Peter, born in Rosses Point in Ireland on March 3, 1951, was Professor of Comparative Politics in the Institute of Political Science at Leiden University between 1992 and 2005. He first joined the institute in 1990. He held an Honorary Chair in Comparative European Politics since his departure to the European University Institute in 2005. He was a member of the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences.

As a distinguished scholar and one of the leading political scientists in Europe, Peter has made a lasting mark on our institute and on our profession generally with his conceptual clarity and theoretical ambition in the comparative study of political institutions. He was an inspiration to generations of his students. His untimely death has deprived us of one of our finest colleagues and mentors.

Peter passed away on August 15, 2011, in Connemara, Ireland, while on holiday with his family. He is survived by his wife Karin and their children Cathleen, John and Tessa. We wish his family, and his friends and colleagues, all the strength in these very difficult times.

Leiden, August 17, 2011.