Miklos Haraszti

Miklos Haraszti
OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media
Hungarian writer, journalist, human rights advocate and university professor Miklos Haraszti was appointed the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media effective from 10 March 2004. He was born in Jerusalem in 1945.

Mr. Haraszti studied Philosophy and literature at the Budapest University and in 1996 received an Honorary Degree from Northwestern University in the United States.

In 1976 Mr. Haraszti co-founded the Hungarian Democratic Opposition Movement and in 1980 he became editor of the samizdat periodical Beszélo. In 1989, he 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 at numerous universities.

Mr. Haraszti has written several essays and books, including "A Worker in a Worker's State" and "The Velvet Prison", both of which have been translated into several languages. His essays have been published in The New York Times and The Washington Post. He speaks English, Russian and German.