JOINObituary: Lex Lefebvre 1946 – 2024, a true diplomat
It is with great sadness that, just before Christmas, we learned of the death of Lex Lefebvre at the age of 78. Lex was, for a long time, leader of the International STM Association and of the IPRO organization.
Trained as a bookseller and publisher in France and Austria, Lex joined STM in 1992 after a career at Kluwer. He was, after several other positions, their Managing Director at Kluwer’s division for language training. In 1993 he officially succeeded the first and founding Secretary-General of STM, Paul Nijhoff Asser. In those days the Secretariat resided in a monumental canal house on Keizersgracht in the centre of Amsterdam, a location with the air and atmosphere of an old-fashioned gentleman’s club. Lex, as a gentleman pur sang by nature and upbringing, fitted well in this environment that still breathed every aspect of a man’s world.
As its second Secretary-General, Lex guided the trade association through the publishing heydays of the nineteen-nineties, and experienced the start of a new era when, step by step, the first manifestations of digital publishing emerged. He made STM’s Frankfurt conferences famous as THE ever growing meeting place for scientific and professional publishers, big and small, all eager to meet-up during the annual book-fair.
In 1994 STM, registered as a foundation in Amsterdam, officially obtained its current name, positioning itself further as an international member association. Many in the industry will remember Lex as an excellent diplomat who could connect members of all sorts, shapes and sizes in the world of academic publishing, across the whole spectrum of, sometimes, fundamentally differing viewpoints. In that sense, he was always a true binding factor. It was almost impossible to feel no friendship for him even if, metaphorically, swords had to clash. His optimism and positive attitude always ensured that people enjoyed being in good company, regardless of the issues under discussion.
In 2003 Lex moved on from STM to become Managing Director of the International Publishers Rights Organisation (IPRO), an organisation engaged in educational copyright compensations that he had helped establish under the wings of STM and which was spun off as an independent
foundation. He helped build IPRO into a solid organization and a respected player within IFRRO, the International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organizations.
When in 2011 Lex reached the official pension age, he retired with his wife Joky to the Swiss mountains of Crans-Montana. There he enjoyed the good life, including his regular rounds of golf. He continued to make occasional trips meeting up with the many friends from his wide network in the international world of publishing. In recent years however, his health problems increasingly impeded him.
After several weeks impaired by illness, he passed away peacefully on 13 December in the Swiss city of Sion. We are sure that, together with us, many will remember Lex as one of the kindest and most likeable people you could work with. In all his modesty, he radiated a kind of positivity that helped connect the many diverse players in our publishing universe. A true diplomat.
Pieter Bolman, ex-CEO of STM
Eefke Smit, Managing Director IPRO
