It is with great sadness that ICA announces the passing of Dr Charles Kecskemeti on the 2 April 2021. ICA extends its sincere condolences to his family and friends.
Dr Karoly Charles Kecskemeti was born in August 1933 in Hungary. He came to France as a politicial refugee in 1956 and began working at Les Archives nationales in 1957 in collaboration with Mr Jean Favier. Mr Kecskemeti first joined the ICA in 1962 as Secretary and then occupied several positions Executive Secretary (1969-1988), Executive Director (1988-1992) and then Secretary General (1992-1999). In his various roles at ICA, he had an enormous impact on the international archival community, advocating for the value and importance of archives and archivists as well as using archives as a platform to promote dialogue during difficult periods in international politics. A noted historian, he contributed much to our understanding of Hungarian politics and history. He also wrote extensively on archives and archival theory with such books as Les écrits s’envolent: La problématique de la conservation des archives papier et numériques (Favre, 2014) which he co-authored with Lajos Körmendy. His impact on the archival community will be felt for generations and he will be greatly missed.