Lech Kaczyński

Lech Kaczyński, born in 1949, Polish politician, president of Poland (2005- ). Kaczyński was born in Warsaw, the son of a veteran of the uprisings against German forces in the city during World War II (1939-1945). He first became a public figure when he starred with his twin brother, Jarosław, in the 1962 film O dwoch takich, co ukradli ksiezye (The Two Who Stole the Moon). He went on to study law and administration at the University of Warsaw and graduated with a Ph.D. from the University of Gdańsk in 1976.

The late 1970s was a period of intense political discord in Poland, and Lech Kaczyński became associated with the anti-communist trade union movement called Solidarity. In 1980 he became an adviser to the strike committee at the Gdańsk shipyard, the heart of the Solidarity movement. After the government of Wojciech Jaruzelski declared a state of martial law in December 1981, Kaczyński was among those arrested and jailed. During the political liberalization at the end of the 1980s he became an adviser to the leader of Solidarity, Lech Wałęsa.

Kaczyński was elected to the Sejm (lower house of Polish parliament) in 1989 and became vice chairman of Solidarity. He also founded a new political party, the Porozumienie Centrum (Center Agreement). He supported Wałęsa’s successful campaign for the presidency of Poland in 1990 and was subsequently appointed national security minister.

In 2000 Kaczyński joined the government of Jerzy Buzek as minister for justice and attorney general. He became a popular figure, but personal differences with Buzek led to his dismissal. With his brother, Kaczyński founded a new conservative party, Prawo i Sprawiedliwość (PiS; Law and Justice Party), in July 2001. The following year he was elected mayor of Warsaw. Kaczyński implemented policies that appealed to Poland’s conservative Catholic constituency, supporting the restoration of capital punishment, banning gay pride parades, and backing a new museum to honor the 1944 uprising.

In September 2005 the Law and Justice Party emerged as the most successful party in Poland’s legislative elections. In the presidential election the following month Kaczyński defeated economic liberal Donald Tusk, partly by attracting the support of populist right-wing groups. During the election campaign Kaczyński positioned himself as a vigorous opponent of corruption and a supporter of Poland’s traditional values. His twin, Jarosław, served as prime minister and head of a coalition government from July 2006 until November 2007.