Jean Ziegler

Jean Ziegler
Jean Ziegler, Geneva book fair 2011
Born	Hans Ziegler (1934-04-19) April 19, 1934 (age 83) Thun, Switzerland
Occupation	Professor, adviser, sociologist

Jean Ziegler (French: [ziglɛʁ]; born April 19, 1934 as Hans Ziegler) is a former professor of sociology at the University of Geneva and the Sorbonne, Paris. Currently member of the Advisory Committee to the United Nations Human Rights Council. He was a Member of Parliament for the Social Democrats in the Federal Assembly of Switzerland from 1981 to 1999. He has also 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 has authored numerous works, is a lecturer, and is well known for this sentence: "A child who dies from hunger is a murdered child."

Jean Ziegler was born on April 19, 1934 in Thun, Switzerland. His father was the president of the town’s court and a reserve artillery colonel.

Ziegler married and had one son. He studied at the universities of Bern and Geneva and has doctorates in Law and Sociology. He also earned his barrister brevet at the bar association of Geneva. In 1952, he met Abbé Pierre in Paris, and became the first director of the Emmaus charitable community of Geneva. In 1964, Ziegler admired the Cuban rebels, and was Che Guevara's chauffeur in Geneva.