Daniel Passent (28 April 1938 – 14 February 2022) was a Polish journalist and writer. He was the author of the ''En passant'' blog, which was appearing as a column in a Polish weekly ''

Polityka ''Polityka'' (, ''Politics'') is a centre-left weekly news magazine in Poland. It had a circulation of 95,300 during 2021. ''Polityka'' has a slightly intellectual, socially liberal profile, setting it apart from the more conservative ''Wprost ...

''.

Biography

Passent was born in Stanisławów, Poland (modern-day

Ivano-Frankivsk Ivano-Frankivsk (, ), formerly Stanyslaviv, Stanislav and Stanisławów, is a city in western Ukraine. It serves as the administrative centre of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast as well as Ivano-Frankivsk Raion within the oblast. Ivano-Frankivsk also host ...

, Ukraine). As a Jewish child he was saved from the Holocaust by a Polish family. Passent studied journalism at the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw (, ) is a public university, public research university in Warsaw, Poland. Established on November 19, 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country, offering 37 different fields of study as well ...

, Andrei Zhdanov University in Leningrad, USSR (now St. Petersburg, Russia),

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

, and

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in the 1950s and 1960s. He first wrote for a communist youth magazine '' Sztandar Młodych'' in his

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of Post-secondary school, post-secondary educatio ...

year at the

in 1956. In college, he wrote satirical texts for a student standup comedy group ''Studencki Teatr Satyryków'' (STS). There he met his wife,

Agnieszka Osiecka Agnieszka Osiecka (Polish pronunciation: ; 9 October 1936 – 7 March 1997) was a Polish poet, writer, author of theatre and television screenplays, film director and journalist. She was a prominent Polish songwriter, having authored the lyrics to ...

, a Polish poet and lyricist. Their daughter, Agata Passent, is also a journalist. Since 1959 he has been working for a Polish weekly ''

''. From 1990 to 1997 he was a journalist in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

for a Spanish monthly magazine ''El Diario Mundial''. From 1997 to 2002 Passent served as a Polish ambassador to

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. In addition to his articles and columns, Passent wrote several books, among others about the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

, the Olympic Summer Games 1972 in Munich, about the drug problem in the US, and about the world class Polish tennis player,

Wojciech Fibak Wojciech Fibak (; popularly Wojtek Fibak ; born 30 August 1952) is a Polish former professional tennis player, entrepreneur, and art collector. Fibak is best known for his doubles success with Dutch pro Tom Okker and Australian Kim Warwick, a ...

. He also translated books and other texts by

James Baldwin James Arthur Baldwin (né Jones; August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987) was an American writer and civil rights activist who garnered acclaim for his essays, novels, plays, and poems. His 1953 novel '' Go Tell It on the Mountain'' has been ranked ...

and

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...

into Polish. He spoke Polish, English, German, Spanish, and Russian. In 1997, Passent received Commander's Cross of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on alien (law), foreigners for outstanding achievements in ...

. He died on 14 February 2022, at the age of 83.

Controversy

An article in a conservative Polish newspaper Dziennik, claimed that Passent worked in the 1960s as a spy for the communist government under the code names "Daniel" and "John". Credence to these claims was lent by the Gen. Kiszczak files (released by Kiszczak's widow in 2016) in which Passent shows his true loyalty to the Communist cause (just after Fr. Popiełuszko's murder by the state in 1984) by denouncing the patriotic opposition and suggesting tactics to Kiszczak. Passent asked an independent court to review such claims through a procedure called

lustration Lustration in Central and Eastern Europe is the official public procedure of scrutinizing a public official or a candidate for public office in terms of their history as a witting confidential collaborator (informant) of relevant former commun ...

; this request was deniedTVP
as Poland's lustration law applies only to people holding (or running for) a public office.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Passent, Daniel 1938 births 2022 deaths 21st-century Polish Jews 21st-century Polish journalists Ambassadors of Poland to Chile Commanders of the Order of Polonia Restituta Jewish journalists Jews from Galicia (Eastern Europe) Holocaust survivors Writers from Ivano-Frankivsk Polish journalists Polish columnists University of Warsaw alumni Princeton University alumni Harvard University alumni Diplomats from Ivano-Frankivsk