Semprún, Jorge

b. 1923, Madrid

   Writer

   One of the most colourful and versatile members of the Republican left in Spain, Semprún fled to Paris at the end of the Civil War in 1939, joined the Communist Party in 1942, and was active in the Resistance in France during WWII. He was captured and deported to Buchenwald, but survived, and continued to be active in the communist anti-Franco opposition in exile, and also within Spain, where, as "Federico Sánchez", he evaded arrest while operating under the noses of the authorities. In 1965, however, after an acrimonious dispute about ideology and tactics, he was expelled from the PCE, along with other prominent intellectuals. After the restoration of democracy, Semprún devoted his energies increasingly to writing, though he also fulfilled a political role between 1988 and 1991 as Minister of Culture in the socialist PSOE government. Already in the 1960s, he had produced the novels El largo viaje (The Long Journey) (1963) and La segunda muerte de Ramón Mercader (The Second Death of Ramon Mercader) (1969). This was followed by the Autobiografía de Federico Sánchez (Federico Sánchez" Autobiography) (1987) and Federico Sánchez se despide de ustedes (Federico Sánchez Takes His Leave of You) (1993). Semprún was also responsible for the screenplay of the films La Guerre est finie (The War is Over), and Z.

   EAMONN RODGERS