Spanish writer, politician Semprun dies at 87

[June 08, 2011]  PARIS (AP) -- Paris-based writer and politician Jorge Semprun, a Communist who survived the Nazi death camp in Buchenwald to become culture minister in his native Spain, has died. He was 87.

French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand said Wednesday in a statement that with Semprun's passing "we have lost not only an important writer but also a great witness of our times."

Semprun was born in Madrid in 1923 but grew up in exile largely in France. A Communist activist, he was sent to Buchenwald, where he spent more than a year.

His first of more than a dozen books, "The Long Voyage" (1963), told the story of his deportation.

He was named Spain's culture minister under Socialist Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez, from 1988 to 1991.

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.