Hungarian historian, university professor and senior advisor to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, György Granasztói has passed away at the age of 78, MTI reports today.
Born in Budapest on March 28, 1938, Granasztói graduated in Hungarian and French at the capital’s Eötvös Loránd University.
He worked in ELTE’s university library and was a senior research fellow at the Institute of History at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences between 1968 and 1983. He was also a guest professor at universities in Lyon, Leuven and Paris.
Granasztói joined the conservative Hungarian National Forum party at the time of democratic transition in 1990.
Between 1990 and 1994, he served as Hungarian ambassador to Brussels, Luxembourg and NATO, leading the Hungarian representation to the Commission of European Communities from 1992 to 1994.
Active in several social, political and professional organizations, he served as senior advisor to the Prime Minister and Prime Ministerial commissioner for issues including the use of the Hungarian flag and coat of arms, and the implementation of the law on state decorations.
He was awarded the Hungarian Order of Merit, Commander’s Cross with Star, in March 2015.