Miklós Haraszti

Miklós Haraszti is a Hungarian writer, journalist, human rights advocate and university professor. He served as the second OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media from March 2004 to March 2010.

Miklós Haraszti is a Hungarian writer, journalist, human rights advocate and university professor. He served as the second OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media from March 2004 to March 2010. Haraszti was born in Jerusalem in 1945.

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 Haraszti co-founded the Hungarian Democratic Opposition Movement.

In 1980 he became editor of the samizdat periodical Beszélo. In 1989 he participated in “roundtable” negotiations regarding the transition to free elections. He was a member of the Hungarian Parliament from 1990 to 1994. Haraszti later lectured on democratization and media politics at many universities.

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.