Remembering Ole Justesen // Mindeord om Ole Justesen
It is with sadness that we have received the message of the passing of Ole Justesen, co-founder and former Director at the Centre of African Studies, University of Copenhagen.
Ole Justesen, trained as a historian and for many years Associate Professor in African History at the University of Copenhagen, was part of the group of teachers and researchers who in 1984 founded the Centre of African Studies at the University of Copenhagen. The main focus of Ole Justesen’s research was on the historic relations between Denmark and Ghana and the Danish factor in Ghana’s history 1657 – 1850. In particular his two volume work Danish Sources for the History of Ghana, translated by James Manley and published by the Danish Royal Academy of Science and Letters, 2005 (Fontes Historiae Africanae, Series Varia VIII), is an important and not the least well-recognized and praiseworthy pioneering work. The comprehensive work, which comprises source records and translations from two Danish-Norwegian trading companies that were active on the Gold Coast between 1657 and 1754, has facilitated access to these substantial Danish sources for international historians and in particular historians in Ghana, who do research on this part of Ghana’s past. Ole Justesen has through his long engagement and dedication had a foundational importance for research on the history of Africa in Denmark.
May he be well remembered.
Mindeord om Ole Justesen
Det er med tristhed, at vi har modtaget besked om, at Ole Justesen, medstifter og tidligere leder af Center for Afrikastudier, er afgået ved døden.
Ole Justesen, uddannet historiker og mangeårig lektor i afrikansk historie ved Københavns Universitet, var med i kredsen af undervisere og forskere, der i 1984 grundlagde Center for Afrikastudier ved Københavns Universitet. Ole Justesens hovedfokus var på de historiske relationer mellem Danmark og Ghana og Danmarks rolle i Ghanas historie i perioden 1657 – 1850. Særligt hans to bind store Danish Sources for the History of Ghana, oversat af James Manley og udgivet af Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab, 2005 (Fontes Historiae Africanae, Series Varia VIII), er et betydningsfuldt og ikke mindst prisværdigt pionerarbejde. Det omfattende værk, der indeholder kildeoptegnelser og -oversættelser fra to dansk-norske handelskompagnier, der var aktive på Guldkysten i perioden 1657-1754, har muliggjort adgang til disse betydningsfulde danske kilder for en langt bredere international kreds af historikere, og ikke mindst historikere i Ghana, der arbejder med denne del af Ghanas historie. Ole Justesen har igennem sit lange virke haft grundlæggende betydning for dansk historieforskning i Afrika.
Æret været hans minde.