Lars Lyberg, (1944–2021)

Abstract

Lars was born near Stockholm on 1 December 1944 and passed away on 9 March 2021 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. He spent much of his early life in Stockholm where he studied statistics at Stockholm University, gaining a Doctorate under the supervision of Tore Dalenius. Like most Swedes, he had a stint of military service. He started his professional work career at Statistics Sweden in 1966 and spent the next 44 years there, culminating in his appointment as head of the Research and Development Department. After retiring from Statistics Sweden, he worked as a consultant in survey methods and quality management. Since 2003, he taught at Stockholm University with professorial status in recognition of his past contributions. He had many interests besides statistics especially sport where he had encyclopaedic knowledge not just about Sweden. He was an excellent tennis player in his younger days. Although modest by nature, he was generous of his time especially to young survey researchers. He was always a careful listener, often leaving his contribution to discussions to the end after hearing what others had to say. I first met Lars in 1983 while visiting Statistics Sweden and connected immediately. We exchanged knowledge on statistical methods gained through work in our respective statistical organisations and met regularly after this first meeting, enjoying watching live sporting contests as well as televised matches over a few beers. Lars is survived by his partner Lilli Japec, a fellow statistician at Statistics Sweden, who became head of Research and Development subsequent to Lars’s retirement. He had two adult sons, adopted from Bolivia during his first marriage. Lars was tall and blonde, whereas his sons were short and dark. It made for interesting discussions at immigration posts when travelling with his sons.