His passing was announced on Monday by the weekly current-affairs magazine Polityka, for which Passent had worked, with brief intervals, since 1959, Poland's PAP news agency reported.
“We deeply regret to announce the death of Daniel Passent, an author associated with the Polityka weekly for his whole life, a columnist, a blogger, our colleague,” said the statement on the magazine’s website.
Passent was best known for his trademark weekly column, which provided commentary on topical issues in politics, the economy and society. He also wrote on international affairs, culture and literature.
Born into a Polish-Jewish family in 1938, Passent managed to survive the Holocaust in a series of hiding places, aided by both Poles and Jews. He lost his parents, however, and was adopted by an uncle, a high-ranking official in postwar communist Poland.
Passent’s education took him to St. Petersburg, Harvard, Princeton and the University of Warsaw. In the meantime, he set his sights on a career in journalism, joining Poland's Sztandar Młodych daily newspaper in 1954 and Polityka five years later.
Spanning several eras, Passent’s life included being a war correspondent in Vietnam in the 1960s; serving as Poland’s ambassador to Chile between 1996 and 2001; and marrying the celebrated poet and lyricist Agnieszka Osiecka.
In the 1980s, Passent attracted controversy and criticism for his writings in which he supported the imposition of martial law in Poland in 1981.
Over the years, he authored numerous books, wrote satirical sketches and, almost until the end of his days, hosted a radio show.
Passent received several major state decorations in Poland, including the Commander’s Cross of the Polonia Restituta Order in 1997.
He is survived by his daughter Agata Passent, who is also a writer and journalist.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, IAR