Elżbieta Bieńkowska is a Polish

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...

 politician. She has served as the Minister of Regional Development

Ministry of Regional Development of the Republic of Poland

The Ministry of Regional Development of the Republic of Poland was created on 31 October 2005, with its functions being devolved from the Ministry of Economy and Labour...

 in the Cabinet of Donald Tusk

Cabinet of Donald Tusk

The First Cabinet of Donald Tusk was the government of Poland from November 16, 2007 to November 18, 2011, during the 6th legislature of the Sejm and the 7th legislature of the Senate. It was appointed by President Lech Kaczyński on November 16, 2007, and passed the vote of confidence in Sejm on...

 since November 2007.

Education

Bieńkowska received a master's degree in oriental philology from Jagiellonian University

Jagiellonian University

The Jagiellonian University was established in 1364 by Casimir III the Great in Kazimierz . It is the oldest university in Poland, the second oldest university in Central Europe and one of the oldest universities in the world....

 in 1989. She also holds a post-graduate diploma from the Polish National School of Public Administration and an MBA

Master of Business Administration

The Master of Business Administration is a :master's degree in business administration, which attracts people from a wide range of academic disciplines. The MBA designation originated in the United States, emerging from the late 19th century as the country industrialized and companies sought out...

 from the Warsaw School of Economics

Warsaw School of Economics

Warsaw School of Economics is the oldest economic university in Poland.The Warsaw School of Economics was founded in 1906 as a private school under the name August Zieliński Private Trade Courses for Men. On 30 July 1919 it became a separate legal entity and was granted the status of an...

.

Professional career

Bieńkowska began her administrative career working in the economic department of the Silesian Voivodeship

Silesian Voivodeship

Silesian Voivodeship, or Silesia Province , is a voivodeship, or province, in southern Poland, centering on the historic region known as Upper Silesia...

, where she was involved in the local application of the EU's Phare

Phare

The Phare programme is one of the three pre-accession instruments financed by the European Union to assist the applicant countries of Central and Eastern Europe in their preparations for joining the European Union....

programme.