1941–
A historian who carried the memory of 1956 into diplomacy
At fifteen, he took part in the 1956 Revolution without a weapon.
Géza Jeszenszky is a historian who experienced the 1956 Revolution and a statesman who helped shape Hungary’s diplomacy during the transition from state socialism. He estimated that about 350 people were executed after the revolution, contributing to public memory of the repression’s scale. As a scholar he wrote on international-relations history and Hungary’s image abroad, while as a founding member of the Hungarian Democratic Forum he pursued new relations with the West.
Activities and affiliations
Career Timeline
- 1941Born in Budapest
- 1961–1966Studied history and English at Eötvös Loránd University
- 1976–2011Taught international-relations history at the Budapest University of Economics and Corvinus University
- 1987–1988Took part in Lakitelek and helped found the Hungarian Democratic Forum
- 1990–1994Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs
- 1998–2002Hungarian Ambassador to the United States
- 2011–2014Hungarian Ambassador to Norway and Iceland
Related historical events
Foreign Minister and the Birth of Visegrád
Jeszenszky became foreign minister in 1990 in the government of the Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF), winner of the country's first free elections. He had been a pupil of Prime Minister József Antall, his history teacher in high school, a tie that carried him into the diplomatic leadership of the first democratic government. During his tenure Hungary's external relations were rebuilt from the ground up.
The first task was dismantling the institutions that embodied political, military and economic dependence on the Soviet Union. The Warsaw Pact's military organization was formally dissolved on 1 July 1991, and the negotiation and completion of the Soviet troop withdrawal fell within his term. Hungary joined the Council of Europe and the Central European Initiative, became a party to the Association Agreement with the European Communities, and in 1994 Jeszenszky personally submitted Hungary's application for membership in the European Union.
What he pursued most devotedly as foreign minister was 'Visegrád'. On 15 February 1991, President Havel of Czechoslovakia, President Walesa of Poland and Prime Minister Antall of Hungary signed a Declaration of Cooperation in the royal palace of Visegrád. As the closest witness, Jeszenszky testified to the real origins of the idea: at the castle where Polish, Bohemian and Hungarian kings had coordinated policy in 1335, the three countries' leaders independently resolved to realign with 'the West' and prevent the repetition of past national tragedies. It was an initiative neither dictated nor even suggested by Moscow, Washington or Brussels.
The ultimate aim of Visegrád was the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact and Comecon, and at the Kraków summit of October 1991 it issued a joint warning on the Yugoslav conflict demanding national self-determination and full protection of minority rights. The European Community's joint signing of the Europe Agreements with the three countries in December 1991 was a visible endorsement of the Visegrád model. Jeszenszky called the cooperation an alliance 'in pectore', in our hearts. In later interviews he recalled that Central European cooperation reached its peak during his tenure as foreign minister.