Tomasz Merta was 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...

 historian

Historian

A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...

 and Polish Undersecretary of State from 2005-2010. He served as the Polish Deputy Minister of Culture and National Heritage

Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland

Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland was formed on 31 October 2005, from transformation of Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Poland.The ministry is concerned with various aspects of Polish culture....

.

Merta was listed on the flight manifest of the Tupolev Tu-154

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...

 of the 36th Special Aviation Regiment

36th Special Aviation Regiment

The 36 Specjalny Pułk Lotnictwa Transportowego 36 SPLT is a special aviation regiment of the Siły Powietrzne Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, established in 1945. All of its aircraft are for national public use, the most important being transport of Polish politicians and MON highest officials &...

, which was carrying the President of Poland 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...

, and crashed near Smolensk-North airport near Smolensk

Smolensk

Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River. Situated west-southwest of Moscow, this walled city was destroyed several times throughout its long history since it was on the invasion routes of both Napoleon and Hitler. Today, Smolensk...

, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, on 10 April 2010, killing all aboard. On April 16, 2010 he was posthumously decorated with the Commander's Cross with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta, and also posthumously with the Gloria Artis Gold Medal of the National Education Commission. On the same day the Parliament of the Province of Lower Silesia

Lower Silesia

Lower Silesia ; is the northwestern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia; Upper Silesia is to the southeast.Throughout its history Lower Silesia has been under the control of the medieval Kingdom of Poland, the Kingdom of Bohemia and the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy from 1526...

 gave him the title of Honorary Citizen of Lower Silesia. He was buried in the cemetery at St. Sophie Barat in Warsaw