Miklós Haraszti (born 2 January 1945, Jerusalem) is a Hungarian politician, writer, journalist, human rights advocate and university professor. He served the maximum of two terms as the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media from 2004 to 2010.[1] Currently he is Adjunct Professor at the School of International & Public Affairs of Columbia Law School, New York[2] and visiting professor at the Central European University (CEU), Department of Public Policy.[3]

Miklós Haraszti
OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media
In office
10 March 2004 – 10 March 2010
Preceded byFreimut Duve
Succeeded byDunja Mijatovic
Personal details
Born (1945-01-02) 2 January 1945 (age 79)
Jerusalem
Political partySZDSZ
SpouseAntónia Szenthe
Children2
Occupationwriter, journalist, human rights advocate, university professor

Biography edit

Haraszti studied philosophy and literature at Budapest University. During the late 1960s he belonged to an underground left-wing student organization that opposed the ruling Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party and was in contact with the Chinese embassy in Budapest.[4] In 1976 he co-founded the Hungarian Democratic Opposition Movement and in 1980 he became editor of the samizdat periodical Beszélő.

In 1989, Haraszti participated in the "roundtable" negotiations on transition to free elections. A member of the Hungarian Parliament from 1990 to 1994, he then moved on to lecture on democratization and media politics at numerous universities.

Haraszti's books include A Worker in a Worker's State and The Velvet Prison, both of which have been translated into several languages.

In 2012, Haraszti was appointed UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus.[5]

Personal life edit

He is married. His wife is Antónia Szenthe. They have two daughters.[6]

Selected publications edit

Essays edit

Books edit

  • A Worker in a Worker's State; Piece-Rates in Hungary. Penguin Books, 1977. ISBN 978-0140219883
  • The Velvet Prison; Artists Under State Socialism. Basic Books, 1987. ISBN 978-0465098002

References edit

  1. ^ "Monitoring crucial for press freedom, says OSCE media freedom representative in final report".
  2. ^ "Columbia Law School : Adjunct Faculty : Miklos Haraszti". Archived from the original on 2011-05-31. Retrieved 2010-12-14.
  3. ^ "Haraszti Named U.N. Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Belarus | Central European University". Archived from the original on 2013-02-17. Retrieved 2013-01-25.
  4. ^ Smith, Andrew (2019). Which East Is Red? (PDF) (1st ed.). Foreign Languages Press. p. 59. ISBN 978-2-491182-00-7.
  5. ^ "Ohchr |".
  6. ^ [Biography - Source: Ki kicsoda 2004. Hermann Péter szerk., Budapest, 2003.]