National Coordinating Commission
Encyclopedia
National Coordinating Commission (Polish: Krajowa Komisja Porozumiewawcza, KKP), later called the National Commission (Komisja Krajowa, KK) was the executive branch of the Solidarity trade union. It was created on September 17, 1980 in Gdańsk
, as a national body which coordinated activities of regional and factory structures of Solidarity, and it included members of the Interfactory Founding Committees (Międzyzakładowy Komitet Założycielski - MKZ) in Polish cities.
Lech Wałęsa
was the head of the KKP, and the deputies were Andrzej Gwiazda
and Ryszard Kalinowski. There were around 30 founding members of the KKP, in the course of the time, this number grew significantly, and at the beginning of 1981 it was announced that each Voivodeship
was assigned only one member to the KKP.
Within the Commission, a special body, called Eleven (Jedenastka) was created on November 19, 1980. It included representatives of 11 biggest centers of the growing movement: Bydgoszcz, Gdańsk
, Jastrzębie-Zdrój, Kraków
, Lublin
, Łódź, Poznań
, Rzeszów
, Szczecin
, Warszawa, Wrocław.
Statutes of Solidarity, accepted on September 20, 1980, defined competences of the KKP. These were:
In 1980-1981, the Presidium consisted of Lech Wałęsa, Andrzej Gwiazda, Ryszard Kalinowski, and members: Zbigniew Bujak
from Warsaw, Tadeusz Jedynak from Jastrzebie, Jan Rulewski
from Bydgoszcz, Andrzej Slowik from Łódź, Stanisław Wądołowski from Szczecin, and secretary of KKP, Andrzej Celiński
, as well as a spokesperson, Karol Modzelewski
(replaced by Janusz Onyszkiewicz
).
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...
, as a national body which coordinated activities of regional and factory structures of Solidarity, and it included members of the Interfactory Founding Committees (Międzyzakładowy Komitet Założycielski - MKZ) in Polish cities.
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...
was the head of the KKP, and the deputies were Andrzej Gwiazda
Andrzej Gwiazda
Andrzej Gwiazda in Gdańsk engineer and prominent opposition leader, who participated in Polish March 1968 Events and December 1970 Events; one of the founders of Free Trade Unions, Member of the Presiding Committee of the Strike at Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk in August 1980, Vice President of the...
and Ryszard Kalinowski. There were around 30 founding members of the KKP, in the course of the time, this number grew significantly, and at the beginning of 1981 it was announced that each Voivodeship
Voivodeship
Voivodship is a term denoting the position of, or more commonly the area administered by, a voivod. Voivodeships have existed since medieval times in Poland, Romania, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Russia and Serbia....
was assigned only one member to the KKP.
Within the Commission, a special body, called Eleven (Jedenastka) was created on November 19, 1980. It included representatives of 11 biggest centers of the growing movement: Bydgoszcz, 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...
, Jastrzębie-Zdrój, Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
, Lublin
Lublin
Lublin is the ninth largest city in Poland. It is the capital of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 350,392 . Lublin is also the largest Polish city east of the Vistula river...
, Łódź, Poznań
Poznan
Poznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...
, Rzeszów
Rzeszów
Rzeszów is a city in southeastern Poland with a population of 179,455 in 2010. It is located on both sides of the Wisłok River, in the heartland of the Sandomierska Valley...
, Szczecin
Szczecin
Szczecin , is the capital city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland. It is the country's seventh-largest city and the largest seaport in Poland on the Baltic Sea. As of June 2009 the population was 406,427....
, Warszawa, Wrocław.
Statutes of Solidarity, accepted on September 20, 1980, defined competences of the KKP. These were:
- representing the union to the government of Poland,
- coordination of activities of the regional branches of Solidarity,
- control of budget of the union,
- signing collective work agreements,
- election of the head of the KKP and members of its Presidium.
In 1980-1981, the Presidium consisted of Lech Wałęsa, Andrzej Gwiazda, Ryszard Kalinowski, and members: Zbigniew Bujak
Zbigniew Bujak
Zbigniew Bujak was an electrician and foreman in 1980 at the Ursus tractor factory near Warsaw, Poland. He became engaged with trade union activists, and during the strike action, he organized strike committees at the Ursus factory...
from Warsaw, Tadeusz Jedynak from Jastrzebie, Jan Rulewski
Jan Rulewski
Jan Rulewski is a Polish politician, activist of Solidarity; a Member of the Polish Sejm and a Senator .He was in charge of the Bydgoszcz region of Solidarity...
from Bydgoszcz, Andrzej Slowik from Łódź, Stanisław Wądołowski from Szczecin, and secretary of KKP, Andrzej Celiński
Andrzej Celinski
Andrzej Celiński is a Polish socialist politician, a prominent leader of the Democratic opposition to the communist regime, and after 1989, a member of the Sejm and Senate and Minister of Culture....
, as well as a spokesperson, Karol Modzelewski
Karol Modzelewski
Karol Modzelewski is a Polish historian, writer and politician.He is the adopted son of Zygmunt Modzelewski. Professor at the University of Wroclaw and the University of Warsaw, he was a member of the Polish United Workers Party but was expelled from it in 1964 for opposition to some policies of...
(replaced by Janusz Onyszkiewicz
Janusz Onyszkiewicz
Janusz Adam Onyszkiewicz is a Polish mathematician, alpinist, politician and was a vice-president of the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee from January 2007 until mid-2009.-Biographical note:...
).