

Ambassador Katalin Bogyay FRSA, WAAS
Diplomat, Author, Lecturer, Television Broadcaster
President, UN Association of Hungary
Ambassador Bogyay served as the 15th Permanent Representative of Hungary to the United Nations, New York (2015- 2020) and as her country’s Permanent Delegate to UNESCO in Paris (2009-2014). She was elected unanimously as President of UNESCO’s 36th General Conference (2011- 2013) in Paris, the 3rd ever women to this position since 1945. She was unanimously elected in 2020 to Chair the UN 75th General Assembly’s Third Main Committee - Social, Humanitarian, Cultural and Human Rights Issues- in New York.
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She was the President of IAPR- International Association of Permanent Representatives to the United Nations (2018-2020).
She served as Vice-President of UN-Woman Executive Board in 2019, she is a member of International Gender Champion Network, and in 2015 she founded the Circle of Women Ambassadors in New York. She was appointed to the ‘Nelson Mandela Prize 2020’ Selection Committee, co-facilitated negotiations of Universal Health Coverage Declaration in 2019 and co-Moderated working level dialogue on water related SDGs in 2017.
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Ambassador Bogyay was Hungary’s State Secretary for International Affairs for Education and Culture (2006-2009) and the Founding Director of the Hungarian Cultural Centre in London (1999-2006) and the creator of Magyar Magic, a cross-cultural festival in the UK. Prior to entering government, Ms. Bogyay had a distinguished career as an international television broadcaster, film/cultural events producer and writer. She started her career as a music and theatre critic.
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She is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in the United Kingdom and a fellow of World Academy of Art and Science in the US. She is also the President of Diplomacy and the Arts Programme and member of the International Advisory Board of the Institute of Cultural Diplomacy in Berlin, and has been involved with the Budapest World Science Forum since 1999.
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Ms. Bogyay is the author of several books and publications, she is also a guest lecturer and speaker at universities and conferences worldwide.
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Ambassador Bogyay holds a master’s degree in Economics from Corvinus University of Budapest, and a Master of Arts in International Communications from the University of Westminster, United Kingdom.
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Decorated by many Hungarian and international high level awards by governments, international organizations and civil society inter alia in 2012, Glasgow University awarded her an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters for promoting globally cultural diversity and cultural diplomacy, and in 2016 she was awarded Doctor Honoris Causa by Pannon University for her work in multilateral and cultural diplomacy. Ambassador Bogyay was awarded by the Presdient of Hungary the Commander’s Cross of the Hungarian Order of Merit for her achievements in cultural diplomacy in 2014, and the Knight’s Cross Order of Merit for her diplomatic work in the UK in 2005; she was awarded the 2017 Women of Distinction-Global Leadership Award by international women rights organization ‘Celebrating Women International’, and Last Girl Leadership Award in 2020 by Apne Aap Women Worldwide women rights organization and the 2021 Countess Antonia Zichy Award for her outstanding role in international diplomacy and community building by the Hungarian Batthyany Foundation, She was decorated with the ‘Ambassador of Arts’ award for her work promoting the role of art in diplomacy. At UNESCO her work was awarded with the Nehru Gold Medal, the Tree of Peace Trophy and the Fair Play Trophy. At the UN she was awarded the ‘Spirit of the UN’, the ‘Global Citizenship Award’ and the ‘Meaningful Life Award’.
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She is a Honorary Citizen of the City of Mór, her Hungarian hometown.