15 Facts About George Jonas

George Jonas, CM was a Hungarian-born Canadian writer, poet, and journalist.

Jonas was born in Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary in 1935, the son of lawyer, composer, and former member of the Vienna State Opera, Dr Georg M Hubsch and Magda Hubsch, Jonas was educated at the Lutheran Gymnasium between the years 1945 and 1954.

George Jonas married Barbara Amiel in 1974; the couple divorced in 1979.

George Jonas contributed to the National Review, Saturday Review, the Chicago Sun-Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Wall Street Journal, Foreign Policy magazine, the Hungarian Review and The National Interest.

George Jonas immigrated to Canada in 1956 following the 1956 Hungarian Revolution.

George Jonas worked as a freelance print and broadcast journalist until he was hired by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 1962.

George Jonas was best known for producing the true crime series Scales of Justice, in collaboration with famed criminal lawyer Eddie Greenspan, for both CBC Radio and CBC Television.

George Jonas worked as a columnist for the Toronto Sun from 1981 to 2001, when he moved to the National Post, where he remained a regular contributor until his death.

George Jonas wrote 16 books, one play, and two operas.

George Jonas was on the advisory board of the Munk Debates held semi-annually in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

George Jonas's 1984 book Vengeance was a bestseller, printed in 21 editions in 13 languages.

George Jonas felt that the film Munich suggests that there is little difference between terrorism and counter-terrorism, and thus Spielberg's movie had a spirit opposite to that of his book.

George Jonas had suffered from Parkinson's disease for many years.

In 2013, George Jonas was made a Member of the Order of Canada "for his thought-provoking contributions to Canadian public discourse as an author and journalist".

George Jonas received The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal "in recognition of his contributions to Canada" in 2012,.