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Professor Aitken Clark OBE
It is with great sadness that EUROPARC announces the death of Professor Aitken Clark OBE.
Aitken was one of the fathers of the EUROPARC Federation and he will be greatly missed by the EUROPARC family all over Europe.
As President of the EUROPARC Federation from 1990 to 1996 Aitken presided over the growth of the Federation and was a key figure in shaping its character and influence. In the past nine years since his retirement as Chief Executive of the Broads Authority he was Chairman of EUROPARC Consulting and played a central role in generating funds and greater visibility for the Federation. He was awarded the Alfred Toepfer Medal in recognition of his great service to the Federation in 2005.
Aitken was a visionary and without his wide-ranging skills and interests EUROPARC would not enjoy the recognition it has today. However it’s not just his vision, diplomacy and intelligent leadership that we will remember him for. He was exceptionally generous and kind, had a super sense of humour and was great company. To put it simply he was a wonderful friend and colleague to so many people across Europe. Things won’t be the same without him.
We are all shocked and deeply saddened by the news of Aitken’s death early this morning. Our thoughts and condolences are with his wife, Frances, and his family.
We will be paying full tribute to Aitken in the near future. A message from the Broads Authority, where Aitken worked for many years, can be found below.
Any tributes to Aitken can be sent to us office(at)europarc.org and we will pass them onto his family.
It has been a traumatic week for EUROPARC with the death Aitken Clark today, preceded by Geraint George from Wales who that many will remember as the great manager of many a post gala dinner EUROPARC party . We mark the passing too of Jordi Falgarona from Spain who ensured the cultural and spiritual values of protected areas remained in EUROPARC’s heart.
You can read some kind words about Geraint and Jordi by following this link.
Erika Stanciu
President
