The PSA is sorry to learn of the death of PSA member and brilliant political thinker, Professor Anthony King.

University of Essex Vice-Chancellor Professor Anthony Forster has paid tribute to his huge contribution to the University of Essex.

He said: “Professor Anthony King was a giant of political science and one of the University of Essex’s longest serving members of staff, joining us in 1966 just two years after the University opened.

“An inspirational teacher, a great political thinker and a brilliant writer, Professor King analysed politics in books and on television with incredible intelligence, insight and wit. Our thoughts are with his family and his friends, including his many, many former students.”

Essex graduate and now Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow MP also paid tribute to Professor King. He said: “I am extremely sad to learn of the death of Professor Anthony King, one of the most outstanding academic political scientists of our times. It was my great good fortune to be taught by Tony at the University of Essex more than 30 years ago and I still regard his lectures and classes as amongst the most informative and stimulating that I ever heard.

“In more recent years, I have had relatively regular contact with Tony and enjoyed his friendship and encouragement in my own work. There can be no question that, in the study of British politics in particular, he was a colossus. I extend my heartfelt condolences to his wife Jan at this painful time.”

Presenter David Dimbleby hosted numerous general election night broadcasts with Professor King on the BBC. He told the BBC News website: “It’s very sad news, completely unexpected to me. Tony King was passionate about the way government worked, he was extraordinary. He also played a public role. He was on the committee for standards in public life, on a committee on reform of the House of Lords, so he was sort of embedded, in the way we do our politics. We used to have lunch every so often in between elections to talk about how things were going and he was always absolutely fascinating.”

Close friend and colleague Professor David Sanders, Regius Professor of Political Science at Essex, said: “Tony was the intellectual heart of the Department of Government at Essex. He was the clearest and most compelling lecturer I have ever observed and the very best writer working in contemporary political science. His facility for making complex arguments accessible to audiences of all kinds was unparalleled. His personal kindness was immense. I will miss him more than I can say.”

Tony was awarded the PSA’s Sir Isaiah Berlin Prize in 2015 for the huge contribution he made to the study of politics and the work he did to bridge the divide between academic political science and the public understanding of politics. 

This article was first published by the University of Essex. A full tribute to Tony will appear in the March issue of PSA News.

You can leave your own tribute on the Essex Daily blog.