It was John who announced Ralph's death in November 2006 when the IEA issued this statement.

He was also master of ceremonies at Ralph's memorial service in February 2007 when speakers included former Chancellor of the Exchequer Lord Howe, Lord Tebbit, journalists Andrew Alexander (Daily Mail) and Simon Heffer (Daily Telegraph), and many more.

How nice it would be if a similar service could be held in John's honour at the same venue – St John’s, Smith Square, London – just around the corner from the IEA.

The IEA has posted a short announcement and a lengthy obituary on its website.

The Adam Smith Institute has posted a tribute by Madsen Pirie: John Blundell 1952-2014.

ConservativeHome has also paid its respects: John Blundell, the man who helped to form the IEA, is dead.

So too the Atlas Network, In Memoriam: John Blundell (1952-2014).

PS. That job 'interview' was more of a PR pitch. I did it at the suggestion of Lord Harris but I think John was slightly horrified by some of our proposals!

Instead he made an internal appointment and the moment passed. C'est la vie.

Update on Wednesday, July 23, 2014 at 18:02 by Simon Clark

My colleague John Burton, a non-executive director of Forest and a member of the IEA Advisory Council, writes:

As a friend and colleague I greatly admired what he did to forward the free society philosophy, and the analysis/substantiation thereof, via his work in a (global) network of free-society/market institutions.

A constant theme of John’s writings about the free society is that the general idea is under continuous attack from many different intellectual sources; and that we have to “wage a war” to defend our liberties (J. Blundell, Waging the War of Ideas, London; IEA, 2003) in the intellectual realm.

About this he was absolutely right.

Full article: John Blundell, defender of the free society (The Free Society).