Swiss sociologist and anti-capitalist firebrand Jean Ziegler dies at 92
The sociologist, author, and former UN special rapporteur on the right to food died on Wednesday from complications of Parkinson's disease, his family confirmed.
A life of combat
Jean Ziegler, the Swiss sociologist, author, and politician, died on Wednesday in Geneva at the age of 92. His family confirmed to the Keystone-ATS news agency that he succumbed to Parkinson's disease. Born Hans Ziegler in Thun in 1934 to a conservative German-speaking family, he radicalised during his studies in Paris, where he came into contact with Jean-Paul Sartre. A meeting with Che Guevara in Geneva convinced him to wage his fight against inequality and injustice from Switzerland.
Political and academic career
Ziegler served as a Socialist member of the Swiss National Council for 28 years across two mandates, from 1967 to 1983 and again from 1987 to 1999. As a parliamentarian, he pushed for lowering the voting age to 18 through a parliamentary initiative, though the measure failed in a 1979 referendum before passing twelve years later. He was also a professor of sociology at the University of Geneva. The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland called him "a formative personality who fought tirelessly for social justice, international solidarity, and the equality of peoples."
United Nations role
From 2000 to 2008, Ziegler served as the UN special rapporteur on the right to food. He later became vice-president of the advisory committee of the UN Human Rights Council, a position he held from 2009 until his death. Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, described him as "a fighter above all for vulnerable population groups" and "an advocate of the human rights ecosystem and an extremely strong personality."
Controversial stances and associations
Ziegler was a polarising figure. His books, translated into numerous languages, often attacked Swiss banks and multinational corporations. In 1997, he gained international notoriety with "The Swiss, the Gold, and the Dead," an indictment of Swiss bankers' role in financing Nazi Germany and their handling of Holocaust victims' dormant accounts. He denounced what he called the "cannibal" capitalism of the West and blamed Western multinationals for seizing fertile land in Africa, contributing to famine. His relationships with authoritarian leaders, including Muammar Gaddafi, Fidel Castro, Saddam Hussein, and Kim Il-sung, drew sharp criticism. He also supported the violent expropriation of white farmers in Zimbabwe under Robert Mugabe.
Hunger in the world is the absolute scandal of our time. According to the UN, every five seconds a child under ten dies of hunger, on a planet that could normally meet the needs of 12 billion inhabitants.
Cross-partisan tributes
Tributes came from across the political spectrum. Former Swiss president Ruth Dreifuss, a Socialist, highlighted his influence on generations of students. Adolf Ogi, a former president from the right-wing Swiss People's Party, said Ziegler possessed "exceptional qualities of the heart" and an "intelligence, both intellectual and social, that was out of the ordinary." The two men, Ogi noted, understood each other "with a simple smile." The Geneva government presented its condolences to the family, with State Council president Anne Hiltpold stating that Ziegler "marked his era."
Jean had exceptional qualities of the heart. He had an intelligence, both intellectual and social, that was out of the ordinary.
