- Born:
- June 4, 1952, Oborniki Śląskie, Poland (age 74)
- Title / Office:
- president (2010-2015), Poland
- Political Affiliation:
- Civic Platform
Bronisław Komorowski
-
Who is Bronisław Komorowski?
Bronisław Komorowski is a Polish politician born on June 4, 1952. He served as Poland's president from 2010 to 2015.
Komorowski became acting president in April 2010, following the death of Lech Kaczyński, and won the presidential election in July of that year.
Before the fall of communism in 1989, Komorowski was active in the anticommunist opposition, leading to his arrest in 1971. After communism, he entered politics and was elected to the Sejm (parliament) in 1991. He was also the defense minister from 2000 to 2001.
In 2015, Komorowski ran for reelection but was defeated by Andrzej Duda.
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When was Bronisław Komorowski president of Poland?
Bronisław Komorowski served as the president of Poland from 2010 to 2015. He became acting president following Lech Kaczyński's death in April 2010 and won the presidential election in July of the same year. In May 2015, Komorowski ran for reelection but was defeated by Andrzej Duda.
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How did Bronisław Komorowski become president?
Bronisław Komorowski became acting president of Poland following Lech Kaczyński's death in a plane crash in April 2010. As speaker of the Sejm (parliament), Komorowski was constitutionally obligated to call a special election within two weeks of Kaczyński’s death.
In June 2010, Komorowski, representing the Civic Platform party, ran in the special election. He faced Jarosław Kaczyński, Lech's twin brother, in a runoff election in July after neither candidate secured 50% of the vote in the first round. Komorowski won the presidency with 53% of the vote.
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What were some key achievements or events during his presidency?
Bronisław Komorowski served as Poland's president from 2010 to 2015. Taking office after Lech Kaczyński's death, Komorowski won a special election in July 2010.
As speaker, Komorowski advocated for pro-European Union and economic reform initiatives, which created friction with the more Euroskeptic President Kaczyński. Donald Tusk, then prime minister, implemented pro-business and pro-EU policies that helped Poland's economy survive the 2008-09 global economic downturn. In 2011, Tusk demonstrated a steady hand during Poland’s first-ever tenure in the presidency of the EU.
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What political party did Bronisław Komorowski belong to?
Bronisław Komorowski, who served as president of Poland from 2010 to 2015, was a member of the centre-right Civic Platform (Platforma Obywatelska; PO) party. He joined the party in 2001 and was elected as its vice-chairman in 2006. In 2010, while serving as interim president, Komorowski ran as the Civic Platform candidate and won the presidential election.
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How did Bronisław Komorowski's presidency impact Poland's relationship with other countries?
Bronisław Komorowski served as Poland's president from 2010 to 2015. As speaker, Komorowski supported pro-European Union initiatives, which caused conflict with the Euroskeptic President Lech Kaczyński. After Kaczyński's death in a plane crash in April 2010, Komorowski became acting president and then won the presidential election.
During Donald Tusk’s time as prime minister, he reset Poland’s relations with Russia and Germany. Also, Poland's willingness to accept a U.S. missile defense system was a point of contention with Russia. Despite strained relations, a corner was turned when Vladimir Putin attended a Katyn Massacre commemoration, marking a step toward reconciliation.
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Bronisław Komorowski (born June 4, 1952, Oborniki Śląskie, Poland) is a Polish politician who served as president of Poland (2010–15). Named acting president after the death of Lech Kaczyński in April 2010, Komorowski won the presidency in a special election that July.
Komorowski was born to an aristocratic family, but the communist regime in postwar Poland created a challenging environment for members of the hereditary landowning class. His family moved frequently, relocating from near Wrocław to Poznań, before settling in Warsaw when Komorowski was a teenager. He became active in the anticommunist opposition while he was still a high school student, and his dissident activities led to his first arrest in 1971. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Warsaw University in 1977, and throughout the 1980s he taught at the Niepokalanów seminary near Warsaw. Komorowski also remained a committed dissident during this period, working as the editor of an underground publication.
With the fall of communism in 1989, Komorowski launched his political career, initially serving on the Council of Ministers before his election to the Sejm (parliament) in 1991. Over the following decade, he held a number of ministerial positions, including defense minister (2000–01) in the government of Jerzy Buzek. In 2001 he joined the centre-right Civic Platform (Platforma Obywatelska; PO), and in 2006 he was elected vice-chairman of that party. He continued his rise in the parliament, and in November 2007 he was elected speaker of the Sejm.
As speaker, Komorowski sponsored a number of pro-European Union and economic reform initiatives that brought him into conflict with the more Euroskeptic president, Kaczyński. When Kaczyński was killed, along with dozens of other prominent Poles, in a plane crash in April 2010, Komorowski was named acting president. Constitutionally obliged to call an election within two weeks of Kaczyński’s death, Komorowski announced that a first round of polling would occur on June 20, 2010, and that he would run as the Civic Platform candidate. In the event, Komorowski finished first—ahead of his most prominent opponent in the race, Kaczyński’s twin brother, Jarosław, who represented the conservative Law and Justice (Prawo i Sprawiedliwość; PiS) party. However, because neither candidate tallied at least 50 percent of the vote, a runoff election between them was held in July. In that contest Komorowski prevailed with 53 percent of the vote.
When he ran for reelection to the largely ceremonial office in May 2015, Komorowski again found himself facing a runoff election. This time he finished a close second (with some 34 percent of the total vote) to Andrzej Duda of PiS (who tallied about 35 percent) as independent candidate Paweł Kukiz, a popular actor and rock singer, proved to be the spoiler by surprisingly capturing some 21 percent of the vote with a protest campaign centred on electoral reform—specifically on replacing the system of voting for party lists with voting for winner-take-all single-seat constituencies. In the May 24 runoff election, Komorowski came up short, garnering 48.45 percent of the vote and losing the presidency to Duda, who captured 51.55 percent of the vote.