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Lecture by Dr Magyar Balint

August 18, 2017
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The Department of Political Science and

The School of Community and Public Affairs present:

A Public Lecture

“Toward a Terminology for Post-Communist Regimes”

Dr. Bálint Magyar Hungarian Civil-Rights Activist and Visiting Fellow, The New School, NYCU

On Monday September 11th, 2017, 1:30-3:00 pm

In the Henry F. Hall Building, room 1220

 

1455 de Maisonneuve Blvd. West

Bálint Magyar was one of the most prominent civil-rights leaders of Communist Hungary, prior to the collapse of the Berlin Wall. A political comrade of the Polish Lech Walesa, the Czech Vaclav Havel, Dr. Magyar became a prominent Liberal politician in post-Communist Hungary. He held a number of senior ministerial portfolios during the first 20 years of democratic rule in Hungary. Including: Minister of Education and Culture (1996-98), Minister of Education and Science (2002-2006) Vice President of the National Development Council (2006-2008), Secretary of State for Development Policy (2007-2008),   and Secretary of State for EU Funds (2007-2008). He also served as a member of the Governing Board of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology. Since 2010 he has been active on a number of international organizations, including UNICEF, The Open Society Foundation and The European Roma Right Center in different missions as a consultant to enhance education reforms (e.g. in Moldova, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Romania, Czech Republic.)  Today, Dr. Magyar is one of the leading voices of the Hungarian Democratic Opposition, and an outspoken champion of civil liberties. According to him, Hungary today, under the leadership of Viktor Orbán, is not a constitutional democracy, but a “Post-Communist Mafia State”.  His talk will be on the changes that are transforming the political landscape of post-Communist Central Europe.




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