This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/08/tibor-antalpeter-obituary
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Tibor Antalpéter obituary | Tibor Antalpéter obituary |
| (30 days later) | |
| My friend Tibor Antalpéter, who has died aged 82, was a great sportsman and a successful Hungarian diplomat. We met as pupils at the grammar school of the Reformed Church in Budapest where, soon after the second world war, Tibor first proved his talent as a member of the volleyball and handball teams. Soon the whole school admired his spectacular sportsmanship. | My friend Tibor Antalpéter, who has died aged 82, was a great sportsman and a successful Hungarian diplomat. We met as pupils at the grammar school of the Reformed Church in Budapest where, soon after the second world war, Tibor first proved his talent as a member of the volleyball and handball teams. Soon the whole school admired his spectacular sportsmanship. |
| He did not give up sport during his professional career. He played for the national volleyball team 64 times and, from 1960 to 1970, managed the team Csepel. He was also vice-president (1970-73) and then president (1980-86) of the Hungarian Volleyball Association and a member of the national Olympic committee. | He did not give up sport during his professional career. He played for the national volleyball team 64 times and, from 1960 to 1970, managed the team Csepel. He was also vice-president (1970-73) and then president (1980-86) of the Hungarian Volleyball Association and a member of the national Olympic committee. |
| Tibor studied at the Karl Marx University of Economics (now Corvinus University of Budapest), graduating in 1954. Two years later he joined the Hungarian diplomatic service in London as secretary of the embassy's trade mission. He served there until 1960, then returned to the ministry of foreign trade, but in 1973 was again sent to London as councillor of the trade mission before serving from 1977 to 1988 as assistant undersecretary. | Tibor studied at the Karl Marx University of Economics (now Corvinus University of Budapest), graduating in 1954. Two years later he joined the Hungarian diplomatic service in London as secretary of the embassy's trade mission. He served there until 1960, then returned to the ministry of foreign trade, but in 1973 was again sent to London as councillor of the trade mission before serving from 1977 to 1988 as assistant undersecretary. |
| In 1988 he was the chief negotiator of Hungary's first trade agreement with the European Economic Community – a task so well accomplished that the first prime minister of independent Hungary, József Antall, insisted in 1990 on Tibor's appointment as ambassador to the UK. He served in this capacity with great success until his retirement in 1995 and was then an adviser to international companies, including the Danubius Hotels Group. | In 1988 he was the chief negotiator of Hungary's first trade agreement with the European Economic Community – a task so well accomplished that the first prime minister of independent Hungary, József Antall, insisted in 1990 on Tibor's appointment as ambassador to the UK. He served in this capacity with great success until his retirement in 1995 and was then an adviser to international companies, including the Danubius Hotels Group. |
| Tibor was a true gentleman of the old school whose tact, courtesy and sense of humour were widely appreciated. I shall always remember him arriving at Cambridge in 1994 for an international conference on the Hungarian poet Miklós Radnóti, which I organised, with boxes of Hungarian wine for the reception. I saw him for the last time in April 2012 at the British embassy in Budapest at the launch of our verse anthology, I Lived on This Earth … Hungarian Poets on the Holocaust. He bore his final illness with patience and dignity. | Tibor was a true gentleman of the old school whose tact, courtesy and sense of humour were widely appreciated. I shall always remember him arriving at Cambridge in 1994 for an international conference on the Hungarian poet Miklós Radnóti, which I organised, with boxes of Hungarian wine for the reception. I saw him for the last time in April 2012 at the British embassy in Budapest at the launch of our verse anthology, I Lived on This Earth … Hungarian Poets on the Holocaust. He bore his final illness with patience and dignity. |
| He is survived by his wife, Adél ("Csibi"), whom he married in 1956, and his daughters, Katalin and Sára. | He is survived by his wife, Adél ("Csibi"), whom he married in 1956, and his daughters, Katalin and Sára. |
| Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. | |
| Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. Enter your email address to subscribe. |