Imre Hollai ( hu, Hollai Imre; 22 January 1925 – 22 November 2017) was a Hungarian diplomat and politician, who served as

President of the United Nations General Assembly The president of the United Nations General Assembly is a position voted by representatives in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on a yearly basis. The president is the chair and presiding officer of the General Assembly. Election ...

from 1982-1983, during its thirty-seventh session.

Biography

Imre Hollai was born in

Újpest Újpest (; german: Neu-Pest, en, New Pest) is the 4th District in Budapest, Hungary. It is located on the left bank of the Danube River. The name Újpest means "New Pest" because the city was formed on the border of the city of Pest, Hungary i ...

(today a district of

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

) on 22 January 1925 as the son of Béla Hollai and Emma Putz. He joined the

Hungarian Communist Party The Hungarian Communist Party ( hu, Magyar Kommunista Párt, abbr. MKP), known earlier as the Party of Communists in Hungary ( hu, Kommunisták Magyarországi Pártja, abbr. KMP), was a communist party in Hungary that existed during the interwar ...

(MKP) in 1945. A mechanist by profession, Hollai joined the Hungarian foreign service in 1949. He graduated from the Lenin Institute of the

Eötvös Loránd University Eötvös Loránd University ( hu, Eötvös Loránd Tudományegyetem, ELTE) is a Hungarian public research university based in Budapest. Founded in 1635, ELTE is one of the largest and most prestigious public higher education institutions in Hung ...

in 1952. Meanwhile, he served as political adviser then deputy head of the Department for International Relations of the Central Leadership of the

Hungarian Working People's Party The Hungarian Working People's Party (, abbr. MDP) was the ruling communist party of Hungary from 1948 to 1956. It was formed by a merger of the Hungarian Communist Party (MKP) and the Social Democratic Party of Hungary (MSZDP).Neubauer, John, a ...

(MDP) from 1949 to 1955. While also being a state security officer, Hollai functioned as Hungary's Deputy Representative to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

from 1955 to 1960, residing in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Returning home, he was head of foreign relations for the Central Committee of the

Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party The Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party ( hu, Magyar Szocialista Munkáspárt, MSZMP) was the ruling Marxist–Leninist party of the Hungarian People's Republic between 1956 and 1989. It was organised from elements of the Hungarian Working Peop ...

(MSZMP) from 1960 to 1963. Following that he served as Hungarian Ambassador to

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

and

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

from 1964 to 1970, and as Hungary's Deputy Foreign Minister from 1970-1974. He served as Hungary's Ambassador to the United Nations from 1974 to 1980 and as Hungary's Deputy Foreign Minister again from 1980 until 1984. While in this position, he served as President of the United Nations General Assembly from 1982-83. Due to his great success in this role and popularity among his peers in international diplomatic circles due to his charismatic intelligence he was seen as a threat to the rigid communists in the Hungarian hierarchy and forced to return as ambassador to his earlier post in Greece and Cyprus in 1984. He retired from the diplomatic service on 28 February 1989. However, he had been an active member of the Council of Presidents of the General Assembly, the body informally advising the General Secretary of the United Nations. Hollai died on 22 November 2017, aged 92.

Decorations and awards

*Golden Class of the Order of Merit of the

Hungarian People's Republic The Hungarian People's Republic ( hu, Magyar Népköztársaság) was a one-party socialist state from 20 August 1949 to 23 October 1989. It was governed by the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party, which was under the influence of the Soviet Uni ...

(1951) *Order of Labour (1955) *Bronze Class of the Order of the Hungarian Freedom (1957) *Commemorative Medal of Liberation (1970) *

Royal Order of George I The Royal Order of George I ( el, Βασιλικόν Τάγμα Γεωργίου Α') is a Greek order instituted by King Constantine I in 1915. Since the monarchy's abolition in 1973, it has been considered a dynastic order of the former Greek r ...

(1973) *Order of Labour, Golden Class (1975) *Order "For Socialist Hungary" (1983)

Works

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hollai, Imre 1925 births 2017 deaths Hungarian Communist Party politicians Members of the Hungarian Working People's Party Members of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party Presidents of the United Nations General Assembly Permanent Representatives of Hungary to the United Nations Ambassadors of Hungary to Greece Recipients of the Order of George I People from Újpest Ambassadors of Hungary to Cyprus