LMU mourns University Council member Eva Wiberg

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LMU mourns the loss of Professor Eva Wiberg, who died on 19 October 2026 following a short illness. She was 68. Her sudden death is a profound loss for her family and friends and for all who had the privilege of working with her.

“Since joining LMU’s University Council, Professor Wiberg had become a highly valued member of our university community,” says Matthias Tschöp, President of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. “Her experience as a scholar and university leader, her thoughtful advice, and her commitment to LMU enriched the work of our Council and our university. We are deeply grateful for all she contributed and helped us achieve. We will miss her deeply and remember her with warmth and gratitude.”

Eva Wiberg, who served as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Gothenburg from 2017 to 2023, had been a member of LMU’s University Council since 2019. In this role, she supported and helped shape both LMU’s most recent success in the Excellence Strategy and the transition to the university’s new leadership. Her ability to bring a European perspective was always a great asset to LMU.

She was a professor of Italian studies, with research focusing on second language acquisition and bilingualism. Eva Wiberg was a member of various national and international academic networks. She was particularly active in the European network LERU (League of European Research Universities) and the global network Universitas 21, and was a member of the World Conference of University Rectors. She also held academic leadership positions at several universities, including Lund University.

Eva Wiberg had an international background and spoke German, Swedish, Italian, English, and French. She spent 22 years of her life in Italy, interrupted by a brief stay in Princeton, USA. She completed her secondary education at the German School in Rome and subsequently studied linguistics there. Wiberg earned her doctorate at Lund University in Sweden in 1997 before returning to Italy as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Pavia. In 2012, she was appointed Professor of Italian Linguistics at Lund University.