French demographer
Henri Leridon was born on 15 July 1942 in Algiers, where his father was an officer. He is a French demographer and director of research "emeritus" at the Institut national d'études démographiques (Ined).
Biography.
After studying at the Lycée Hoche (Versailles), he entered the École Polytechnique (X1962). He joined Ined as a project manager in 1965, obtained a diploma as a demographer from the Institute of Demography of the University of Paris (in 1966) and a diploma of higher education in economics (University of Caen, 1967). In 1972, he obtained a doctorate in economics (University of Paris 1).
He spent most of his career at Ined. In 1974–75, he was a visiting professor at the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia) and, from 2001 to 2006, he headed a unit of Epidemiology, Demography and Social Sciences (U569) at Inserm, a mixed unit with Ined and Paris XII University.
In 2008–2009, he was an associate professor at the Collège de France, chair of sustainable development.
In 1994, he was elected Correspondent of the French Academy of sciences (Institut de France) and, in 2014, Foreign Member of the British Academy.
Positions held
- Head of the Department of Socio-demography at Ined, from 1979 to 1992 
- Head of Research Units at Ined from 1996 to 2001
- Chairman of Inserm Intercommission No. 5 on "Demographic trends and human health", from 1995 to 1999
- Chairman of the IUSSP Comparative Fertility Study Commission (1977-1981)
- Director of the GIS-ELFE "French Longitudinal Survey since childhood " (2006 -2010)
- Co-leader, with Heather Evelyn Joshi, University of London, of the European Science Foundation's EUCCONET network (2008-2013)
Scientific work.
Léridon's work focused first on contraceptive practices and family structures. On these two themes, the Ined surveys he conducted have long been the only reliable statistical sources on evolving practices. He has also devoted himself to the analysis of the fertility of human populations: his research is in line with that of the French demographer and historian Louis Henry, and has focused on the various components of fertility: fertility, intrauterine mortality, postpartum sterility and definitive sterility. He also worked on the recombination of these components in microsimulation models (Monte-Carlo method). This model has also made it possible to determine the real effectiveness of assisted human reproduction practices, both individually and collectively.
In 2002, he launched the idea of a large national cohort of children, aimed at monitoring a representative national sample of children from birth to adulthood, to study all aspects of their development in a multidisciplinary approach combining social sciences, health and environmental determinants. The Elfe cohort was formed in 2011, with 18,500 children born throughout metropolitan France, and is still followed by a team based at Ined and involving some 40 research teams.
Publications.
Articles in peer-reviewed journals (or books).
102 references, including :
References.
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