István Bibó


István Bibó was a Hungarian lawyer, civil servant, politician and political theorist.

Life

During the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, Bibó acted as the Minister of State for the Hungarian National Government. When the Soviets invaded to crush the rebellious government, he was the last Minister left at his post in the Hungarian Parliament building in Budapest. Rather than evacuate, he stayed in the building and wrote his famous proclamation, "For Freedom and Truth", as he awaited arrest.
Bibó was arrested on 23 May 1957 and sentenced to life imprisonment on 2 August 1958 but released in the 1963 amnesty. Bibó received a law degree from the Franz Joseph University and later taught there. In 1935, he received a PhD from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, in Geneva.

Legacy

  • Bibo Prize founded in Boston
  • 5000 Forint coin issued by the National Bank of Hungary
  • The Budapest Eötvös Loránd University named a special honors society/extracurricular studies program after Bibo – the Bibo Istvan Szakkollegium. The society is open to students of law or political sciences who pass a rigorous entrance exam. Attaining membership in the society is considered an honor of its own.

Works

. Antiqua, 1945, 40 pp.Valóság The Poverty of Eastern European Small States: ; Misère des petits États d'Europe de l'Est. L'Harmattan, 1986 ; Albin Michel, Paris, 1993 The Paralysis of International Institutions and the Remedies. A Study of Self-Determination, Concord among the Major Powers, and Political Arbitration. The Harvester Press, Hassocks, 1976Democracy, Revolution, Self-Determination: Selected Writings. Edited by Károly Nagy. Translated by András Boros-Kazai. Columbia University Press, New York, 1991The Art of Peacemaking: The Political Essays of István Bibó. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2015