In Memoriam prof. Heiki Müür (1932-1996). Mit Zusammenfassung

Abstract

Professor Heiki Muur had his successful professional career mainly during the soviet period. Heiki Muur was born in 1932 in Tallinn. In 1954, at the age of 22, he received the diploma from the Tallinn Technical University, honouring him as a good specialist in socialist economy. This educational background allowed him to continue the post-graduate studies in the Moscow Institute of Economics. In 1959, he defended PhD thesis (candidate in economics), and in 1976, was approved as the habilitated doctor in Economics. Heiki Muur started his academic career at the Tartu State University in 1956, working initially as a lector and later as a docent and a professor. He published several books in Estonian that were actively used by the students as well as practitioners: Management and Planning, 1964; Prices and Economic Reform, 1971; Economic Planning, 1971; Economics and National Economy (editor of the series of books, 1972-1974; National Balance and Planning (1987, co-author). During his academic career, professor Heiki Muur demonstrated good abilities for leadership working as a vice dean and the dean at Tartu State University, and after 1990s, as a head of the institute of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration at the University of Tartu. During the years 1981-1986, he was the director of the Research Institute, which worked for the Soviet Estonian government in Tallinn; during these years, he also continued to work as a part-time professor at the university. We, as his students of the field of “economic cybernetics” (mathematical economics) and successors, appreciate particularly highly his activities and success in establishing and promoting education in mathematical economics at the Faculty of Economics of the Tartu State University. The new specialisation in the soviet economic education with the name “economic cybernetics” was opened at the Tartu State University in 1967. Professor Heiki Muur devoted lots of his energy, time and knowledge to create the school of young economists who have good knowledge in applying mathematical and statistical methods for analysing economic problems in Estonia. The knowledge in economics and research methodology of these graduates was not heavily related to the soviet rules of the economic mechanism. In collaboration with the young postgraduates, professor Muur started to develop applied research for the soviet firms examining the relationship between the working conditions and economic outcomes and implementing modern mathematical and statistical methods by conducting economic analysis. He was one of the initiators and organisers of the high scientific level economic conference on applying modern methods for analysing economic processes in Tallinn in 1981. L. Kantorovits, the only soviet economist who got Nobel Prize (1975) in relation to elaborating and developing linear programming methods, was among the participants of the conference. Professor Heiki Muur was innovative and flexible in starting to restructure the curricula and study process at the University of Tartu after Estonia regains its independence. He was the initiator of offering new study courses in market economy not only for the students of the Faculty of Economics, but also for students from other faculties as well as for practitioners. The graduates, who obtained diploma in “economic cybernetics” and belonged to the school of the Estonian economists established by the significant contribution of professor Heiki Muur continued his work being the initiators and developers of the new economic curricula and of restructuring economic education and research in compliance with high level international requirements