Curt Walter Gasteyger (born 20 March 1929 in

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

, died 14 July 2020 in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

) was a

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

legal scholar Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the a ...

who specialised in questions of

international security ''International Security'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal in the field of international and national security. It was founded in 1976 and is edited by the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University and publis ...

and

disarmament Disarmament is the act of reducing, limiting, or abolishing Weapon, weapons. Disarmament generally refers to a country's military or specific type of weaponry. Disarmament is often taken to mean total elimination of weapons of mass destruction, ...

Life

Gasteyger was the Director of the Association for the Promotion and Study of International Security (APESI), and Honorary Professor at the

Graduate Institute of International Studies Graduate may refer to: Education * The subject of a graduation, i.e. someone awarded an academic degree ** Alumni, a former student who has either attended or graduated from an institution * High school graduate, someone who has completed hi ...

(HEI), Geneva. He was the Professor for International Relations at the HEI from 1974 to 1994. He was also the founder and director of the

Programme for Strategic and International Security Studies Program (American English; also Commonwealth English in terms of computer programming and related activities) or programme (Commonwealth English in all other meanings), programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program m ...

GraveCurtGasteyger-CimetiereDesRoisGeneve RomanDeckert07042022-02

Gasteyger participated in the

Volcker Commission The Volcker Commission, also known as the Independent Committee of Eminent Persons (ICEP), was established in 1996 to investigate the accounts lying dormant since the Second World War in various banks in Switzerland. The committee was headed by f ...

, established to investigate the many dormant accounts opened by Jews fleeing Nazi persecution in Swiss Banks. In 2003, he was awarded the Great Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (

Bundesverdienstkreuz The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first President of the Federal Republic ...

). In 2005, the HEI created the Gasteyger Chair in International Security and Conflict Studies in Gasteyger's honour, after a large donation from APESI. The first professor to hold the chair was Thomas J. Biersteker. Gasteyer is buried at the

Cimetière des Rois The Cimetière des Rois (French: ''Cemetery of Kings'') (officially Cimetière de Plainpalais) is a cemetery in Geneva, Switzerland. The cemetery is commonly named after la ''rue des Rois'' (French: ''Kings' Street'') near which it is situated. T ...

(Cemetery of Kings), which is considered the Genevan

Panthéon The Panthéon (, ), is a monument in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France. It stands in the Latin Quarter, Paris, Latin Quarter (Quartier latin), atop the , in the centre of the , which was named after it. The edifice was built between 1758 ...

References

"Creation of a Curt Gasteyger Chair in International Security and Conflict Studies"
''HEI in Brief, Agenda'', 28 October 2005. Accessed 30 May 2007. 1929 births 2020 deaths Academics from Zurich Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Academic staff of the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies {{Switzerland-academic-bio-stub