Michael Kovrig

Born in Toronto, Canada, Kovrig attended Royal St. George's College and later graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature in 1994. He then attended Columbia University and earned a Master’s in International Affairs in 2003.

After graduating from the University of Toronto, Kovrig lived in Budapest, Hungary in the 1990s, working as an editor for Budapest Week, reporter for the Budapest Business Journal and as a radio news announcer for Magyar Rádió.{{cite web|url=https://hungarytoday.hu/china-release-canadian-hungarian-michael-kovrig-huawei-1000-days-custody/|title=China Releases Canadian-Hungarian Kovrig after 1,000 + Days in Custody|website=Hungary Today|date=September 27, 2021|access-date=December 20, 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://www.linkedin.com/in/kovrig/details/experience/|title=Experience|website=LinkeIn|access-date=December 20, 2024}}

In 2003, Kovrig began working as a researcher for the firm that later became Rhodium Group.{{Cite web |date=2017-02-20 |title=Michael Kovrig |url=https://www.crisisgroup.org/who-we-are/people/michael-kovrig |access-date=2022-03-04 |website=Crisis Group |language=en}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/11/world/asia/michael-kovrig-china-canada.html|title=Former Canadian Diplomat Detained in China, Adding to Tensions|website=New York Times|date=December 11, 2018|author1=Chris Buckley|author2=Jane Perlez|access-date=December 7, 2024}} From 2003 to 2007, he worked for the Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations as a Media and Communications Officer. He then transitioned to the United Nations Development Programme as a strategic communications specialist for three years, beginning in 2007.

In 2010, he joined the Canadian Foreign Service, and served at Global Affairs Canada’s headquarters in Ottawa as a senior desk officer in the international security branch.{{cite web|url=https://www.linkedin.com/in/kovrig/details/experience/|title=Experience|website=LinkedIn|access-date=December 8, 2024}} Kovrig was posted through Canada’s Global Security Reporting Program (GSRP) as a diplomat to the Embassy of Canada to China from 2014 to 2016, where he served as a First Secretary in the political section.{{cite web|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/10769505/michael-kovrig-interview-china-detention/|title=Michael Kovrig reflects on 'brutally hard' Chinese detention: 'You're totally alone'|website=Global News|date=September 23, 2024|author1=Jeff Semple|author2=Saba Aziz|access-date=December 8, 2024}}{{cite news |last1=Cecco |first1=Leyland |date=21 December 2023 |title=Canada intelligence operation put diplomats in legal 'grey zone' – report |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/21/canada-intelligence-program-danger-report-china-detention |access-date=8 March 2024 |work=The Guardian |issn=0261-3077}} In 2016, he briefly served as Consul at the Consulate General of Canada in Hong Kong.{{cite news |last1=Bodeen |first1=Christopher |title=What to know about the 2 Canadians detained in China |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/mobile/canada/what-to-know-about-the-2-canadians-detained-in-china-1.4216080?referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F |access-date=10 March 2024 |work=CTVNews |agency=AP |date=13 December 2018 |language=en}}{{Cite news |date=2018-12-12 |title=Michael Kovrig: Canadian ex-diplomat 'held in China' |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46527975 |access-date=2022-03-04}}

Since 2017, he has worked for the International Crisis Group, a transnational non-profit focused on preventing and resolving deadly conflict through research and advocacy, as a Senior Adviser.{{cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com/politics/federal/an-exhausted-diplomat-and-two-ecstatic-ex-hostages-inside-the-emotional-flight-that-brought-the/article_a252ecf9-182e-5051-8aa9-8278c1dc2ae7.html|title=An exhausted diplomat and two ecstatic ex-hostages: Inside the emotional flight that brought the 'two Michaels' home|website=Toronto Star|date=December 7, 2021|author=Tonda MacCharles|access-date=December 8, 2024}}

He has written and advocated on various geopolitical issues, including China’s politics and international relations, the North Korean nuclear crisis, and maritime disputes in the Western Pacific.{{cite web|url=https://www.chinafile.com/conversation/what-will-china-do-if-us-attacks-north-korea|title=What Will China Do if the U.S. Attacks North Korea?|website=China File|date=September 21, 2017|author=Michael Kovrig|access-date=December 20, 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2145811/how-long-awaited-hotline-could-pave-way-calmer-china|title=How a long-awaited hotline could pave the way for calmer China-Japan relations|website=SCMP|date=May 13, 2018|author=Michael Kovrig|access-date=December 20, 2024}} He is a published contributor to The Globe & Mail, the South China Morning Post, Asia Times, Politico, The Diplomat, Mail & Guardian, and ChinaFile.{{cite web|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/chinese-abductions-of-foreign-nationals-should-carry-costs-and-consequences/|title=China's abductions of foreign nationals should carry costs and consequences|website=Politico|date=January 30, 2024|author=Michael Kovrig|access-date=December 20, 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://asiatimes.com/author/michael-kovrig/|title=Why China should help solve Venezuela's deepening crisis|website=Asia Times|date=April 11, 2018|author=Michael Kovrig|access-date=December 20, 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://mg.co.za/article/2018-10-24-chinas-expanding-military-footprint-in-africa/|title=China's expanding military footprint in Africa|website=Mail & Guardian|date=24 October 2018|author=Michael Kovrig|access-date=December 20, 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://thediplomat.com/2018/07/national-ambitions-meet-local-opposition-along-the-china-pakistan-economic-corridor/|title=National Ambitions Meet Local Opposition Along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor|website=The Diplomat|date=July 24, 2018|author=Michael Kovrig|access-date=December 20, 2024}}

{{Main|Detention of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig}}

From December 2018 to September 2021, Kovrig, along with Michael Spavor, was detained by the Beijing State Security Bureau and held prisoner in an attempt to pressure the Government of Canada into releasing

the Chief Financial Officer of Huawei, Meng Wanzhou. The Chinese government accused Kovrig of “spying into state secrets and internal information” and put him on trial in March 2021. The proceedings were widely criticized as a show trial, and the court never announced a verdict or sentence for Kovrig.{{cite web|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/10114774/michael-kovrig-spavor-spying-response/|title=Michael Kovrig denies his Chinese detention was due to alleged 'espionage'|website=Global News|date=November 24, 2023|author=Jeff Semple|access-date=December 8, 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/04/world/asia/china-canada-michael-kovrig-huawei.html|title=China Accuses Two Canadians of Spying, Widening a Political Rift|website=New York Times|date=March 4, 2019|author1=Chris Buckley|author2=Catherine Porter|access-date=December 8, 2024}}{{Cite web |date=August 11, 2021 |title=Prison term raises pressure on Canada and US in high-stakes China standoff |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/11/china-canada-meng-wanzhou-michael-spavor |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908090215/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/11/china-canada-meng-wanzhou-michael-spavor |archive-date=September 8, 2021 |access-date=September 26, 2021 |website=The Guardian |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Xiao |first=Eva |date=August 11, 2021 |title=China Sentences Canadian Citizen to 11 Years for Espionage in Case at Heart of Diplomatic Standoff |language=en-US |work=Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinese-court-sentences-canadian-michael-spavor-to-11-years-in-prison-for-espionage-11628650546 |url-status=live |access-date=September 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210921170030/https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinese-court-sentences-canadian-michael-spavor-to-11-years-in-prison-for-espionage-11628650546 |archive-date=September 21, 2021 |issn=0099-9660}}{{Cite news |last=Dawson |first=Tyler |date=April 18, 2020 |title=No visitors for Michael Kovrig, Michael Spavor due to COVID-19 as 500th day in Chinese prison nears {{!}} National Post |language=en-CA |work=National Post |url=https://nationalpost.com/news/no-visitors-for-michael-kovrig-and-michael-spavor-because-of-covid-19-as-500th-day-in-chinese-prison-nears |url-status=live |access-date=April 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210927022850/https://nationalpost.com/news/no-visitors-for-michael-kovrig-and-michael-spavor-because-of-covid-19-as-500th-day-in-chinese-prison-nears |archive-date=September 27, 2021}}{{Cite news |last=Clarke |first=Donald |title=Opinion {{!}} China is holding two Canadians as hostages. It's not even denying it. |language=en |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2018/12/17/china-is-holding-two-canadians-hostages-its-not-even-denying-it/ |url-status=live |access-date=April 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200702023419/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2018/12/17/china-is-holding-two-canadians-hostages-its-not-even-denying-it/ |archive-date=July 2, 2020}}

The Canadian and U.S. governments, ICG, and Kovrig himself have all asserted that the groundless charges were politically motivated and that Kovrig was an innocent political hostage.

On September 24, 2021, hours after the United States reached a deferred prosecution agreement with Meng and she was released from house arrest in Vancouver, Kovrig was released on bail without being sentenced, deported from China and flown back to Canada.

In a 2024 interview, Kovrig said that he was subjected to “total isolation and relentless interrogation for six to nine hours every day” and “spent his first five months of detainment in solitary confinement with blackout blinds over the windows. Kovrig also stated that “Chinese officials used a ‘whole host of psychological manipulation techniques’ to try to coerce a confession out of him, including cutting his food rations”.

He was previously married to Vina Nadjibulla.{{cite web|url=https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/michael-kovrig-canadian-captive-in-china|title=Captive in China: Michael Kovrig, the older brother who didn't come back|website=National Post|date=July 9, 2020|author=Joe O'Connor|access-date=December 21, 2024}} Kovrig is fluent in English, French, and Mandarin Chinese.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/11/world/asia/michael-kovrig-china-canada.html|title=Former Canadian Diplomat Detained in China, Adding to Tensions|website=NY Times|date=December 11, 2018|author1=Chris Buckley|author2=Jane Perlez|access-date=December 21, 2024}}

From 1996 to 1999, Kovrig was a vocalist in the Hungarian punk rock band Bankrupt.{{cite news|url=https://torontosun.com/news/braun-budapest-rockers-want-old-bandmate-michael-kovrig-set-free|title=Budapest rockers want old bandmate, Michael Kovrig, set free|newspaper=Toronto Sun|date=August 3, 2021|author=Liz Braun|access-date=December 19, 2024}} His stage name was Michael K., a reference to Kafka's novel The Trial,{{Cite news |title='Hold on, please, we're gonna get you home': Michael Kovrig's old punk band joins campaign for his release |newspaper=The Globe and Mail |date=3 August 2021 |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-hold-on-please-were-gonna-get-you-home-michael-kovrigs-old-punk-band/|last1=Griffiths |first1=James }} which is one of the books he requested when he was granted a virtual visit from the Canadian ambassador while in detention in China.{{cite web|url=https://www.economist.com/china/2024/10/04/michael-kovrig-former-hostage-of-the-chinese-state|title=Michael Kovrig, former hostage of the Chinese state|website=Economist|date=October 4, 2024|access-date=December 19, 2024}} 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.{{Cite web |last=Zrt |first=HVG Kiadó |date=July 16, 2021 |title=Kínában ártatlanul börtönbe került volt énekeséről írt dalt a Bankrupt |url=https://hvg.hu/kultura/20210716_Kinaban_raboskodo_volt_enekeserol_irt_dalt_a_Bankrupt__dalpremier |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717121704/https://hvg.hu/kultura/20210716_Kinaban_raboskodo_volt_enekeserol_irt_dalt_a_Bankrupt__dalpremier |archive-date=July 17, 2021 |access-date=July 17, 2021 |website=hvg.hu |language=hu}}

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Category:1972 births

Category:Living people

Category:Diplomats for Canada