Lech Aleksander Kaczyński (18 June 1949 – 10 April 2010) was a Polish politician who served as the 4th president of Poland from 2005 to 2010, when he died in the Smolensk air disaster. Earlier, he served as the city mayor of Warsaw from 2002 to 2005. Prior to these tenures, Kaczyński served as President of the Supreme Audit Office from 1992 to 1995 and later Minister of Justice and Public Prosecutor General in Jerzy Buzek's cabinet from 2000 until his dismissal in July 2001.
Born in Warsaw, he starred in a 1962 Polish film, The Two Who Stole the Moon, with his identical twin brother Jarosław. Kaczyński was a graduate of law and administration of Warsaw University. In 1980, he was awarded his PhD by Gdańsk University. In 1990, he completed his habilitation in labour and employment law. He later assumed professorial positions at Gdańsk University and Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw. During the communist period, Kaczyński was an activist in the pro-democratic anti-communist movement in Poland, the Workers' Defence Committee, as well as the Independent Trade Union movement. In August 1980, he became an adviser to the Inter-Enterprise Strike Committee in the Gdańsk Shipyard and the Solidarity movement. After the communists imposed martial law in December 1981, he was interned as an "anti-socialist element." After his release, he returned to trade union activities, becoming a member of the underground Solidarity. When Solidarity was legalised again in the late 1980s, Kaczyński was an active adviser to Lech Wałęsa and his Solidarity Citizens' Committee in 1988. From February to April 1989, he participated in the Polish Round Table Talks along with his brother.
After Solidarity's victory in the 1989 Polish legislative election, Kaczyński became a senator and vice-chairman of the movement. Then in the 1991 Polish parliamentary election, he was elected into the Sejm as a non-party member. He was also the main adviser and supporter of Lech Wałęsa when the latter was elected President of Poland in December 1990. Wałęsa nominated Kaczyński to be the Security Minister in the Presidential Chancellery but fired him in 1992 due to a conflict concerning Jan Olszewski's government. In 2001, Kaczyński co-founded the Law and Justice party, after splitting from the Solidarity Electoral Action and the Christian National Union, along with his brother."Kaczynski Often a Source of Tension Within E.U." Obituary The New York Times, 11 April 2010; page A12."Polish leader known as a feisty battler" Obituary Los Angeles Times, 11 April 2010; page A13. Kaczyński was the party's presidential candidate, during the 2005 Polish presidential election. In the first round of voting, Kaczyński received 33.1% of the valid votes. In the second round of voting, Kaczyński received 54.04% of the vote, defeating Donald Tusk, who received 45.96% of the vote. He was sworn in as president on 23 December 2005. On 10 July 2006, Kaczyński appointed his brother as Prime Minister of Poland upon the resignation of Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz, the brothers then became the first pair of brothers in the world to serve as president and Prime Minister of a country and the only twin brothers to do so, until 2007, when his brother lost the parliamentary election on 21 October 2007, finishing a distant second behind the conservative-liberal party Civic Platform. His brother was succeeded as prime minister by his former presidential rival Donald Tusk.
On 10 April 2010, Lech Kaczyński died, along with his wife, in the crash of a Polish Air Force jet that occurred on a landing attempt at Smolensk North Airport in Russia. The aircraft carrying him and some senior Polish officials had crashed while they were travelling to attend ceremonies marking the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre. He was the first Polish president to die in office since the assassination of Gabriel Narutowicz.
Early life Kaczyński was born in Warsaw, the son of RajmundLech Kaczyński, president of Poland, at Encyclopædia Britannica. (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). As a child, he starred in a 1962 Polish film, The Two Who Stole the Moon (Polish title O dwóch takich, co ukradli księżyc), with his identical twin brother Jarosław.
Kaczyński was a graduate of law and administration of Warsaw University. In 1980, he was awarded his PhD by Gdańsk University. In 1990, he completed his habilitation in labour and employment law. He later assumed professorial positions at Gdańsk University and Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw.
Opposition to communism In the 1970s, Kaczyński was an activist in the pro-democratic anti-communist movement in Poland, the Workers' Defence Committee, as well as the Independent Trade Union movement. In August 1980, he became an adviser to the Inter-Enterprise Strike Committee in the Gdańsk Shipyard and the Solidarity movement. After the communists imposed martial law in December 1981, he was interned as an anti-socialist element. After his release, he returned to trade union activities, becoming a member of the underground Solidarity.
When Solidarity was legalised again in the late 1980s, Kaczyński was an active adviser to Lech Wałęsa and his Komitet Obywatelski Solidarność in 1988. From February to April 1989, he participated in the Round Table talks.
Political activity from 1989 to 2005 Kaczyński was elected senator in the elections of June 1989 and became the vice-chairman of the Solidarity trade union. In the 1991 parliamentary election, he was elected to the parliament as a non-party member. He was, however, supported by the electoral committee Centre Civic Alliance, closely related but not identical to the political party Centre Agreement (Porozumienie Centrum) led by his brother. He was also the main adviser and supporter of Lech Wałęsa when the latter was elected President of Poland in December 1990. Wałęsa nominated Kaczyński to be the Security Minister in the Presidential Chancellery but fired him in 1992 due to a conflict concerning Jan Olszewski's government.
Kaczyński was the President of the Supreme Chamber of Control (Najwyższa Izba Kontroli, NIK) from February 1992 to May 1995 and later Minister of Justice and Attorney General in Jerzy Buzek's government from June 2000 until his dismissal in July 2001. During this time, he was very popular because of his strong stance against corruption.
Law and Justice In 2001, he founded the political party Law and Justice (Prawo i Sprawiedliwość – PiS), usually labelled "conservative" by the media, with his brother Jarosław. Lech Kaczyński was the president of the party between 2001 and 2003.
Mayor of Warsaw In 2002, Kaczyński was elected mayor of Warsaw in a landslide victory. He started his term in office by declaring war on corruption. He strongly supported the construction of the Warsaw Uprising Museum and in 2004 appointed a historical panel to estimate material losses that were inflicted upon the city by the Germans in the Second World War (an estimated 85% of the city was destroyed in the Warsaw Uprising) as a direct response to heightened claims coming from German expellees from Poland. The panel estimated the losses to be at least 45.3 billion euros ($54 billion) in current value. He also supported the construction of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw and was one of the signatories of the agreement to finance the project using the city's funds.
Interference with LGBT events Kaczyński banned the Warsaw gay pride parade twice in 2004 and again in 2005, locally known as the Parada Równości (the Equality Parade), telling protesters that "I respect your right to demonstrate as citizens, but not as homosexuals." Additionally, he feared the parade would promote a "homosexual lifestyle" and complained that police did not use enough force in breaking it up by stating "Why was force not used to break up an illegal demonstration?". Kaczyński referred to the organizers of the gay pride parades as "perverts".
In 2005, Kaczyński allowed a counter-demonstration, the "Parade of Normality", organised by the All-Polish Youth, a Catholic nationalist organisation opposed to "liberalism, tolerance, and relativism."
In 2007, Poland was found guilty by the European Court of Human Rights of violating the principle of freedom of assembly by banning the 2005 Parada Równości under Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Presidency 2005–2010
Presidential election
On 19 March 2005, he formally declared his intention to run for president in the October 2005 election. In the first round of the elections, he polled 33% of the vote, taking second place behind Donald Tusk. By the second round, however, he had gained the support of Radio Maryja, as well as of two other political parties besides his own: Self-Defence of the Republic of Poland, and the Polish People's Party.
Elected President of the Republic of Poland (he defeated the runner-up Donald Tusk by polling 8,257,468 votes, constituting 54.04% of the vote), Kaczyński assumed office on 23 December 2005, taking an oath before the National Assembly.
Domestic policy
In his first public speech as president-elect, Kaczyński said that his presidency would pursue the task of ameliorating the Republic, a process which he said would consist of "purging various pathologies from our life, most prominently crime [...], particularly criminal corruption – that entire, great rush to obtain unjust enrichment, a rush that is poisoning society, [and preventing the state from ensuring] elementary social security, health security, basic conditions for the development of the family [and] the security of commerce and the basic conditions for economic development."
During his inauguration, he stated several goals he would pursue during his presidency. Among those concerning internal affairs were: increasing social solidarity in Poland, bringing justice to those who were responsible for, or were affected by, communist crimes in the People's Republic of Poland, fighting corruption, providing security in the economy, and ensuring the safety of the development of the family. Kaczyński also stated that he would seek to abolish economic inequalities between various regions of Poland. In his speech, he also emphasised combining modernisation with tradition and remembering the teachings of Pope John Paul II.
On 21 December 2008, Kaczyński became the first Polish head of state to visit a Polish synagogue and to attend religious services held there. His attendance coincided with the first night of Hanukkah.Associated Press. Polish president visits synagogue for Hanukkah. accessed and written 21 December 2008.
Kaczyński supported the reintroducing the death penalty in Poland, clashing with the European Union over the issue in 2006.
Presidential pardons From 2005 to 2007, in accordance with article 133 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, Kaczyński pardoned 77 people and declined to pardon 550.
Foreign affairs
In foreign policy, Kaczyński noted that many of Poland's problems were related to the lack of energy security and this issue would have to be resolved to protect Polish interests. Strengthening ties with the United States while continuing to develop relations within the European Union are two main goals of Polish foreign affairs, as well as improving relations with France and Germany despite several problems in relations with the latter. Aside from those issues, his immediate goals were to develop a tangible strategic partnership with Ukraine and greater co-operation with the Baltic states, Azerbaijan and Georgia.
He was greatly admired in Israel because he promoted educating Polish youth about the Holocaust. There was widespread grief in Israel over his death.