Barbara Dolniak, nee Przyłucka (born 21 September 1960) is a Polish politician who currently serves as the

Deputy Marshal of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland Deputy Marshal of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Wicemarszałek Sejmu RP) is a person elected to preside over Sejm (Polish lower chamber of parliament) sessions when the Sejm Marshal is not presiding. Throughout the course of the Third Rep ...

, a position she has held since 2015. She graduated with a law degree from the

University of Silesia in Katowice The University of Silesia in Katowice ( pl, Uniwersytet Śląski w Katowicach, UŚ) is an autonomous state-run university in Silesia Province, Katowice, Poland. The university offers higher education and research facilities. It offers undergrad ...

. In her postgraduate studies, she graduated with a focus in European Union Law and Judicial Application. After graduating, Dolniak became a lawyer and a judge in the District Court of Katowice, and served in that role for 30 years. She married Grzegorz Dolniak, who was a member of the

Sejm The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of t ...

for five years. He died on April 10, 2010, a casualty of the Tupolev Tu-154 crash. After his passing, Barbara started the "Sportowa Szansa" foundation in his honor, which provides scholarships to young athletes of Poland. In 2011, she ran for the

Senate of Poland The Senate ( pl, Senat) is the upper house of the Parliament of Poland, Polish parliament, the lower house being the Sejm of the Republic of Poland, Sejm. The history of the Polish Senate stretches back over 500 years; it was one of the first co ...

as an independent candidate. She finished second out of eight candidates with 34,890 votes, losing to Zbigniew Meres's 47,820 votes. In 2015, Dolniak ran for the Sejm as a member of the

Modern Modern may refer to: History * Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Phil ...

party. She received 15,752 votes in the election, which was enough to earn her a spot on the Sejm. After being elected to the Sejm, Dolniak was named a Deputy Marshal, and serves on the Committee on Justice and Human Rights. She had spoken out about proposed reforms to the

National Council of the Judiciary In the European continental judicial tradition, the national councils of the judiciary are institutions that ensure the self-management of the judiciary and the effective delivery of justice, which are autonomous or independent of the executive a ...

, stating that while reforms are needed, having politicians choose judges rather than judges themselves is a step in the wrong direction.

Personal life

She was the wife of the politician Grzegorz Dolniak who died in 2010 in the crash of the Polish Tu-154 aircraft in

Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest c ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. She has a daughter, Patrycja, who works also as lawyer. She lives in

Będzin Będzin (; also ''Bendzin'' in English; german: Bendzin; yi, בענדין, Bendin) is a city in the Dąbrowa Basin, in southern Poland. It lies in the Silesian Highlands, on the Czarna Przemsza River (a tributary of the Vistula). Even though par ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dolniak, Barbara 1960 births Living people Deputy Marshals of the Sejm of the Third Polish Republic Members of the Polish Sejm 2015–2019 Members of the Polish Sejm 2019–2023 Women members of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland Modern (political party) politicians People from Bytom 21st-century Polish women politicians