Jarosław Kaczyński
Jarosław Kaczyński | |
---|---|
Leader of the Opposition | |
Assumed office 16 November 2007 | |
President | Lech Kaczyński Bronisław Komorowski (Acting) Bogdan Borusewicz (Acting) Grzegorz Schetyna (Acting) Bronisław Komorowski |
Prime Minister | Donald Tusk |
Preceded by | Donald Tusk |
Prime Minister of Poland | |
In office 14 July 2006 – 16 November 2007 | |
President | Lech Kaczyński |
Deputy | Ludwik Dorn Zyta Gilowska Przemysław Gosiewski Andrzej Lepper Roman Giertych |
Preceded by | Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz |
Chief of the Chancellery of the President | |
In office 22 December 1990 – 31 October 1991 | |
President | Lech Wałęsa |
Preceded by | Michał Janiszewski |
Succeeded by | Janusz Ziółkowski |
Chairman of the Law and Justice 2nd Chairman of the Law and Justice Party | |
Assumed office 18 January 2003 | |
Preceded by | Lech Kaczyński |
Personal details | |
Born | Warsaw, Poland | 18 June 1949
Political party | Law and Justice |
Alma mater | University of Warsaw University of Gdańsk |
Profession | Lawyer |
Signature | ![]() |
Jarosław Aleksander Kaczyński (Polish pronunciation: [jaˈrɔswaf kaˈtʂɨɲskʲi] ; (born 18 June 1949) is a conservative Polish politician who served as Prime Minister from July 2006 to November 2007. He is presently the chairman of the Law and Justice party, which he co-founded in 2002. He has been the leader of the opposition since the 2007 elections.
He has a Doctor of Law degree. He is the identical twin brother of the late Polish president Lech Kaczyński. After the 2007 electoral defeat of PiS, Kaczyński stepped down from office as Prime Minister following the first meeting of the new Sejm.[2]
He ran against Bronisław Komorowski in the Polish presidential election on 20 June 2010.[3] Kaczyński announced his candidacy on 26 April 2010, and said he would take the place of his recently deceased brother.[4][5] He received 36.46% of votes in the first round, while acting president Bronisław Komorowski received 41.54%. In the second round, against Komorowski, he was defeated—receiving 46.99% of the votes, while Komorowski received 53.01% and won.
Biography
Kaczyński is the identical twin brother of the late Polish President Lech Kaczyński. Jarosław and Lech were born in Warsaw.[6] The Kaczyński brothers are sons of Rajmund (an engineer who served as a soldier of the Armia Krajowa in World War II and a veteran of the Warsaw Uprising) and Jadwiga (a philologist at the Polish Academy of Sciences). On 11 May 2010, Jarosław Kaczyński said a Russian man saved his grandparents' lives in World War Two.[7]
As children, Jarosław and Lech Kaczyński starred in the 1962 Polish film The Two Who Stole the Moon (Polish: O dwóch takich, co ukradli księżyc), based on a popular children's story by Kornel Makuszyński.[8]
Kaczyński is unmarried, but there were rumours about affair with one of his employees, MP Jolanta Szczypińska.[9][10] He lived with his ailing mother until her hospitalization.[3] In 2007, he said his only sleeping partner was Alik, his cat.[11] In 2006 the Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita reported on communist-era secret service files which documented a discussion on his sexuality. In the files, a former SB officer speculated on Kaczyński's sexual orientation.[12] Relations between Lech Wałęsa and Kaczyński have for many years been strained since Wałęsa told a joke about 'two brothers who arrive at a party - one with his wife and one with his "husband"'. He was alluding to Jarosław Kaczyński having a male sexual partner.[12][13] Kaczyński resides in Warsaw.
Early career
Jarosław Kaczyński was a graduate of law and administration of Warsaw University, which in 1976 awarded him a PhD in Law.
In the 1980s, he became a member of the Solidarity trade union. Kaczyński was the executive editor of the Tygodnik Solidarność weekly in 1989–91.
In 1991, he created the centrist Christian Democratic Porozumienie Centrum party and later became its chairman, remaining in the role until 1998. In the years 1991–3 and 1997–2005 Kaczyński was a member of the Polish Parliament (Sejm).[14]
2005 elections
Kaczyński was the Law and Justice prime ministerial candidate in the September 2005 Polish parliamentary election.[15] However, when the party emerged as winner of the election, he pledged that he would not take the position, expecting that his nomination would reduce the chances of his brother Lech Kaczyński, who was a candidate for the October presidential election.
Kaczyński was the architect of the coalition with the left wing populist Self-Defense of the Republic of Poland (Polish: Samoobrona) and the conservative Christian League of Polish Families party. Party-member Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz was appointed Prime Minister.
In the succeeding months, he was described as a frontbench MP and the leader of his party. Many also described Kaczyński as Poland's most influential politician. He was said to have enormous influence on the Prime Minister's decision-making process.
Prime minister
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/50/Zapatero_in_Poland_%28556095467%29.jpg/250px-Zapatero_in_Poland_%28556095467%29.jpg)
Following reports of a rift between Kaczyński and Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz, the latter tendered his resignation on 7 July 2006, and Kaczyński was appointed prime minister by the President Lech Kaczyński on 10 July, and officially sworn in on 14 July, following the formation of cabinet and a confidence vote in the Sejm.[16][17][18] During Lech Kaczyński's election campaign in 2005, he had pledged that should he win, Jarosław would not become prime minister.[19] During his tenure as prime minister, Kaczyński supported a bill banning the discussion or promotion of homosexuality in schools, including in sex education, stating that "promoting a homosexual lifestyle to young people in school as an alternative to normal life goes too far. These kinds of initiatives have to be stopped".[20] Kaczyński controversially initiated a nationwide program (lustracja) which required thousands of public employees, teachers, and journalists to formally declare whether or not they had collaborated with the security services of the former communist regime.[21] Kaczyński's government was also criticized both at home and abroad for souring Poland's foreign relationships, particularly with Germany and Russia.[22]
2007 elections
Despite gaining votes, Law and Justice lost the parliamentary election on 21 October 2007, finishing a distant second behind Christian-democratic and conservative liberal Civic Platform. Kaczyński was succeeded as Prime Minister by Donald Tusk, remaining chairman of Law and Justice and becoming leader of the opposition.
Presidential candidacy
Following the death of Lech Kaczyński in a plane crash in Russia, Jarosław announced that he would run for President against Bronisław Komorowski in the upcoming elections.[23] He was running against Bronisław Komorowski in the presidential election, held on 20 June 2010.[3] Kaczyński announced his candidacy on 26 April 2010, and said he would take the place of his recently deceased brother.[4][5] Some analysts have said Kaczyński has softened his image during the campaign, in order to win centrist voters.[24] On 11 May 2010, he made a televised address to Russia, greeting his 'Russian friends' and praising the millions of Russians who died fighting in World War Two.[7] He got 36.46% of the votes in the first round, while acting president Bronisław Komorowski got 41.54%. In the second round, against Komorowski, he was defeated—he got 46.99% of the votes, and Komorowski got 53.01%, which made him the winner.
See also
References
- ^ "Premier: nie akceptuję gry politycznej Giertycha" (in Polish). Wirtualna Polska date = 2006-03-20. Retrieved 2007-04-10.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ "Massive Win for Polish Opposition". BBC News. October 22, 2007. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
- ^ a b c Champion, Marc (2010-04-24). "Kaczynski Poised for Presidential Bid in Poland". Online.wsj.com. Retrieved 2010-06-21.
- ^ a b "Twin to Run for Polish President". BBC News. April 26, 2010. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
- ^ a b Kulish, Nicholas (April 26, 2010). "Ex-Leader's Twin Declares Run in Poland". The New York Times. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
- ^ Day, Matthew (September 27, 2005). "Twins who stole the Moon are poised to run away with Poland". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
- ^ a b "Kaczynski's Address to the Russian Nation". YouTube. Retrieved 2010-06-21.
{{cite web}}
: Text "author" ignored (help) - ^ Araloff, Simon (2005-09-23). "Kaczynski Brothers: Movie Stars That Turned Politicians". Axis News. Retrieved 2007-04-10.
- ^ "Ryanair faces legal row over ad". BBC News. May 23, 2007. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
- ^ 15:08 (2008-01-22). "Kaczyński i Szczypińska: znowu miłość?". Deser.pl. Retrieved 2010-06-21.
{{cite web}}
:|author=
has numeric name (help) - ^ "The Warsaw pact". The Times. London. August 19, 2007. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
- ^ a b The Warsaw pact, Timesonline[dead link]
- ^ de Quetteville, Harry (2007-09-07). "How a joke sparked a political feud in Poland". London: Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-06-21.
- ^ "Jaroslaw Kaczynski at Encyklopedia Solidarnosci". Retrieved 5 November 2010.
- ^ Easton, Adam (2006-09-21). "Polish twins in leadership race". London: BBC News Online. Retrieved 2007-04-10.
- ^ "Poland's Prime Minister Resigns". London: BBC News Online. 2006-07-07. Retrieved 2007-04-10.
- ^ "Polish President Appoints His Twin Brother as Premier". Bloomberg. 2006-07-10. Retrieved 2007-04-10.
- ^ "Polish Head Swears in Twin as PM". London: BBC News Online. 2006-07-14. Retrieved 2007-04-10.
- ^ "Two for the Price of One, in the shape of Tweedledum and Tweedledee". Newint.org. Retrieved 2010-06-21.
- ^ Human Rights Watch (2007-03-18). "Poland: School Censorship Proposal Threatens Basic Rights | Human Rights Watch". Hrw.org. Retrieved 2010-06-21.
- ^ Europress Research (2010-04-19). "Poland Post April 10th 2010". Europress Research. Retrieved 2010-11-22.
- ^ The Economist (2007-12-19). "A winter honyemoon". economist.com. Retrieved 2010-11-22.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ "ANALYSIS-Poland's Kaczynski eyes middle ground ahead of vote". Reuters. 2010-05-11. Retrieved 2010-06-21.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
External links
- 1949 births
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- Identical twins
- Law and Justice politicians
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- Members of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (1991–1993)
- Members of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (1997–2001)
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- Members of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (2005–2007)
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