Zsuzsa Ferge (25 April 1931 – 4 April 2024) was a Hungarian sociologist and statistician who is particularly known for her work on poverty reduction. She was a Professor Emerita in the Department of Policy, Economics, and Law at

Eötvös Loránd University Eötvös Loránd University ( hu, Eötvös Loránd Tudományegyetem, ELTE) is a Hungarian public research university based in Budapest. Founded in 1635, ELTE is one of the largest and most prestigious public higher education institutions in Hung ...

, where she helped to establish a department of social policy studies. She was also the head of the Poverty Research Center there, as well as the Chief Researcher at the Working Unit on Hungary's National Program against Child Poverty, holding both of these positions after her retirement.

Life and career

Ferge was a Professor Emerita in the Department of Policy, Economics, and Law at Eötvös Loránd University, where she became a full professor in 1988. She was credited with establishing the social policy studies department there. She retired to become a professor emerita in 2001, but after that she continued to head the university's Poverty Research Center. Methodologically, Ferge's academic work focused on statistical sociology. She focused on poverty in Hungary, and particularly on the collection and analysis of sociological data regarding

child poverty Child poverty refers to the state of children living in poverty and applies to children from poor families and orphans being raised with limited or no state resources. UNICEF estimates that 356 million children live in extreme poverty. It's estima ...

. She also engaged in extensive activism to reduce child poverty in Hungary, and she specialised in the interaction of government policy and poverty. In 1998, Ferge was made a member of the

Hungarian Academy of Sciences The Hungarian Academy of Sciences ( hu, Magyar Tudományos Akadémia, MTA) is the most important and prestigious learned society of Hungary. Its seat is at the bank of the Danube in Budapest, between Széchenyi rakpart and Akadémia utca. Its ma ...

. In 1993, she was elected to the Academia Europaea. In 2002, Ferge was awarded the Middle Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary. In 2007 she was the winner of the Hungarian Government's Imre Nagy Order of Merit ( hu), and in 2009 she won the Government of Hungary's Twenty Years of the Republic Award ( hu). Ferge was a 2010 recipient of the

European Citizens' Prize In 2008, the European Parliament introduced the European Citizen's prize. It is intended to reward on an annual basis individuals or groups who have particularly distinguished themselves in strengthening European integration by the expression of ...

. In 2011, Ferge won the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Hungarian Sociological Society. She also held an honorary doctorate from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. Ferge died on 4 April 2024, at the age of 92.

Selected awards

*Middle Cross, Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary (2002) *Imre Nagy Order of Merit (2007) *Twenty Years of the Republic Award (2009) *European Citizens' Prize (2010) *Lifetime Achievement Award, Hungarian Sociological Society (2011) *Honorary doctorate, University of Edinburgh

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferge, Zsuzsa 1931 births 2024 deaths Hungarian sociologists Hungarian women sociologists Hungarian statisticians Women statisticians Members of Academia Europaea Corvinus University of Budapest alumni Commander's Crosses with Star of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary (military) Recipients of the European Citizen's Prize Scientists from Budapest