Rear Admiral Richard Cobbold CB FRAes: 25 June 1942 - 24 April 2022
The RUSI Chair, Trustees, Director-General and Staff record with deep regret the passing of Rear Admiral Richard Cobbold, a former Director.
Between 1994 and 2007, he steered the Institute through some of its most difficult and at times even existential challenges. He relaunched RUSI's research activities and sought to revamp the Institute's then precarious finances with the launch of RUSI's first-ever donors' campaign.
While fiercely proud of the Institute's history and traditions, Admiral Cobbold also presided over the first computerisation of all RUSI activities, a move regarded at that time as revolutionary.
The Rt Hon Sir David Lidington, RUSI’s Chair, paid tribute to Richard Cobbold’s contribution:
RUSI’s extensive current research and public activities would not have been possible without the solid foundations laid by Admiral Cobbold soon after the end of the Cold War, often a time when the very purpose and relevance of think-tanks devoted to the study of international security was seriously called into question
The Rt Hon Sir David Lidington KCB CBE
Chair
Dr Karin von Hippel, RUSI’s current Director-General, added:
All of us working at RUSI today owe him a huge debt of gratitude. We will cherish his memory and contributions. Our condolences go to Jeremy and Harriet, his children, and the rest of his family.
Dr Karin von Hippel
Director-General