Świebodzin
Świebodzin (; szl, Świybodzin; german: Schwiebus) is a town in western Poland with 21,736 inhabitants (2019). It is the capital of Świebodzin County. Since the Local Government Reorganization Act of 1998, Świebodzin has been part of Lubusz ...
on 29 October 1947) is a Polish economist and administrator who is a former Minister of Industry and Trade in the
Government of Poland
The Government of Poland takes the form of a unitary parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the President is the head of state and the Prime Minister is the head of government. However, its form of government has also been iden ...
.
Bochniarz is also the founder and head of the Polish Confederation of Private Employers ‘Lewiatan’ and president for Central and Eastern Europe Region of Boeing International Co.
Education
Bochniarz graduated from the Foreign Trade Faculty at
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...
(1985–87).
Professional summary
Between 1971 and 1990, Bochniarz was an academic lecturer and researcher at the Institute for Business Cycles and Prices at the Main School for Planning and Statistics. At the time she was a member of the Polish communist party -
Polish United Workers' Party
The Polish United Workers' Party ( pl, Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza; ), commonly abbreviated to PZPR, was the communist party which ruled the Polish People's Republic as a one-party state from 1948 to 1989. The PZPR had led two other lega ...
(1970–1990).
In 1990, Bochniarz founded Nicom Consulting, one of the first consulting companies in Poland. Shortly after, she became the first president of the Association of Economic Consultants in Poland.
In 1991, Prime Minister
Jan Krzysztof Bielecki
Jan Krzysztof Bielecki (born 3 May 1951) is a Polish liberal politician and economist. A leading figure of the Gdańsk-based Liberal Democratic Congress in the early 1990s, Bielecki served as Prime Minister of Poland for most of 1991. In his p ...
invited Bochniarz to become the Minister of Industry and Trade consolidating two previously separated ministries. In her ministerial capacities, she was responsible for restructuring and privatization of over 7000 Polish firms.
In 1996, Bochniarz was elected as the chair of the
Polish Business Roundtable
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
. In that capacity, she organized a universal association for all private firms – Lewiatan
In 1999, Bochniarz became its first president (1999). This is a non-governmental organisation which serves as private business representative in the Polish constitutional body – the Tripartite Commission for Social and Economic Affairs along with trade unions and government representatives. Since the establishment of this Commission she has served as its vice-chairperson.
In 2002, Bochniarz became Deputy Chair of the Tripartite Commission. She has played an active role in the dialogue between government, employers’ associations and
trade union
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...
bodies.
In 2005, Bochniarz was the Polish Democratic Party's candidate in an unsuccessful bid to become President of Poland.
In 2006, Boeing named Bochniarz president of Boeing International Central and Eastern Europe.
In 2012, placed on the list of the 50 Most Influential Poles by the ‘Wprost’ magazine.
Organizations
Bochniarz is a former co-chair of the Committee of Good Practices – a non-governmental organization representing businesses committed to the implementation of a voluntary Code of Good Practices.
Currently Bochniarz serves as a member of the Council of Presidents of BUSINESSEUROPE, the biggest employers’ organization in the European Union. Bochniarz is a member of the European Commission Enterprise and Industry Advisory Group, a consultative committee established by the commissioner Antonio Tajani. In 2011, she joined the
European Council on Foreign Relations
The European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) is a pan-European think tank with offices in seven European capitals. Launched in October 2007, it conducts research on European foreign and security policy and provides a meeting space for decisi ...
. Since 2000, she has chaired the
Polish Japanese Economic Committee
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
*Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
, striving to develop Polish-Japanese economic cooperation.
Bochniarz is a former member of the Enterprise Policy Group at the European Commission, advising on the economic policy of the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
. Dr. Bochniarz participated also in the works of BIAC - The Business and Industry Advisory Committee, an advisory organisation to
OECD
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...
, which represents groups of entrepreneurs from OECD member states. For almost ten years she had been a member of Private Sector Advisory Group established by the
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...
and OECD focusing on corporate governance and anti-corruption.
Bochniarz is the originator of the European Forum for New Ideas, an international congress of business communities, economists and experts devoted to seeking meaningful solutions to the most fundamental economic problems facing Europe. The first meeting of the Forum held in
Sopot
Sopot is a seaside resort city in Pomerelia on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland, with a population of approximately 40,000. It is located in Pomeranian Voivodeship, and has the status of the county, being the smallest ci ...
(north Poland) was organized on the occasion of the Polish Presidency of the EU Council.
Bochniarz initiated and co-founded the Nike Literary Prize – the most prestigious award for Polish literature and has been its donator for 10 years (1996–2006). She is co-founder and a vice-chairperson of the Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz Arts Foundation assisting the Witkacy Theatre in
Zakopane
Zakopane ( Podhale Goral: ''Zokopane'') is a town in the extreme south of Poland, in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998, it was part of Nowy Sącz Voivodeship; since 1999, it has been ...
, Poland.
Bochniarz has established and donated the initial endowment for the ‘Prymus’ Foundation promoting and providing equal educational opportunities for children in rural areas. She also participated in the works of the Junior Achievement Foundation, established to prepare children and youth to live in the conditions of market economy and civil society.
At the 20th anniversary of democratic transformation in Poland, Bochniarz co-founded the Congress of Women, which became an important social movement and initiated the parity legislation in Poland. She is the Polish advocate of the EU project “Equality pays off” aiming to use better female potential. In 2003, together with Jacek Santorski, she wrote a book titled Bądź sobą i wygraj - 10 podpowiedzi dla aktywnej kobiety (Be yourself and win – ten hints for an active woman).
Awards
She is a laureate of the
Andrzej Bączkowski Award
Andrzej is the Polish form of the given name Andrew.
Notable individuals with the given name Andrzej
* Andrzej Bartkowiak (born 1950), Polish film director and cinematographer
* Andrzej Bobola, S.J. (1591–1657), Polish saint, missionary and ...
(2003) for extraordinary contribution to the development of social dialogue in Poland and activities beyond political differences;
Kisiel Prize
Kisiel Prize or Kisiel Award ( pl, Nagroda Kisiela) is an annual Polish award presented in three categories: publicist, politician/public figure and entrepreneur whose actions most closely portray the spirit and beliefs of the Polish publicist and ...
Married to Zbigniew Bochniarz, academic lecturer, Visiting Professor at the Evans School of Public Affairs, University of Washington in Seattle. She has two children and nine grandchildren.