45 Facts About Jean Ziegler

Jean Ziegler is a Swiss former professor of sociology at the University of Geneva and the Sorbonne, Paris, and former vice-president of the Advisory Committee to the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Jean Ziegler was previously Member of the Swiss Parliament for the Social Democrats from 1981 to 1999.

Jean Ziegler has held several positions with the United Nations, especially as Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food from 2000 to 2008, and as a member of the Advisory Committee of the UN Human Rights Council from 2008 to 2012.

Jean Ziegler was born on 19 April 1934 in Thun, Switzerland.

Jean Ziegler's father was the president of the town's court and a reserve artillery colonel.

Jean Ziegler studied at the universities of Bern and Geneva and has doctorates in Law and Sociology.

Jean Ziegler earned his barrister brevet at the bar association of Geneva.

In 1964, Jean Ziegler admired the Cuban rebels, and was Che Guevara's chauffeur in Geneva.

Jean Ziegler was professor at the University of Grenoble and until 2002 at the University of Geneva and at the Graduate Institute of Development Studies, where he taught sociology.

Jean Ziegler held the position of associate professor at the Sorbonne in Paris.

In 1963 Jean Ziegler was elected at the municipal council of Geneva as a social democrat.

Jean Ziegler joined the commissions for foreign affairs, science and international trade.

Jean Ziegler concluded his second term 30 September 2012, but was reelected on 26 September 2013 with a term lasting until 30 September 2016.

Jean Ziegler is a member of the advisory board of the non-profit organization Business Crime Control which targets white-collar crime.

Jean Ziegler was made knight of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1994.

Jean Ziegler has an honorary degree at the University of Mons in Belgium.

Jean Ziegler was awarded the Medal of the Presidency of the Italian Republic.

Jean Ziegler received the Gaddafi Human Rights Prize in 2002.

Jean Ziegler is a member of the Advisory Board of the left-wing South East European magazine Novi Plamen In Austria Jean Ziegler was awarded with the "Federal State Salzburg prize for future research" by Federal State Salzburg Governor Gabi Burgstaller on 20 November 2008.

Jean Ziegler was honored with ethecon's 2012 "Blue Planet Award" for his "outstanding efforts towards humanitarian ethics".

In 1997, Jean Ziegler alleged that Swiss banking officials were lying to protect the assets of Mobutu Sese Seko, former President of Zaire.

Jean Ziegler criticized the Swiss banks in connection with the dormant accounts scandal.

Agence France-Press noted the irony of Jean Ziegler, who had worked for Holocaust reparations in Switzerland, sharing the award with Garaudy.

Jean Ziegler's alleged associations with the Gaddafi Prize has been the subject of criticism.

Alan Johnson, writing for The Guardian online in 2008, criticized Jean Ziegler for "launching" the prize four months after the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.

On 25 March 2011, the Swiss television channel Schweizer Fernsehen ran a report on Jean Ziegler's alleged associations with Gaddafi.

In 1996, Jean Ziegler signed a letter of support for Roger Garaudy.

Jean Ziegler blamed this on an economic system that allowed the rich to become richer, and the poor to become poorer.

Some of Jean Ziegler's critics have accused him of working as an adviser to Ethiopian dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam in the drafting of Ethiopia's 1986 constitution, which established the country as a one-party state.

Jean Ziegler defended the principle of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's land reforms in 2002, saying that Mugabe had "history and morality on his side".

Jean Ziegler described agrarian reforms as "an absolute necessity" in Zimbabwe and South Africa, and was quoted as saying:.

Jean Ziegler added that Mugabe's land reforms were being undertaken "in a despicable context" and said that agrarian reform under democratic conditions would bring "equitable distribution of the property titles to rural communities".

Jean Ziegler clarified that he was speaking in a personal context, and not as a representative of the United Nations.

Jean Ziegler was involved in efforts to release them, initially working with former Algerian President Ahmed Ben Bella and later traveling to Baghdad himself as part of an independent delegation that managed to secure the release of some hostages.

The Swiss government did not endorse this effort, and Jean Ziegler argued that his delegation could have freed all of the hostages had the government agreed to allow the export to Iraq of medicines and powdered milk for children.

Jean Ziegler criticized Israel's conduct in the 2006 Lebanon War, stating that the International Criminal Court should investigate whether Israel is guilty of war crimes for a bombing campaign in Lebanon that blocked access to food and water.

In 2005, Jean Ziegler likened Gaza to "an immense concentration camp", adding that he was glad the "guards" were about to leave.

Jean Ziegler later rejected as "absurd and patently false" the suggestion that he had compared Israelis to Nazis, saying that he was actually quoting an Israeli scholar when he made the remark.

Jean Ziegler had several interactions with the government of North Korea while serving as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food.

Later in the same year, Jean Ziegler said that five of his requests to visit North Korea had been turned down by officials in Pyongyang.

Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food was criticized by The Weekly Standard, on the grounds that Jean Ziegler is a sociologist by training and had no particular expertise on food or agriculture.

Jean Ziegler's appointment was criticized by an independent group of political figures including Irwin Cotler and Per Ahlmark.

Mr Jean Ziegler has drawn criticism for his unyielding support of many of the world's most vicious dictators.

Jean Ziegler expressed "total support for the Cuban revolution" and its leader, Fidel Castro, whose repressive regime has left hundreds of political dissidents to languish in jail.

Ros-Lehtinen accused Jean Ziegler of ignoring various famine emergencies using "his platform to consistently attack America and Israel".