Miklós Haraszti (born 2 January 1945,
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
) 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 The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media functions as a watchdog on media developments in all 57 participating member states of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). The representative provides early warning on viol ...
from 2004 to 2010. Currently he is Adjunct Professor at the School of International & Public Affairs of Columbia Law School, New York and visiting professor at the
Central European University (CEU), Department of Public Policy.
Biography
Haraszti studied philosophy and literature at
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 ...
University. 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 1990–1994, he then moved on to lecture on democratization and
media politics
Media policy / M. politics is a term describing all legislation and political action directed towards regulating the media, especially mass media, and the media industry. Those actions will usually be prompted by pressures from public opinion or f ...
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
The government of Belarus is criticized for its human rights violations and persecution of non-governmental organisations, independent journalists, national minorities, and opposition politicians. In a testimony to the United States Senate Com ...
.
Personal life
He is married. His wife is Antónia Szenthe. They have two daughters.
[ iography - Source: Ki kicsoda 2004. Hermann Péter szerk., Budapest, 2003./ref>
]
Selected publications
Essays
"The Hungarian Independent Peace Movement"
''TELOS'' 61 (Fall 1984). New York
Telos Press
References
1945 births
Living people
Hungarian Jews
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
United Nations special rapporteurs
Alliance of Free Democrats politicians
Members of the National Assembly of Hungary (1990–1994)
Human rights in Belarus
International Writing Program alumni
Hungarian officials of the United Nations
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