Barbara Krystyna Tuge-Erecińska (; born 24 March 1956) is Polish diplomat and civil service member who served as a

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

of the

Republic of Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

(1991–1997), to

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

(2001–2005), to the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

(2006–2012),Lech Kaczyński. Chancellery of the President. Announcements.
Warsaw, 24 February 2009''Diplomat'' magazine
Her Excellency Barbara Tuge-Erecinska, Ambassador of Poland
Elizabeth Stewart England and to

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

(2014–2018). She also served as a Undersecretary of State (1999-2001) and Secretary of State (2005-2006) in the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

Life

After graduating in 1980 from the

University of Gdańsk The University of Gdańsk ( pl, Uniwersytet Gdański) is a public research university located in Gdańsk, Poland. It is one of the top 10 universities in Poland and is also an important centre for the studies of the Kashubian language. History ...

at the onset of the anti-communist

Solidarity ''Solidarity'' is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. It is based on class collaboration.''Merriam Webster'', http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictio ...

movement, Tuge-Erecińska joined the Union and set up the Solidarity International Department. "In a way, this was my first diplomatic post," she said. Her father and grandfather were members of the

Home Army The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) esta ...

(''Armia Krajowa'') during the German and Soviet occupations of Poland in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. They were arrested by the

Soviets Soviet people ( rus, сове́тский наро́д, r=sovyétsky naród), or citizens of the USSR ( rus, гра́ждане СССР, grázhdanye SSSR), was an umbrella demonym for the population of the Soviet Union. Nationality policy in th ...

and sent to

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

. Both survived the

gulags The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= was the government agency in ...

thanks to the lifesaving determination of her father. Tuge-Erecińska worked closely with Solidarity leader

Lech Wałęsa Lech Wałęsa (; ; born 29 September 1943) is a Polish statesman, dissident, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who served as the President of Poland between 1990 and 1995. After winning the 1990 election, Wałęsa became the first democratica ...

during the 1980s. When

martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

was declared in Poland on 13 December 1981, she joined the protest in the shipyard. She was the one to smuggle out the official statement by the striking workers that the resistance would continue in spite of military

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

. She assisted families of political prisoners and set up a commission with the Polish Church to help them. Active in the underground during the

in Poland, she was harassed by the communist party. "It wasn't a big deal compared to what happened to some," she remembered. "The worst experience was when my son was one year old – to see those security men searching in my baby's cot." Nearly a decade later, in 1989 during the first partially free elections in the

Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...

, Tuge-Erecińska was appointed Gdańsk’s liaison with the foreign dignitaries and journalists visiting Wałęsa, Poland's ‘real’ president. After Wałęsa’s election victory in 1990, she was appointed Ambassador to Sweden (1991–1997). "At 35, not only was I the only female at our embassy, I was also the youngest member of staff," she told British ''Diplomat'' magazine. In 1999, Tuge-Erecińska became Poland's first woman Deputy

Foreign Minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

—the position held until 2001, and again in 2005. During her inaugural speech as Ambassador to the UK, Tuge-Erecińska said: ''I feel privileged to be posted to this special place, which supported us during the darkest days... .'' Her work as the highest ranking

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

revolves around the Polish participation in the EU with its complex political life and economy.Belfast City Council
"Polish ambassador visits Belfast to look at shared issues."
11 March 2008 Between 2014 and 2018 she was ambassador to

. Her son studied in Denmark and now works in the UK.

Awards

Gold Cross of Merit The Cross of Merit () is a Polish civil state decoration established on 23 June 1923, to recognize services to the state. History At the time of its establishment in 1923, the Cross of Merit was the highest civilian award in Poland. It was awa ...

– 1997 *Commander of the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic ( it, Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana) is the senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking ...

– 2000 *Commander of the

Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary The Hungarian Order of Merit ( hu, Magyar Érdemrend) is the fourth highest State Order of Hungary. Founded in 1991, the order is a revival of an original order founded in 1946 and abolished in 1949. Its origins, however, can be traced to the O ...

– 2001 *Commander of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known a ...

– 2005 *Grand Cross of the Order pro Merito Melitensi – 2011 * Grand Cross of the

Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George The Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George (SMOCG) ( it, Sacro Militare Ordine Costantiniano di San Giorgio, es, Sagrada Orden Militar Constantiniana de San Jorge), also historically referred to as the Imperial Constantinian Order ...

– 2012

References

* Alice Miles and Anthony Browne, The Times
Barbara Tuge-Erecinska is getting down to business
10 February 2007 * European Commission, "Cross-border cooperation under the framework of the Northern Dimension" by Barbara Krystyna Tuge-Erecińska, Secretary of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Polan

Life

Awards

References

See also