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

Secretary General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

of the

World Organization of the Scout Movement The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM ) is the largest and, after the Order of World Scouts (formed in 1911), is the second-oldest international organization in the Scout Movement, having been established in 1922. It has 176 members. ...

from 1 May 1968 to 31 October 1988. A

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

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 species; as well as the ...

, 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 (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

, a former

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

and the author of a number of books on politics.

Biography

Nagy was born in

Budapest, Hungary Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, in 1921, discovered

Scouting Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

and went on to become an assistant Scoutmaster. He attended the

4th World Scout Jamboree The 4th World Scout Jamboree (Hungarian language, 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 Boy Scout, Scou ...

held in Gödöllő, Hungary in 1933. Nagy received a Masters in sociology and law, and a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

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 university, public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by French theologian John Calvin as a Theology, theological seminary. It rema ...

. 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 epistemology. ...

. 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 ** Alumni, a former student who has either attended or graduated from an institution * High school graduate, someone who has completed hi ...

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 Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

and of

Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...

. 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

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 $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

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, which ultimately lasted for 20 years. Nagy was awarded the

Bronze Wolf The Bronze Wolf Award is an award presented by the World Organization of the Scout Movement for outstanding service by an individual to the Scout Movement. Just over 400 people have received the Bronze Wolf since its creation in 1935. WOSM has r ...

, 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 The is the major Scouting organization of Japan. Starting with boys only, the organization was known as Boy Scouts of Japan from 1922 to 1971, and as Boy Scouts of Nippon from 1971 to 1995, when it became coeducational in all sections, leading ...

, 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 Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies alumni

Biography

Books published

See also

References

External links