It is with great regret that I must inform you that Prof. Dr. Joan Vilà i Valentí, who was Vice-President of the International Geographic Union during the period 1980-1984, passed away at the age of 95 in Barcelona on August 23rd 2020. I met him in person during Barcelona IGU Regional Conference in 1986. He influenced me greatly through his straightforwardness and friendly behaviour. He was very supportive of geographers from the developing regions. His term of office at the IGU was very important for his career and enabled he and his colleagues in the Department of Geography in the University of Barcelona (UB) to bring Catalonian and Spanish geography into the international arena. Emeritus Professor Joan Vilà i Valentí (born, Sallent, Barcelona, 1925) is one of the most important geographers of the 20th century, nationally and internationally. He obtained his undergraduate degree in History and the degree of PhD from UB. He was appointed to the position of Professor at the University of Murcia in 1958 and, in 1965, became Professor at UB where he was responsible for the creation of the Department of Geography and was the founder, in 1967, of the journal Revista de Geografía. In 1968, he published his most popular work, La Península Ibérica. In 1971, he became a member of the Royal Academy of Belles Lettres of Barcelona and held this position until 1988. In 1994, he received the Cross of St George.
On behalf of the IGU, I convey our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Professor Vila i Valenti. RIP.
R.B.Singh
Secretary General and Treasurer, IGU
