23 August 2004
Inquiries: Mr Jukka Hoffrén +358 9 1734 3351
Gunnar Modeen medal to Asta Manninen
The Gunnar Modeen medal awarded every three years by the Finnish Statistical Society was this year granted to Asta Manninen, Acting Director of the City of Helsinki Urban Facts. The medal was presented to Ms Manninen in connection with the Nordic Statistical Meeting on 20 August 2004.
Asta Manninen's special area of expertise is urban research. She is a member of several international statistical organisations, such as the ISI (International Statistical Institute) and the IAOS (International Association of Official Statistics). She is also the co-ordinator of the NORDSTAT formed by 16 Nordic cities. In 1995 she received the ISI's Henri Willem Methorst medal in acknowledgement of her outstanding services. Asta Manninen was a member of the Council of the Finnish Statistical Society between 1993 and 1999, the last year as chair.
The Gunnar Modeen medal is awarded to a distinguished Nordic statistician from the country arranging the Nordic Statistical Conference in the year in question. The first medal was given in the Nordic Statistical Conference held in Finland in 1989.
Gunnar Modeen (1895 - 1988) was highly influential in the field of statistics in Finland in the early 20th century. He contributed particularly to the development of population statistics and Finnish population policy in the 1930s and 1940s. He also developed statistics on dwellings and wages and the cost-of-living index.
Between 1920 and 1936 Gunnar Modeen worked at the Central Statistical Office of Finland and in 1936 he was appointed Head of the Social Research Office of the Finnish Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. In 1920 he was involved in the founding of the Finnish Statistical Society and also acted as its chair on a couple of occasions.
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