Biography of Víctor Pérez-Díaz
- A doctor in sociology from Harvard University and a doctor in law and in political sciences from the Complutense University of Madrid, Víctor Pérez Díaz (Madrid, 1938) has been a professor of sociology at Complutense University of Madrid since 1980. Over the last 50 years, Pérez-Díaz has earned academic and professional merits in the disciplines of sociology, political science and economics which accredit him as one of the leading figures in Spain in contemporary social sciences.
- He has directed and coordinated some of the most important social research studies and institutes in Spain, such as the National Industry Institute department of social sciences (1979), the FIES Foundation (1986), and the Juan March Study and Research Institute Centre for Advanced Social Science Studies (CEACS) (1987-1992). In these institutions, Pérez-Díaz has trained professionals in social sciences and produced and disseminated research aimed at analysing Spanish society and politics, with the aim of driving informed public debate about the issues that matter most to citizens of modern democracies.
- He has undertaken teaching and research activities as a visiting professor at different departments of political science, sociology and history in American and European universities including the University of San Diego, California (1983, 1987, 1991, 1992 and 1993), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1989 and 1990), Harvard University (1992), the Paris Institute of Political Sciences (1995), New York University (2000) and Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung (2005). Through stays in which he has worked on teaching and research, he has decisively contributed to establishing academic links with prestigious university institutions and social scientists in the United States and Europe. In light of this contribution and his research, he is a founding member of the European Academy (since 1988) and an honourable member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (since 2006).
- He has acted as an expert advisor at the request of public and private institutions. Therefore, for example, Pérez-Díaz participated in the first and second Corporate Governance Commissions and, more recently, has chaired the Committee of Experts on the Public Pension System Sustainability Factor. His participation in these commissions has resulted in several key reports for the discussion and adoption of political decisions, among which is the so-called Good Governance Code: Olivencia Report (1998) and the Aldama Code (2003), as well as the report on the public pension system sustainability factor (2013).
- Víctor Pérez-Díaz’ academic curriculum highlights the respect and recognition he holds in Spanish and international public and private institutions. To the merits of research, scientific management and expert advice already mentioned, the supervision of more than a dozen doctoral theses by sociologists and political scientists who currently form part of the teaching and research personnel of various Spanish and international universities must be added.