Melvin J. Lasky

Who was Melvin J. Lasky?

Melvin Jonah Lasky was an American journalist, intellectual, and member of the anti-Communist left. He founded the German journal Der Monat in 1948 and edited the British journal Encounter from 1958 to 1991.

For decades, these publications received funding from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. Lasky did admit to knowing about the CIA's role; however, rumors that he was actually a CIA agent were never substantiated. In 1947, Lasky wrote an influential document that made the case for a cultural Cold War intended to win over European intellectuals.

He was the older brother of Floria Lasky, an influential entertainment lawyer, and Joyce Lasky Reed, the President and founder of the Fabergé Arts Foundation and former Director of European Affairs at the American Enterprise Institute.