Hungary's first post-communist president Arpad Goncz dies at 93
Xinhua, October 7, 2015 Adjust font size:
Novelist, playwright, and translator, as well as Hungary's first post-communist president, died on Tuesday at the age of 93.
Arpad Goncz, who served as president from 1990 to 2000 and began his political career in the 1940s as an anti-fascist, was perhaps Hungary's most popular contemporary politician. Deputy Speaker of Parliament Istvan Hiller announced Goncz's death in parliament, calling him "a legend in his own lifetime."
Current president Janos Ader called him "an historical figure" who became president at a watershed moment.
Goncz was imprisoned from 1957 to 1963 for writing several memoranda during Hungary's failed 1956 uprising.
His translations included J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings, E.L. Doctorow's Ragtime, and works by Faulkner, Hemingway, Styron, and Golding.
He is survived by his wife and four children who include former Hungarian Foreign Minister Kinga Goncz. Endit