László Nagy (September 2, 1921 – December 18, 2009; ) was the

Secretary General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

of the

World Organization of the Scout Movement The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM ) is the largest international Scouting organization. WOSM has 173 members. These members are recognized national Scout organizations, which collectively have around 43 million participants. WOSM ...

from May 1, 1968, to October 31, 1988. A Swiss citizen of Hungarian origin, he was a sociologist, a

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

, a Doctor of

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

, a former

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

and the author of a number of books on politics.

Biography

Nagy was born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1921, discovered Scouting and went on to become an assistant

Scoutmaster A Scout leader or Scouter generally refers to the trained adult leader of a Scout unit. The terms used vary from country to country, over time, and with the type of unit. Roles There are many different roles a leader can fulfill depending on t ...

. He attended the

4th World Scout Jamboree The 4th World Scout Jamboree ( Hungarian: ''4. Cserkész Világdzsembori''), a gathering of Boy Scouts from all over the world, was hosted by Hungary and held from 2 to 13 August 1933. It was attended by 25,792 Scouts, representing 46 different ...

held in Gödöllő, Hungary in 1933. Nagy received a Masters in sociology and law, and a PhD in political science. He was a graduate of the business administration School at the

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin as a theological seminary. It remained focused on theology until the 17th centur ...

. He studied for many years under the direction of child psychologist

Jean Piaget Jean William Fritz Piaget (, , ; 9 August 1896 – 16 September 1980) was a Swiss psychologist known for his work on child development. Piaget's theory of cognitive development and epistemological view are together called "genetic epistemolo ...

. Later, he became the Director of Study and Head of the Department of Research and Documentation at the

Graduate Institute of International Studies Graduate may refer to: Education * The subject of a graduation, i.e. someone awarded an academic degree ** Alumnus, a former student who has either attended or graduated from an institution * High school graduate, someone who has completed high ...

in Geneva. Nagy was also a journalist and author. He was Foreign Editor of the Gazette de Lausanne. Internationally he was recognised as an authority on the problems of

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whic ...

and of Sub-Saharan Africa. The books he authored included ''Imre Nagy'', ''Katanga'', ''Lenin'' and ''History of People's Democracies''. In 1965, he undertook a two-year critical study of the world Scouting movement around the world, sponsored by the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death ...

and appointed by the Graduate Institute of International Studies. Nagy published the ''Report on World Scouting'' in June 1967. In the course of the study, much data was compiled for the first time about worldwide Scouting, with many international trips made and countless interviews held. In the report, Nagy analysed and defined both the problems and strengths of World Scouting. The 1967 World Scout Conference accepted the Nagy Report with its many recommendations for the improvement of World Scouting and its reorganisation. In 1968, WOSM invited him to put his recommendations into practice and appointed him to his WOSM post, for a three-year term that eventually lasted 20 years. Nagy was awarded the

Bronze Wolf The Bronze Wolf Award is bestowed by the World Scout Committee (WSC) to acknowledge "outstanding service by an individual to the World Scout Movement". It is the highest honor that can be given a volunteer Scout leader in the world and it is the ...

, the only distinction of the

, awarded by the World Scout Committee for exceptional services to world Scouting, in 1977. In 1987 he also received the highest distinction of the

Scout Association of Japan , headquarters = Hongō, Bunkyō, Tokyo , country = Japan , f-date = 1922 , members = 109,528 (2017) , website = http://www.scout.or.jp , affiliation = World Organization of the Scout Movement , pattern_head1 = baseball cap , color_hea ...

, the

Golden Pheasant Award The is the highest award for adult leaders in the Scout Association of Japan. It is awarded by the Chief Scout of Japan, awarded for eminent achievement and meritorious service to the Association for a period of at least twenty years. It may be ...

. Nagy was married to the former Monique Cuendet, a Genovese artist, and had two sons, Antoine (born in 1958) and Laurent (born in 1960) and a daughter, Anns Valerie (born in 1962).

Books published

References

External links

Bio on Nagy on the Scouting website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nagy, Laszlo 1921 births 2009 deaths Recipients of the Bronze Wolf Award Hungarian sociologists Hungarian activists Writers from Budapest Scouting pioneers Swiss activists Hungarian emigrants to Switzerland World Scout Committee members

Biography

Books published

See also

References

External links