Jan Hoem was a demographer who received his Ph.D. in Mathematical Statistics from the University of Oslo in 1969 and moved on to found and head the Socio-Demographic Research Unit at Statistics Norway. After professorships at the University of Copenhagen and Stockholm University, he was appointed Director of the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) in Rostock. Here, he established and led the division on Fertility and Family Dynamics in Contemporary Europe. Hoem was a forerunner in the introduction of event-history modeling in European demographic research. He conducted research on social policy and childbearing behavior in Sweden and contemporary Europe, studied family dynamics in European countries in economic transition, and promoted the Generations and Gender Programme. Hoem retired in 2007 and acted as emeritus at the MPIDR and Stockholm University afterwards/until his death in 2017.

Hoem invested considerable resources into launching the GGP and making it a top research infrastructure. He was heavily involved in the GGS design and questionnaire, formed a team of researchers to work on and coordinate the survey, and created opportunities for several Eastern European countries to field the GGS.

Click here for more information on the first GGP Consortium Board meeting in 2000 and other founders of the GGP.