Jorge Semprún

After several decades of writing screenplays, novels, plays and essays in French, he wrote his first novel in Spanish - Veinte Anos Y Un Dia" [Twenty Years and a Day]- in 2003, at the age of 79.

Has supported Lionel Jospin's 2002 presidential campaign.

He served as Spain's Minister of Culture from 1988-1991 under Socialist Prime Minister Felipe González.

Member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1984

He was a writer and actor, known for Z (1969), Les trottoirs de Saturne (1986) and The War Is Over (1966). He was married to Collette Leloup and Loleh Bellon.

His first novel, The Long Voyage (1963), about his experiences in the French Resistance and as a prisoner in the Buchenwald concentration camp, won the prestigious Formentor Prize.

Screenwriter Jorge Semprún's life and work as a member of the central committee of the Spanish Communist party from 1954 to 1965 are the basis of the character Diego Mora played by Yves Montand actions and thoughts in 'La Guerre est finie'.

Using the nom de guerre "Federico Sánchez," Semprún served in the Spanish Communist underground, fighting against Franco's Fascist dictatorship, from 1947 until 1964, when he was expelled from the Party for his anti-Stalinist views.

He was born to a Spanish Republican Diplomat who was posted to The Hague in the Netherlands during the civil war. He was also the grandson of Antonio Maura. After Franco's victory, the family moved to Paris, France. He studied philosophy at the Sorbonne and joined the Spanish Communist Party and the French Resistance during World War II. He was arrested by the German Gestapo and sent to Buchenwald Concentration Camp during 1943 until his release.

After joining the French Resistance in 1942, he was arrested by the Nazis in September 1943 and sent to Buchenwald, where he remained imprisoned until 1945.

Jorge Semprún was born on December 10, 1923 in Madrid, Spain as Jorge Semprún Maura.