Aleksander Kwaśniewski
President of Poland from 1995 to 2005 / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Aleksander Kwaśniewski (Polish pronunciation: [alɛˈksandɛr kfaɕˈɲiefskʲi] ⓘ; born 15 November 1954) is a Polish politician and journalist. He served as the president of Poland from 1995 to 2005.[1] His tenure as President was marked by modernization of Poland, rapid economic growth (Poland's GDP has doubled in ten years), the drafting of a new Polish Constitution (1997), and the accession of Poland to NATO (1999) and the European Union (2004).[2] [3] In 2004, he brokered a pro-democratic agreement during the Orange Revolution in Ukraine.[4][5]
Aleksander Kwaśniewski | |
---|---|
President of Poland | |
In office 23 December 1995 – 23 December 2005 | |
Prime Minister | Józef Oleksy Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz Jerzy Buzek Leszek Miller Marek Belka Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz |
Preceded by | Lech Wałęsa |
Succeeded by | Lech Kaczyński |
Leader of the Social Democracy | |
In office 30 January 1990 – 23 December 1995 | |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | Józef Oleksy |
Personal details | |
Born | (1954-11-15) 15 November 1954 (age 69) Białogard, Poland |
Political party | Independent (1995–present) |
Other political affiliations | Polish United Workers' Party (1977–1990) Social Democracy (1990–1995) Democratic Left Alliance (1991–1995) Left and Democrats (2007) Europa Plus (2014) |
Spouse | |
Children | Aleksandra Kwaśniewska |
Alma mater | University of Gdańsk (Did not graduate) |
Awards | |
Signature | |
Website | Official website |
He was born in Białogard, attended the University of Gdańsk, and served as the Minister of Sport in the communist government during the 1980s. After the fall of Communism, he became a leader of the centre-left Social Democracy of the Republic of Poland, a successor to the former ruling Polish United Workers' Party, and a co-founder of the Democratic Left Alliance.
Kwaśniewski was elected to the presidency in 1995, defeating the incumbent, Lech Wałęsa. He was re-elected to a second and final term as President in 2000 in a decisive first-round victory. In line with a constitutional limit of two terms, his second term ended on 23 December 2005. According to a 2020 poll conducted by Rzeczpospolita, Kwaśniewski was considered the best president in post-1989 history of Poland.[6]