Michael Kovrig

Michael Kovrig (born February 3, 1972) is a Canadian geopolitical advisor, analyst, writer, and former diplomat. In December 2018, he was detained in Beijing by Chinese authorities and held for 1,019 days on charges widely seen as politically-motivated and retaliatory for the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou. On September 24, 2021, he was released and returned to Canada after the United States reached a deferred prosecution agreement with Meng.

Currently, Kovrig works for the International Crisis Group (ICG) as a Senior Advisor specializing in Asia-Pacific affairs and Chinese foreign policy.

Early life and education

Born in Toronto, Canada, Kovrig attended Royal St. George's College and later graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature in 1994. He then attended Columbia University and earned a Master’s in International Affairs in 2003.

Career

After graduating from the University of Toronto, Kovrig lived in Budapest, Hungary in the 1990s, working as an editor for '' Budapest Week'', reporter for the ''Budapest Business Journal'' and as a radio news announcer for Magyar Rádió.

In 2003, Kovrig began working as a researcher for the firm that later became Rhodium Group. From 2003 to 2007, he worked for the Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations as a Media and Communications Officer. He then transitioned to the United Nations Development Programme as a strategic communications specialist for three years, beginning in 2007.

In 2010, he joined the Canadian Foreign Service, and served at Global Affairs Canada’s headquarters in Ottawa as a senior desk officer in the international security branch. Kovrig was posted through Canada’s Global Security Reporting Program (GSRP) as a diplomat to the Embassy of Canada to China from 2014 to 2016, where he served as a First Secretary in the political section. In 2016, he briefly served as Consul at the Consulate General of Canada in Hong Kong.

Since 2017, he has worked for the International Crisis Group, a transnational non-profit focused on preventing and resolving deadly conflict through research and advocacy, as a Senior Adviser.

He has written and advocated on various geopolitical issues, including China’s politics and international relations, the North Korean nuclear crisis, and maritime disputes in the Western Pacific. He is a published contributor to ''The Globe & Mail'', the ''South China Morning Post'', ''Asia Times'', ''Politico'', ''The Diplomat'', ''Mail & Guardian'', and ''ChinaFile''.

Detention in China

From December 2018 to September 2021, Kovrig, along with Michael Spavor, was detained by the Beijing State Security Bureau and held prisoner in an attempt to pressure the Government of Canada into releasing
the Chief Financial Officer of Huawei, Meng Wanzhou. The Chinese government accused Kovrig of “spying into state secrets and internal information” and put him on trial in March 2021. The proceedings were widely criticized as a show trial, and the court never announced a verdict or sentence for Kovrig.

The Canadian and U.S. governments, ICG, and Kovrig himself have all asserted that the groundless charges were politically motivated and that Kovrig was an innocent political hostage.

On September 24, 2021, hours after the United States reached a deferred prosecution agreement with Meng and she was released from house arrest in Vancouver, Kovrig was released on bail without being sentenced, deported from China and flown back to Canada.

In a 2024 interview, Kovrig said that he was subjected to “total isolation and relentless interrogation for six to nine hours every day” and “spent his first five months of detainment in solitary confinement with blackout blinds over the windows. Kovrig also stated that “Chinese officials used a ‘whole host of psychological manipulation techniques’ to try to coerce a confession out of him, including cutting his food rations”.

Personal life

He was previously married to Vina Nadjibulla. Kovrig is fluent in English, French, and Mandarin Chinese.

From 1996 to 1999, Kovrig was a vocalist in the Hungarian punk rock band Bankrupt. His stage name was Michael K., a reference to Kafka's novel The ''Trial'', which is one of the books he requested when he was granted a virtual visit from the Canadian ambassador while in detention in China. On July 15, 2021, Bankrupt released the song “Pekingi nyár” (Beijing Summer) and its English-language version “The Plane To Toronto” in protest of his detention. The band announced that all proceeds from the song were to be donated to Hostage International, at the request of Kovrig’s family.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kovrig, Michael
Canadian people imprisoned abroad
1972 births
Living people
Diplomats for Canada
Foreign nationals imprisoned in China