Daniel Passent (28 April 1938 – 14 February 2022) was a Polish journalist and writer. He was the author of the ''En passant'' blog, which was appearing as a column in a Polish weekly ''

Polityka ''Polityka'' (, ''Politics'') is a centre-left weekly news magazine in Poland. With a circulation of 200,050 (as of April 2011), it was the country's biggest selling weekly, ahead of ''Newsweek''s Polish edition, '' Newsweek Polska'', and '' W ...

''.

Biography

Passent was born in Stanisławów, Poland (modern-day Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine). As a Jewish child he was saved from the Holocaust by a Polish family. Passent studied journalism at the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields o ...

, Saint Petersburg State University,

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

, and

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

in the 1950s and 1960s. He first wrote for a communist youth magazine '' Sztandar Młodych'' in his sophomore year at the

in 1956. In college, he wrote satirical texts for a student standup comedy group ''Studencki Teatr Satyryków'' (STS). There he met his wife,

Agnieszka Osiecka Agnieszka Osiecka (Polish pronunciation: ; 9 October 1936 – 7 March 1997) was a Polish poet, writer, author of theatre and television screenplays, film director and journalist. She was a prominent Polish songwriter, having authored the lyrics to ...

, a Polish poet and lyricist. Their daughter, Agata Passent, is also a journalist. Since 1959 he has been working for a Polish weekly ''

''. From 1990 to 1997 he was a journalist in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

for a Spanish monthly magazine ''El Diario Mundial''. From 1997 to 2002 Passent served as a Polish ambassador to

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. In addition to his articles and columns, Passent wrote several books, among others about the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

, the Olympic Summer Games 1972 in Munich, about the drug problem in the USA, and about the world class Polish tennis player,

Wojciech Fibak Wojciech Fibak (; popularly Wojtek Fibak ; born 30 August 1952) is a former professional tennis player and Polish entrepreneur and art collector. Fibak is best known for his doubles success with Dutch pro Tom Okker and Australian Kim Warwick, a ...

. He also translated books and other texts by James Baldwin and

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

into

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

. He spoke Polish, English, German, Spanish, and Russian. In 1997, Passent received Commander's Cross of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on foreigners for outstanding achievement ...

. He died on 14 February 2022, at the age of 83.

Controversy

An article in a conservative Polish newspaper Dziennik, claimed that Passent worked in the 1960s as a spy for the communist government under the code names "Daniel" and "John". Credence to these claims was lent by the Gen. Kiszczak files (released by Kiszczak's widow in 2016) in which Passent shows his true loyalty to the Communist cause (just after Fr. Popiełuszko's murder by the state in 1984) by denouncing the patriotic opposition and suggesting tactics to Kiszczak. Passent asked an independent court to review such claims through a procedure called lustration; this request was deniedTVP
as Poland's lustration law applies only to people holding (or running for) a public office.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Passent, Daniel 1938 births 2022 deaths 21st-century Polish Jews Ambassadors of Poland to Chile Commanders of the Order of Polonia Restituta Jewish journalists Jews from Galicia (Eastern Europe) Holocaust survivors Writers from Ivano-Frankivsk Polish journalists Polish columnists University of Warsaw alumni Princeton University alumni Harvard University alumni Diplomats from Ivano-Frankivsk