Michael Kovrig 10 Personal Facts, Biography, Wiki
Canadian diplomat Born: February 1972 (age 49 years) Spouse: Vina Nadjibulla Education: Royal St. George’s College Siblings: Ariana Botha Michael Kovrig is a Canadian former diplomat who worked for the International Crisis Group, a transnational, pro-peace think tank. After being detained in December 2018, he was accused of espionage by the Chinese government in May 2019. His arrest is widely considered to be political retaliation for the arrest of Meng, though the Chinese government has denied any connection between the two cases. He also held Hungarian nationality, and following Kovrig’s arrest, the Hungarian embassy in Beijing had been “seeking access” to Kovrig. Kovrig is the grandson of the Austrian-born industrialist Joseph Kuchar, who immigrated to Canada from Czechoslovakia in 1951 and founded the Record Chemical Company (Recochem) in Montreal. Kovrig attended Royal St. George’s College in Toronto and graduated from the University of Toronto in 1994. In 2003 he graduated from Columbia University with a master’s degree in international affairs. Kovrig is fluent in Mandarin Chinese. He worked for a time after graduation at the United Nations Development Programme in New York City and in Kabul, Afghanistan where he met his wife Vina Nadjibulla. From 2010 to 2016, Kovrig worked for Canada’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and was stationed in Hong Kong and Beijing from 2012 to 2016. From 1996 to 1999, Kovrig was the singer of the Hungarian punk rock band Bankrupt. On July 15, 2021, Bankrupt released the song Pekingi nyár (Beijing Summer) and its English-language version The Plane To Toronto, in protest of his detention. The band announced that all proceeds from the song were to be donated to Hostage International, at the request of Kovrig’s family.
Michael Kovrig 10 Pics, Photos, Pictures
Michael Kovrig 10 Fast Facts, Biography, Wiki
Michael Kovrig has been Crisis Group’s North East Asia Adviser since 2017. The Chinese authorities detained Michael on 10 December 2018 in Beijing and held him for 1,019 days. Crisis Group welcomed his release on 24 September 2021 and we thank all those who worked so tirelessly for his homecoming, including heads of state, governments, his family, colleagues and friends. Michael conducts research and provided analysis on foreign affairs and global security issues in North East Asia, particularly on China, Japan and the Korean peninsula. Crisis Group’s work aims to defuse any tensions between China and nearby states, and to give a fresh, independent appraisal of China’s growing role in the world. Our focus is on Chinese foreign policy and understanding its regional and global role. All of our research is publicly available on our China website page. Michael contributes to our research on conflict prevention on the Korean peninsula, with a focus on Chinese ideas for de-escalating tensions between Washington and Pyongyang. He has also contributed to our analysis of the conflict in South Sudan and the role played by China in mediation there. Michael Kovrig previously worked for more than a decade as a Canadian diplomat in Beijing, Hong Kong and at the UN in New York. Altogether he has worked in twenty countries, including four years with the UN Development Program in New York and in Kabul, Afghanistan. He also served as a China analyst at Rhodium Group. A Mandarin Chinese speaker, Michael has a master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University.
