Sütő died in hospital in Budapest late Saturday evening, his son-in-law László Cselényi told the Hungarian News Agency (MTI). Funeral arrangements are pending.
In a statement, the Ministry of Education and Culture called Sütő ?the writer of brotherhood and perseverance? and praised his efforts to urge families and societies to preserve their language.
András Sütő was born in Cămăraşu, Romania, in 1927. He attended school at the Reformed School of Aiud and the Reformed Gymnasium in Cluj. After secondary school, he studied Stage Directing at the Szentgyörgyi István College of Dramatic Arts in Cluj.
He quit college in order to become the editor-in-chief of the weekly Falvak Népe. When the paper?s editorial offices were moved to Bucharest in 1951, he moved with them. However, he could not identify himself with the political environment in the capital and returned to Transylvania in 1954. He lived in Târgu-Mureş, where he edited local papers until 1989.
Sütő was a Member of the Grand National Assembly, the parliament of Communist Romania, between 1965 and 1977. He also served as vice-president of the Writers? Association of Romania between 1974 and 1982.
In the late years of the Nicolae Ceauşescu regime, Sütő?s works were gradually banned from publication and performances of his plays prohibited. Consequently, between 1980 and 1989 he could publish only in Hungary. He was injured during the 1990 ethnic clashes of Târgu Mureş, and had to undergo treatment in Hungary.
Among Sütő?s best-known works are the plays ?Mezítlábas menyasszony? (The Barefoot Bride), ?Pompás Gedeon? (Gallant Gideon) and ?Káin és Ábel? (Cain and Abel), the novel ?Anyám könnyű álmot ígér? (My Mother Promises Me Pleasant Dreams) and the notebooks ?Szemet szóért? (An Eye For a Word).
Sütő was the recipient of the Kossuth Prize, Hungary?s highest award for artists.
