Lech Kaczynski
Date of Birth: 18.06.1949
Place of Birth. Education. Born in Warsaw (Poland). As a child, he acted with his twin brother Jaroslaw in a fairy tale film titled 'The Two Who Stole the Moon'. In 1971, he graduated from the University of Warsaw - Faculty of Law and Administration. In 1980, he defended his doctoral thesis in labor law.
Democratic Opposition. Involved in the underground committee for the protection of workers since 1976. In August 1980, he actively participated in the strike movement in Gdansk.
In 1981, he supported the idea of uniting the trade unions into 'Solidarity' and became a delegate to the I Congress of the organization. After getting involved in 'Solidarity', he was interned after martial law was imposed and was in a camp in Strzebielinek from December 1981 to October 1982. After his release, he returned to trade union activities.
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1983-1984 - Leader of the 'Solidarity' commissions for relations with the Polish United Workers' Party, member of the regional board of 'Solidarity' in Gdansk.
In 1985, he became a member of the regional council to support political prisoners.
From 1988, he was a member of the citizens' committee led by Lech Wałęsa, the future president of Poland.
1988-1990 - Member of the secretariat, member of the presidium of the national executive committee of 'Solidarity', first deputy chairman of 'Solidarity'. He participated in negotiations with the government. In fact, he led the organization during Lech Wałęsa's presidential campaign and after his election to the head of state.
Political Activities. 1989 - elected to the Senate, 1999 to the Sejm.
In 1991, he was appointed head of the National Security Bureau in the Chancellery of the President of Poland. He resigned after a conflict with the President and the Chancellery.
From 1991 - Chairman of the administration and internal committee.
1992-1995 - Head of the Supreme Audit Office.
He was a member of the board of the International Labor Organization of the UN, a member of the presidium of the European Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions EUROSAI.
1995-1997 - Deputy Chairman of program management at the Institute of Public Affairs.
In the 1990s, tensions arose between the Kaczyński brothers and Lech Wałęsa, linked to the president's unwillingness to remove communists from the country's leadership. After the election of former communist Aleksander Kwaśniewski as head of state in 1995, Lech Kaczyński returned to academic work. He served as a professor at the University of Gdansk in 1996-1997 and from 1999 as a professor at Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw.
1999-2000 - Member of the codification committee at the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy.
2000-2001 - Minister of Justice in Jerzy Buzek's government.
In 2001, together with his brother Jarosław, he founded the political party 'Law and Justice', which received 9.5% of the votes in the parliamentary elections that same year. In 2003, he handed the party chairmanship to his brother.
2002-2005 - Mayor of Warsaw.
2005-2010 - President of the Republic of Poland.
Views and Assessments. Since the beginning of his political career in a free Poland, he advocated for the democratization of social life. At the same time, he opposed same-sex marriages, abortions, and euthanasia. While Mayor of Warsaw, he banned gay parades. He supported the death penalty.
He viewed his theses as 'a return to traditional values'. Lech Kaczyński was convinced that the Catholic Church should play a maximal role in Polish social life.
After the presidential elections in 2005, critics noted that Poland was led by the Kaczyński brothers: the younger became head of state, and the older led the dominant party in the Sejm, later becoming Prime Minister.
In Europe, Lech Kaczyński was seen as a controversial figure. He was often accused of his anti-Russian policies. According to the Polish president, there were three hurdles in Polish-Russian relations: Katyn, the assessment of World War II, and the construction of the Baltic pipeline.
Furthermore, Lech Kaczyński condemned Russia's actions during the South Ossetia conflict in August 2008 and expressed his support for Georgia.
In August 2008, Lech Kaczyński and Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus signed a joint declaration on the admission of Ukraine and Georgia into NATO. Poland also concluded an agreement with the USA regarding the deployment of elements of the American missile defense system on its territory, after which Russian President Dmitry Medvedev promised to station 'Iskander' in the Kaliningrad region. Later, the USA changed its plans for the deployment of the missile defense system in Eastern Europe. As an explanation for this decision, Lech Kaczyński named mistakes made by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk during negotiations with the USA, while many Polish politicians blamed the president himself for the anti-Russian policy.
Titles. Awarded orders from various countries, including the Georgian Order of St. George's Victory, the Ukrainian Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise 1st class, the Order of Heydar Aliyev.
Family. His twin brother Jarosław Kaczyński is a well-known politician. His wife Maria was an economist. The couple left behind a daughter, Marta, and two granddaughters: Ewa and Martyna.
Hobbies. The presidential couple had two dogs and adopted a cat from a shelter.
Tragic End. The Polish President Lech Kaczyński died in a plane crash near Smolensk (Russian Federation). The Polish government plane Tu-154 crashed in poor visibility during the landing approach. On board were high-ranking officials, including senators and members of the Sejm, deputy speakers, and the highest military leadership of the country. No one survived. The First Lady of Poland, Maria Kaczyńska, also died. The delegation was on its way to mourning events in Katyn.
12.04.2010