Jean Ziegler

Jean Ziegler (born Hans Ziegler, 19 April 1934) is a Swiss former professor of sociology at the University of Geneva and the Sorbonne, Paris, and former vice-president of the Advisory Committee to the United Nations Human Rights Council. He was previously Member of the Swiss Parliament for the Social Democrats 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. 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 19 April 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.

Ziegler was professor at the University of Grenoble and until 2002 at the University of Geneva and at the Graduate Institute of Development Studies, where he taught sociology. He also held the position of associate professor at the Sorbonne in Paris.

In 1963 Jean Ziegler was elected at the municipal council of Geneva as a social democrat. From 1967 to 1983 and from 1987 to 1999 he held a seat at the Swiss National Council. While there he was the president of the "Swiss-Third World" parliamentary group. He joined the commissions for foreign affairs, science and international trade.