Western Sahara Through Hungarian Eyes

Interview with Major-General György Száraz

Abstract

His father who had served the Hungarian armed forces provided a great influence for him to join the army, in particular that he died in the line of duty in 1965. György Száraz first graduated from the Military Academy in 1977, and in 1979 got his Masters’ degree in foreign trade from Carl Marx University of Economics (today Corvinus University) in Budapest. Between 1972 and 1984 he took advanced language exams in French, Italian and English. Up until 1986 he worked in different posts in Hungary, Brussels and Syria. In 1998 he was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general. He served the Hungarian government in different positions again in Hungary, but also in the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Korea. In 2002 he was promoted majorgeneral and chosen as force commander of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), which he led for three years. After his return to Hungary he was pensioned off, today he is retired. János Besenyő’s interview also touches upon the details of the mission and some delicate questions of the Hungarian involvement.