Laura Kolbe

 Laura Kolbe, Ph.D. (Helsinki) professor at the Department of History, University of Helsinki. Author of Helsinki, the Daughter of the Baltic Sea, editor of Finnish Cultural History I-V and co-editor of the series History of Metropolitan Development in Helsinki - post 1945.  Dr. Kolbe's research is in Finnish and European History, urban and university history. Her latest research  deals with urban governance and policy making in Helsinki and other Scandinavian capital cities during the 21st century. Kolbe is founder and former chair of the Finnish Society for Urban Studies. She was the International Planning History Society's (IPHS) Conference Convenor in 2000 and President of the IPHS in 2006-2012, now active as president of City of Helsinki History Committee.