Imre Pozsgay passed away Friday, at the age of 83, announced the ex-minister's family. The former ex-communist politician played a key role in country's transition to democracy after 1989.
Most lately, he worked as an advisor to PM Viktor Orban, and taught classes at University of Debrecen.
Pozsgay was a key member of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party working for the party at both local and national levels and became deputy minister in 1975 and in 1976, to that of minister of culture. In 1980, he became minister of education, an office he held for only two years, mostly because of disagreements with János Kádár, the party leader, and György Aczél, the party ideological chief.
After János Kádar was removed from office in 1988, Pozsgay was appointed minister of state, a position equal in rank to that of deputy prime minister.
On 28 January 1989, he stunned the public and his party ranks by labelling the 1956 Hungarian revolution as a "popular uprising", contrary to "counter-revolution", the party's official stance on the event. This comment was later described as one of the key moments in the Hungarian democratic transition process..
Pozsgay became Deputy President of the Hungarian Socialist Party in October 1989 for a short period.
He was the principal sponsor of the Pan-European Picnic—the event that opened the border between Hungary and Austria and allowed the East Germans to cross to the West.
Pozsgay was a member of the Hungarian Parliament from 1983 to 1994.
