Ryszard Legutko

Ryszard Legutko
Ryszard Legutko (Kielce, 25 February 2014)
Co-chairman of the European Conservatives and Reformists Polish Delegation
Incumbent
Assumed office 11 December 2011
Chairman	Syed Kamall
Serving alongside	Hans-Olaf Henkel Raffaele Fitto Roberts Zīle Helga Stevens Geoffrey Van Orden Jan Zahradil (until 2014) Derk Jan Eppink (until 2014)
Minister of National Education
In office 13 August 2007 – 16 November 2007
Prime Minister	Jarosław Kaczyński
Preceded by	Roman Giertych
Succeeded by	Katarzyna Hall
Member of the European Parliament for Lesser Poland and Świętokrzyskie
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 July 2014
Member of the European Parliament for Lower Silesian and Opole
In office 14 July 2009 – 2 July 2014
Personal details
Born	(1949-12-24) 24 December 1949 Kraków, Poland
Political party	Law and Justice
Children	2
Alma mater	Jagiellonian University
Occupation	Politician, philosopher
Signature
Website	www.rlegutko.pl

Ryszard Antoni Legutko (Polish pronunciation: [ˈrɨʂart anˈtɔɲi lɛˈɡutkɔ]), born 24 December 1949, is a Polish philosopher and politician. Professor of philosophy at the Jagellonian University in Kraków, specializing in ancient philosophy and political theory.

Under communism he was one of the editors of the samizdat quarterly “Arka”. After the collapse of the communist regime he co-founded the Centre for Political Thought, which combines research, teaching, seminars and conferences and is also a publishing house. He has translated and written commentaries to Plato’s Phaedo (1995), Euthyphro (1998) and Apology (2003). He is the author of several books: Plato’s Critique of Democracy (1990), Toleration (1997), A Treatise on Liberty (2007) and An Essay on the Polish Soul (2008), Socrates (2013).

In 2005 he was elected to a seat in the Polish Senate (representing the Law and Justice Party), where he became Deputy Speaker. In 2007 he was Poland’s Education Minister, and in 2007-2009 Secretary of State in the Chancellery of President Lech Kaczyński. He is currently a member of the European Parliament, where he sits on the Foreign Affairs Committee, and a Co-chairman of the Conservatives and Reformists parliamentary group.

Sued in 2010 for violation of personal rights by calling students who demanded removal of Christian symbols from a public school “unruly brats spoiled by their parents”, he asked for a dismissal of the case based on his immunity as a member of European Parliament. In 2011 the court denied that request. Plaintiffs are represented by an attorney on a pro-bono basis under the Precedential Cases Program of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights.

Fellow of Collegium Invisibile as a professor of philosophy.

Bibliography

Books

• Legutko, Ryszard (1990). Plato’s Critique of Democracy. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |1= and |authormask= (help)
• Legutko, Ryszard (1997). Toleration. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help); Unknown parameter |authormask= ignored (|author-mask= suggested) (help)
• Legutko, Ryszard (2007). A treatise on liberty. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help); Unknown parameter |authormask= ignored (|author-mask= suggested) (help)
• Legutko, Ryszard (2008). An essay on the Polish Soul. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help); Unknown parameter |authormask= ignored (|author-mask= suggested) (help)
• Legutko, Ryszard (2013). Socrates. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help); Unknown parameter |authormask= ignored (|author-mask= suggested) (help)
• Legutko, Ryszard (2016). The Demon in Democracy: Totalitarian Temptations in Free Societies. ISBN 1594038635. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |authormask= ignored (|author-mask= suggested) (help)

Essays and reporting

• Legutko, Ryszard (January–February 2016). "Letter from Warsaw". Quadrant. 60 (1–2): 70–72. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |1= and |authormask= (help)

External links

• Media related to Ryszard Legutko at Wikimedia Commons
• Template:Pl icon Official homepage