Stanisław Kania

Stanisław Kania
First Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party
In office 6 September 1980 – 18 October 1981
Preceded by	Edward Gierek
Succeeded by	Wojciech Jaruzelski
Personal details
Born	(1927-03-08) 8 March 1927 Wrocanka, Poland
Political party	Polish United Workers' Party

Stanisław Kania (Polish pronunciation: [staˈɲiswaf ˈkaɲa]; born 8 March 1927) is a former Polish communist politician.

Life and career

Kania was born in Wrocanka (now in Jasło County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship). He joined the anti-Nazi resistance at the age of 17 in 1944 and then the Polish Workers' Party in 1945 when the Germans were driven out by the Red Army and Polish Communists began to take control of the country. He remained involved in communist youth activities and attended the Party school, graduating in 1952.

Kania rose through the ranks of the party, becoming a full member of the politburo in 1975. After Edward Gierek was forced to resign as General Secretary amidst much social and economic unrest, Kania was elected his successor on 6 September 1980. He admitted that the party had made many economic mistakes, and advocated working with Catholic and trade unionist opposition groups. He met with Solidarity Union leader Lech Wałęsa, and other critics of the party.

Though Kania agreed with his predecessors that the Communist Party must maintain control of Poland, he never assured the Soviets that Poland would take a tougher line against Solidarity. The final straw for Moscow came when a KGB bug caught Kania criticizing the Soviets for continuing to rely on an economic model that "failed the test," saying it could cost them any advantage they had over the United States. Within days, the Soviets forced Kania to resign as general secretary. He was replaced by Prime Minister Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski.

References

• Template:Pl icon Stanisław Kania in Encyklopedia WIEM