Karolina Kaczorowska (born September 26, 1930 in Stanisławów

Ivano-Frankivsk

Ivano-Frankivsk is a historic city located in the western Ukraine. It is the administrative centre of the Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast , and is designated as its own separate raion within the oblast, municipality....

) is a widow of Ryszard Kaczorowski

Ryszard Kaczorowski

Ryszard Kaczorowski was a Polish statesman. Between 1989 and 1990 he served as the last President of Poland in exile. He succeeded Kazimierz Sabbat and resigned his post following Poland's regaining independence from the Soviet sphere of influence and election of Lech Wałęsa as the first ...

, the last President of the Republic of Poland

President of the Republic of Poland

The President of the Republic of Poland is the Polish head of state. His or her rights and obligations are determined in the Constitution of Poland....

 in exile, and thus the last emigree First Lady (1989-1990).

During the Soviet

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 occupation (1939-1941) she was deported, along with her family, to Siberia

Siberia

Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...

. After being released, she attented Polish school in Uganda

Uganda

Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...

 and graduated from the University of London

University of London

-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...

. For a number of years, she worked as a schoolteacher and was active in the Polish exiled scouting movement, where she met her future husband. They got married on July 19, 1952. Karolina and Ryszard had 2 daughters, as well as 5 grandchildren.

Mrs Kaczorowska was originally supposed to attend the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre

Katyn massacre

The Katyn massacre, also known as the Katyn Forest massacre , was a mass execution of Polish nationals carried out by the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs , the Soviet secret police, in April and May 1940. The massacre was prompted by Lavrentiy Beria's proposal to execute all members of...

 along with her husband, but health reasons prevented her from going. The entire Polish delegation, including former President Kaczorowski, were killed in the 2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash

2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash

The 2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash occurred on 10 April 2010, when a Tupolev Tu-154M aircraft of the Polish Air Force crashed near the city of Smolensk, Russia, killing all 96 people on board...

.