Waldemar Pawlak
Encyclopedia
Waldemar Pawlak AUD is a Polish politician. He twice served as Prime Minister
of Poland
, briefly in 1992 and again from 1993 to 1995. Since November 2007, he has been Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy. Pawlak is the only person who held the office of Prime Minister twice during the Third Republic (i.e. since 1989), and he remains Poland's youngest Prime Minister to date.
He is also a long-time commander of the Polish Volunteer fire department
, holding the rank of Brigadier General.
. He is a graduate of the Warsaw University of Technology
. While he was a student and during martial law
in 1981 he actively participated in strikes.
After graduation (1984) he became a computer teacher
in Kamionka (near Pacyna).
His political career began in 1985, when he joined the United People's Party
. After 1990, like many UPP members, he joined the UPP's successor, the Polish People's Party.
He was elected from UPP office to the Contract Sejm
(1989) and has remained a member of Sejm
since then. He became leader (Prezes) of the UPP in 1991.
After the downfall of Jan Olszewski
's cabinet, Pawlak, a leader of the agrarian Polish People's Party, was named the new Prime Minister by President Lech Wałęsa
with the mission to form a new coalition government including agrarians, Christian democrats and liberals.
However, the Pawlak government failed to gain support from the Sejm majority and failed in a vote of confidence. Pawlak resigned, and the president replaced him with Hanna Suchocka
, who won majority support.
Because the cabinet did not receive support from the Sejm, Pawlak had no official ministers at this time, only temporary chiefs of executive branches.
(SLD) won the 1993 election in a landslide
, holding a super-majority and the support of the socialist-agrarian government, with Pawlak as Prime Minister again.
Józef Oleksy
of the SLD became Sejm Marshal, while SLD leader Aleksander Kwaśniewski
remained a Sejm Member without portfolio.
Prime Minister Pawlak and Kwaśniewski soon found themselves at bitter political odds. Kwaśniewski reportedly had an ambition to become "Prime Minister de facto", while Pawlak wanted to retain the power of his office. Both leaders used their parties to fight for power.
Pawlak was initially in an informal alliance with President Wałęsa against the SLD. However, their good political relations soon dissipated.
In 1995 Pawlak offered three options to Kwaśniewski. First: he would remain Prime Minister but with Kwaśniewski as Deputy and Minister of Foreign Affairs. Second: the SLD would form a government with Kwaśniewski as Prime Minister. Third: Oleksy would become Prime Minister under the present coalition. Pawlak reportedly thought that Kwaśniewski would not risk a minority SLD government without the support of the majority or the elevation of his main partisan opponent, Oleksy, to Prime Minister and therefore rather be the deputy of Pawlak. However Kwaśniewski surprised many by choosing the third option.
and Jan Olszewski
) and winning only 770,417 votes (4.31%).
After losing the political battle with Kwaśniewski and, after that, the presidential election, there was a movement to replace Pawlak with Jarosław Kalinowski as party leader in 1997.
PSL suffered a great political disaster during the 1997 parliamentary elections
and became the smallest party in the Sejm (from 132 seats in 1993 to just 27).
After the SLD won decisively in the 2001 parliamentary election
Kalinowski became deputy of the new Prime Minister Leszek Miller
when the PSL joined the coalition. Pawlak did not play a major role during this period.
In the liberal Civic Platform
(PO)-PSL government, formed after the 2007 parliamentary election
, Pawlak became Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy under Prime Minister Donald Tusk
.
Although PSL remained the smallest party represented in the Sejm, Pawlak is often cited as having achieved a major political victory. During his time in the party chair his party enjoyed better electoral results, the elimination of major competition among agrarian voters from the also agrarian dominated party (Samoobrona), and the resumption of major influence in rural areas. Additionally, PSL was put in charge of three cabinet posts in the Tusk government. (Without the PSL votes, the PO would not have a Sejm majority, even though it easily accounts for the biggest political group in the sitting parliament.)
On 21 April 2010, PSL announced that Pawlak would be the party's official candidate for the 2010 presidential election. He received only 1.75% of the vote and didn't get into the second round.
Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland
The Prime Minister of Poland heads the Polish Council of Ministers and directs their work, supervises territorial self-government within the guidelines and in ways described in the Constitution and other legislation, and acts as the superior for all government administration workers...
of Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, briefly in 1992 and again from 1993 to 1995. Since November 2007, he has been Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy. Pawlak is the only person who held the office of Prime Minister twice during the Third Republic (i.e. since 1989), and he remains Poland's youngest Prime Minister to date.
He is also a long-time commander of the Polish Volunteer fire department
Volunteer fire department
See also the Firefighter article and its respective sections regarding VFDs in other countries.A volunteer fire department is a fire department composed of volunteers who perform fire suppression and other related emergency services for a local jurisdiction.The first organized force of...
, holding the rank of Brigadier General.
Early life and early political career
Pawlak was born in the village of Model, Masovian VoivodeshipModel, Masovian Voivodeship
Model is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Pacyna, within Gostynin County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It lies approximately south of Pacyna, south-east of Gostynin, and west of Warsaw.-References:...
. He is a graduate of the Warsaw University of Technology
Warsaw University of Technology
The Warsaw University of Technology is one of the leading institutes of technology in Poland, and one of the largest in Central Europe. It employs 2,453 teaching faculty, with 357 professors . The student body numbers 36,156 , mostly full-time. There are 17 faculties covering almost all fields of...
. While he was a student and during martial law
Martial law in Poland
Martial law in Poland refers to the period of time from December 13, 1981 to July 22, 1983, when the authoritarian government of the People's Republic of Poland drastically restricted normal life by introducing martial law in an attempt to crush political opposition to it. Thousands of opposition...
in 1981 he actively participated in strikes.
After graduation (1984) he became a computer teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
in Kamionka (near Pacyna).
His political career began in 1985, when he joined the United People's Party
United People's Party (Poland)
The United People's Party was an agrarian political party in the People's Republic of Poland. It was formed on 27 November 1949 from the merger of the communist Stronnictwo Ludowe party with remnants of the independent People's Party of Stanisław Mikołajczyk .ZSL became - as intended from its very...
. After 1990, like many UPP members, he joined the UPP's successor, the Polish People's Party.
He was elected from UPP office to the Contract Sejm
Contract Sejm
Contract Sejm is a term commonly applied to the Polish Parliament elected in the Polish parliamentary elections of 1989. The contract refers to an agreement reached by the Communist Party and the Solidarity movement during the Polish Round Table Agreement. The final agreement was signed on April...
(1989) and has remained a member of Sejm
Sejm
The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....
since then. He became leader (Prezes) of the UPP in 1991.
First Premiership
His first premiership (June 5 - July 7, 1992) was the briefest government during this period, lasting only 33 days. This was, however, a notable period, known commonly as Pawlak's 33 days (33 dni Pawlaka).After the downfall of Jan Olszewski
Jan Olszewski
Jan Ferdynand Olszewski is a Polish lawyer and political figure. He is best known for serving as Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland from 1991 to 1992....
's cabinet, Pawlak, a leader of the agrarian Polish People's Party, was named the new Prime Minister by President Lech Wałęsa
Lech Wałęsa
Lech Wałęsa is a Polish politician, trade-union organizer, and human-rights activist. A charismatic leader, he co-founded Solidarity , the Soviet bloc's first independent trade union, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983, and served as President of Poland between 1990 and 95.Wałęsa was an electrician...
with the mission to form a new coalition government including agrarians, Christian democrats and liberals.
However, the Pawlak government failed to gain support from the Sejm majority and failed in a vote of confidence. Pawlak resigned, and the president replaced him with Hanna Suchocka
Hanna Suchocka
Hanna Suchocka is a Polish political figure. She served as the prime minister of Poland between 11 July 1992 and 26 October 1993 under the presidency of Lech Wałęsa. She is the first woman to hold this post in Poland and 19th in the world.Suchocka is a specialist in Constitutional Law...
, who won majority support.
Because the cabinet did not receive support from the Sejm, Pawlak had no official ministers at this time, only temporary chiefs of executive branches.
Second Premiership
The Polish People's Party and the social democratic, post-communist Democratic Left AllianceDemocratic Left Alliance
Democratic Left Alliance is a social-democratic political party in Poland. Formed in 1991 as a coalition of centre-left parties, it was formally established as a single party on 15 April 1999. It is currently the third largest opposition party in Poland....
(SLD) won the 1993 election in a landslide
Landslide
A landslide or landslip is a geological phenomenon which includes a wide range of ground movement, such as rockfalls, deep failure of slopes and shallow debris flows, which can occur in offshore, coastal and onshore environments...
, holding a super-majority and the support of the socialist-agrarian government, with Pawlak as Prime Minister again.
Józef Oleksy
Józef Oleksy
Józef Oleksy is a post-communist Polish politician, former chairman of Democratic Left Alliance ....
of the SLD became Sejm Marshal, while SLD leader Aleksander Kwaśniewski
Aleksander Kwasniewski
Aleksander Kwaśniewski is a Polish politician who served as the President of Poland from 1995 to 2005. He was born in Białogard, and during communist rule he was active in the Socialist Union of Polish Students and was the Minister for Sport in the communist government in the 1980s...
remained a Sejm Member without portfolio.
Prime Minister Pawlak and Kwaśniewski soon found themselves at bitter political odds. Kwaśniewski reportedly had an ambition to become "Prime Minister de facto", while Pawlak wanted to retain the power of his office. Both leaders used their parties to fight for power.
Pawlak was initially in an informal alliance with President Wałęsa against the SLD. However, their good political relations soon dissipated.
In 1995 Pawlak offered three options to Kwaśniewski. First: he would remain Prime Minister but with Kwaśniewski as Deputy and Minister of Foreign Affairs. Second: the SLD would form a government with Kwaśniewski as Prime Minister. Third: Oleksy would become Prime Minister under the present coalition. Pawlak reportedly thought that Kwaśniewski would not risk a minority SLD government without the support of the majority or the elevation of his main partisan opponent, Oleksy, to Prime Minister and therefore rather be the deputy of Pawlak. However Kwaśniewski surprised many by choosing the third option.
In the political wilderness
Despite good public approval ratings Pawlak failed in his bid for the Presidency in 1995, finishing a distant fifth (after Kwaśniewski, Wałęsa, Jacek KurońJacek Kuron
Jacek Jan Kuroń was one of the democratic leaders of opposition in the People's Republic of Poland. Kuroń was a prominent Polish social and political figure; educator and historian; an activist of the Polish Scouting Association; co-founder of the Workers' Defence Committee; twice a Minister of...
and Jan Olszewski
Jan Olszewski
Jan Ferdynand Olszewski is a Polish lawyer and political figure. He is best known for serving as Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland from 1991 to 1992....
) and winning only 770,417 votes (4.31%).
After losing the political battle with Kwaśniewski and, after that, the presidential election, there was a movement to replace Pawlak with Jarosław Kalinowski as party leader in 1997.
PSL suffered a great political disaster during the 1997 parliamentary elections
Polish parliamentary election, 1997
The Polish parliamentary election in 1997 to the Sejm and Senate of Poland was held on the 21 September. In the Sejm elections, 47.93% of citizens cast their votes, 96.12% of which were counted as valid...
and became the smallest party in the Sejm (from 132 seats in 1993 to just 27).
After the SLD won decisively in the 2001 parliamentary election
Polish parliamentary election, 2001
Polish parliamentary election in 2001 to Sejm and Senate of Poland were held on the 23rd September. In Sejm elections, 46.29% of citizens cast their votes, 96.01% of those were counted as valid...
Kalinowski became deputy of the new Prime Minister Leszek Miller
Leszek Miller
Leszek Cezary Miller is a Polish central-left-wing politician, leader of the Democratic Left Alliance , Prime Minister of the government of the Republic of Poland in 2001-2004.-Childhood and youth:...
when the PSL joined the coalition. Pawlak did not play a major role during this period.
Comeback
Pawlak's comeback began in 2005 when he became PSL leader again.In the liberal Civic Platform
Civic Platform
Civic Platform , abbreviated to PO, is a centre-right, liberal conservative political party in Poland. It has been the major coalition partner in Poland's government since the 2007 general election, with party leader Donald Tusk as Prime Minister of Poland and Bronisław Komorowski as President...
(PO)-PSL government, formed after the 2007 parliamentary election
Polish parliamentary election, 2007
Early parliamentary elections for both houses of parliament were held in Poland on 21 October 2007 after the Sejm voted for its own dissolution on 7 September 2007. The election took place two years before the maximum tenure of four years, with the previous elections having been in September 2005...
, Pawlak became Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy under Prime Minister Donald Tusk
Donald Tusk
Donald Franciszek Tusk is a Polish politician who has been Prime Minister of Poland since 2007. He was a co-founder and is chairman of the Civic Platform party....
.
Although PSL remained the smallest party represented in the Sejm, Pawlak is often cited as having achieved a major political victory. During his time in the party chair his party enjoyed better electoral results, the elimination of major competition among agrarian voters from the also agrarian dominated party (Samoobrona), and the resumption of major influence in rural areas. Additionally, PSL was put in charge of three cabinet posts in the Tusk government. (Without the PSL votes, the PO would not have a Sejm majority, even though it easily accounts for the biggest political group in the sitting parliament.)
On 21 April 2010, PSL announced that Pawlak would be the party's official candidate for the 2010 presidential election. He received only 1.75% of the vote and didn't get into the second round.
Second Waldemar Pawlak cabinet
Members of Pawlak's cabinet:- Prime Minister: Waldemar Pawlak (PSL)
- Deputy PM and Minister of Finance: Marek BorowskiMarek BorowskiMarek Stefan Borowski is a Polish left-wing politician. He led the Democratic Left Alliance for a time and was Speaker of the Sejm from 2001 to 2004....
(SLDDemocratic Left AllianceDemocratic Left Alliance is a social-democratic political party in Poland. Formed in 1991 as a coalition of centre-left parties, it was formally established as a single party on 15 April 1999. It is currently the third largest opposition party in Poland....
) - Deputy PM and Minister of Justice: Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz (SLD)
- Deputy PM and Minister of Education: Aleksander Łuczak (PSL)
- Minister of Construction: Barbara BlidaBarbara BlidaBarbara Blida was a Polish political figure who served in the nation's Parliament for 16 years , including a stint as a member of the cabinet, and whose controversial suicide in the midst of an investigation for corruption became front-page news in Poland as well as in a number of news outlets...
(SLD) - Minister of Culture: Kazimierz Dejmek (PSL)
- Minister of Property Conversion: Wiesław Kaczmarek (SLD)
- Minister of Defense: Piotr Kołodziejczyk
- Minister of Transport: Bogusław Liberadzki (SLD)
- Minister of Interior: Andrzej Milczanowski
- Minister of Labor: Leszek MillerLeszek MillerLeszek Cezary Miller is a Polish central-left-wing politician, leader of the Democratic Left Alliance , Prime Minister of the government of the Republic of Poland in 2001-2004.-Childhood and youth:...
(SLD) - Minister of Foreign Affairs: Andrzej OlechowskiAndrzej OlechowskiAndrzej Marian Olechowski is a Polish politician. He was one of the co-founders of conservative liberal party Civic Platform in 2001 with Maciej Płażyński and Donald Tusk...
- Director of the CUP (Central Planning Office): Mirosław Pietrewicz (PSL)
- Minister of Economic Cooperation with Foreign Business: Lesław Podkański (PSL)
- Minister of Industry and Trade: Marek Pol (UP)
- Director of the URM (the Cabinet Office): Michał Strąk (PSL)
- Minister of Agriculture: Andrzej Śmietanko (PSL)
- Minister of Communications: Andrzej Zieliński (PSL)
- Minister of Environment Preservation: Andrzej Żelichowski (SLD)
- Minister of Health: Ryszard Żochowski (SLD)
- President of the Committee for Scientific Research: Witold Karczewski