Bogdan Borusewicz
Encyclopedia
Bogdan Michał Borusewicz, (ˈbɔɡdan ˈmʲixaw bɔruˈsɛvʲitʂ, born 11 January 1949 in Lidzbark Warmiński
, Poland) is the Speaker in the Polish Senate
since 20 October 2005. Borusewicz was a democratic opposition activist under the Communist regime, a member of the Polish parliament (Sejm
) for three terms and first Senate Speaker to serve two terms in this office.
Borusewicz briefly served as the Acting President of Poland on 8 July 2010 between Bronisław Komorowski's resignation from the Sejm (and thus Speakership) due to being elected President and the election of the new Speaker (and Acting President) Grzegorz Schetyna
.
, he was arrested in May 1968 during the Polish 1968 political crisis
on charges of printing and distributing opposition fliers.
In 1975, he graduated from the Catholic University of Lublin in the field of history. During the 1970s he took part in a campaign of support for striking workers in Radom
, and became a part of the Workers' Defence Committee
. In the years 1977–1978 he was a co-organiser of the Free Trade Unions of the Coast
.
He was a principal organiser of the August, 1980 strike in the Gdańsk Shipyard
which led to the formation of the Solidarity trade union, and a co-author of the strikers postulates. He took part in the formation of the Solidarity free trade union.
After the institution of martial law by the regime on 13 December 1981, he spent more than four years hiding from the authorities and organising the underground structures of the then-outlawed Solidarity trade union. Between 1984 and 1986, a member of the Provisional Solidarity Coordination Committee and then Provisional Solidarity Trade Union Council. He was arrested and imprisoned in 1986, released under an amnesty in 1988. He supported the May and August strikes in the Gdańsk Shipyard in that year.
From 1991 to 2001 a member of parliament (Sejm
). In the first term (1991–1993), the leader of the Solidarity party, and the chairman of the commission studying the consequences of the Martial Law period. He was opposed to the vote of no confidence for the Suchocka
government (against the position of the Solidarity trade union), and after its fall left Solidarity. In the following elections he was elected as a member of the Unia Demokratyczna party, which in 1994 became the Unia Wolności (UW). He was the chairman of the special forces parliamentary committee. During the third term (1997–2000) in the Buzek
government, he was the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration (in charge of the police force). He resigned when the UW left the government coalition in 2000. He was also a member of a variety of other parliamentary commissions.
He was not elected again in 2001
and from October 2001 he was a member of the board of management of Pomorze province. Next year Borusewicz was a candidate for the presidency of Gdańsk
but lost the elections (obtaining 16.32% of votes). He did not join the Democratic Party (organised by UW members as a broader grouping), being opposed to the inclusion of politicians associated with the postcommunist SLD party.
, running as an independent but supported by both the Law and Justice
(PiS) and Citizens Platform (PO) parties. He was chosen as the Marshal (Speaker) of the Senate with their support. During first term he was caucused with PiS and after 2007 parliamentary election
, with PO.
. Borusewicz was the first Senate Speaker to became a temporary head of state and the shortest-serving Polish head of state since 1918. Also, he was already the second person to be or act as President since President Lech Kaczyński
's death in April 2010.
Called by the Polish media "The President for One Day", Borusewicz said, "at least I'll end up as a question in quizzes".
|-
Lidzbark Warminski
Lidzbark Warmiński is a town in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship in Poland. It is the capital of Lidzbark County.- History :The town was originally an Old Prussian settlement known as Lecbarg until being conquered in 1240 by the Teutonic Knights, who called it Heilsberg...
, Poland) is the Speaker in the Polish Senate
Senate of Poland
The Senate is the upper house of the Polish parliament, the lower house being the 'Sejm'. The history of the Polish Senate is rich in tradition and stretches back over 500 years, it was one of the first constituent bodies of a bicameral parliament in Europe and existed without hiatus until the...
since 20 October 2005. Borusewicz was a democratic opposition activist under the Communist regime, a member of the Polish parliament (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 ....
) for three terms and first Senate Speaker to serve two terms in this office.
Borusewicz briefly served as the Acting President of Poland on 8 July 2010 between Bronisław Komorowski's resignation from the Sejm (and thus Speakership) due to being elected President and the election of the new Speaker (and Acting President) Grzegorz Schetyna
Grzegorz Schetyna
Grzegorz Juliusz Schetyna is a Polish politician. He was elected to the Sejm as a candidate of the Civic Platform on September 25, 2005 after receiving 14,978 votes in 1 Legnica district...
.
Democratic opposition in communist Poland
When still a secondary school student of School of Fine Arts in GdyniaGdynia
Gdynia is a city in the Pomeranian Voivodeship of Poland and an important seaport of Gdańsk Bay on the south coast of the Baltic Sea.Located in Kashubia in Eastern Pomerania, Gdynia is part of a conurbation with the spa town of Sopot, the city of Gdańsk and suburban communities, which together...
, he was arrested in May 1968 during the Polish 1968 political crisis
Polish 1968 political crisis
The Polish 1968 political crisis, also known in Poland as March 1968 or March events pertains to the major student and intellectual protest action against the communist government of the People's Republic of Poland...
on charges of printing and distributing opposition fliers.
In 1975, he graduated from the Catholic University of Lublin in the field of history. During the 1970s he took part in a campaign of support for striking workers in Radom
Radom
Radom is a city in central Poland with 223,397 inhabitants . It is located on the Mleczna River in the Masovian Voivodeship , having previously been the capital of Radom Voivodeship ; 100 km south of Poland's capital, Warsaw.It is home to the biennial Radom Air Show, the largest and...
, and became a part of the Workers' Defence Committee
Workers' Defence Committee
The Workers’ Defense Committee was a Polish civil society group that emerged under communist rule to give aid to prisoners & their families after the June 1976 protests & government crackdown...
. In the years 1977–1978 he was a co-organiser of the Free Trade Unions of the Coast
Free Trade Unions of the Coast
Free Trade Unions of the Coast were a government-independent trade union in the People's Republic of Poland.This trade union was founded in Gdańsk on 29 April 1978 by Andrzej Gwiazda, Krzysztof Wyszkowski and Antoni Sokołowski...
.
He was a principal organiser of the August, 1980 strike in the Gdańsk Shipyard
Gdansk Shipyard
Gdańsk Shipyard is a large Polish shipyard, located in the city of Gdańsk. The yard gained international fame when Solidarity was founded there in September 1980...
which led to the formation of the Solidarity trade union, and a co-author of the strikers postulates. He took part in the formation of the Solidarity free trade union.
After the institution of martial law by the regime on 13 December 1981, he spent more than four years hiding from the authorities and organising the underground structures of the then-outlawed Solidarity trade union. Between 1984 and 1986, a member of the Provisional Solidarity Coordination Committee and then Provisional Solidarity Trade Union Council. He was arrested and imprisoned in 1986, released under an amnesty in 1988. He supported the May and August strikes in the Gdańsk Shipyard in that year.
In Democratic Poland
Deputy chairman of the Solidarity trade union movement 1990–1991. Was one of the candidates for its chairmanship in February 1991.From 1991 to 2001 a member of parliament (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 ....
). In the first term (1991–1993), the leader of the Solidarity party, and the chairman of the commission studying the consequences of the Martial Law period. He was opposed to the vote of no confidence for the 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...
government (against the position of the Solidarity trade union), and after its fall left Solidarity. In the following elections he was elected as a member of the Unia Demokratyczna party, which in 1994 became the Unia Wolności (UW). He was the chairman of the special forces parliamentary committee. During the third term (1997–2000) in the Buzek
Jerzy Buzek
Jerzy Karol Buzek is a Polish engineer, academic lecturer and politician who was the ninth post-Cold War Prime Minister of Poland from 1997 to 2001...
government, he was the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration (in charge of the police force). He resigned when the UW left the government coalition in 2000. He was also a member of a variety of other parliamentary commissions.
He was not elected again in 2001
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...
and from October 2001 he was a member of the board of management of Pomorze province. Next year Borusewicz was a candidate for the presidency of Gdańsk
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
but lost the elections (obtaining 16.32% of votes). He did not join the Democratic Party (organised by UW members as a broader grouping), being opposed to the inclusion of politicians associated with the postcommunist SLD party.
Senator and Speaker
He was chosen a senator in the 2005 parliamentary electionPolish parliamentary election, 2005
Parliamentary elections for both houses of the Parliament of Poland were held on September 25, 2005. Thirty million voters were eligible to vote for all 460 members of the lower house, the Assembly of the Republic of Poland , and all 100 members of the upper house, the Senate of the Republic of...
, running as an independent but supported by both the Law and Justice
Law and Justice
Law and Justice , abbreviated to PiS, is a right-wing, conservative political party in Poland. With 147 seats in the Sejm and 38 in the Senate, it is the second-largest party in the Polish parliament....
(PiS) and Citizens Platform (PO) parties. He was chosen as the Marshal (Speaker) of the Senate with their support. During first term he was caucused with PiS and after 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...
, with PO.
Acting President
Following Acting President, and President-elect Bronisław Komorowski resignation from Sejm (and thus Speakership) on 8 July 2010, Borusewicz became Acting President of Poland until the election of the new Speaker of Sejm Grzegorz SchetynaGrzegorz Schetyna
Grzegorz Juliusz Schetyna is a Polish politician. He was elected to the Sejm as a candidate of the Civic Platform on September 25, 2005 after receiving 14,978 votes in 1 Legnica district...
. Borusewicz was the first Senate Speaker to became a temporary head of state and the shortest-serving Polish head of state since 1918. Also, he was already the second person to be or act as President since President Lech Kaczyński
Lech Kaczynski
Lech Aleksander Kaczyński was Polish lawyer and politician who served as the President of Poland from 2005 until 2010 and as Mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 22 December 2005. Before he became a president, he was also a member of the party Prawo i Sprawiedliwość...
's death in April 2010.
Called by the Polish media "The President for One Day", Borusewicz said, "at least I'll end up as a question in quizzes".
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