Jan Anthony Vincent-Rostowski, also known as Jacek Rostowski (; born 30 April 1951,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
), is a
Polish
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 ...
-
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
economist and politician who served as Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister 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 ...
.
He was a candidate for
Change UK
The Independent Group for Change, also known as Change UK, was a British centrist, pro-European Union political party, founded in February 2019 and dissolved ten months later, shortly after all its MPs lost their seats in the 2019 general e ...
in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
at the
2019 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom
The 2019 European Parliament election was the United Kingdom's component of the 2019 European Parliament election, held on Thursday 23 May 2019 and the results were announced on Sunday 26 and Monday 27 May 2019, after all the other EU countri ...
.
Early life and education
Jan Vincent-Rostowski was born into a Polish-Jewish exile family in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. During the
Second World War
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 ...
his father, Roman Rostowski, served as personal Secretary to
Tomasz Arciszewski
Tomasz Stefan Arciszewski (; 4 November 1877 – 20 November 1955) was a Polish socialist politician, a member of the Polish Socialist Party and the 31st Prime Minister of Poland, 3rd Prime Minister of the Polish government-in-exile in London fro ...
, Prime Minister of the
Polish government-in-exile
The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile ( pl, Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Pola ...
and did not return to Poland after the war. In the 1950s, Roman Rostowski worked for the British
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ministries of fore ...
with postings to Kenya, Mauritius and the Seychelles where Jacek Rostowski spent much of his childhood.
Jan's grandfather was Jakub Rothfeld (who left Judaism, changed his surname to Rostowski and regarded himself as a
Pole
Pole may refer to:
Astronomy
*Celestial pole, the projection of the planet Earth's axis of rotation onto the celestial sphere; also applies to the axis of rotation of other planets
*Pole star, a visible star that is approximately aligned with the ...
), a professor of
neurology
Neurology (from el, wikt:νεῦρον, νεῦρον (neûron), "string, nerve" and the suffix wikt:-logia, -logia, "study of") is the branch of specialty (medicine), medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of co ...
at the
John Casimir University
The University of Lviv ( uk, Львівський університет, Lvivskyi universytet; pl, Uniwersytet Lwowski; german: Universität Lemberg, briefly known as the ''Theresianum'' in the early 19th century), presently the Ivan Franko Na ...
in
Lwów
Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...
.
Jan Vincent-Rostowski attended
Westminster School
(God Gives the Increase)
, established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560
, type = Public school Independent day and boarding school
, religion = Church of England
, head_label = Hea ...
in London, followed by undergraduate and postgraduate studies at
University College London
, mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £143 million (2020)
, budget = ...
(UCL) and the
London School of Economics
, mottoeng = To understand the causes of things
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £240.8 million (2021)
, budget = £391.1 millio ...
(LSE).
*1972: Bachelor of Science – International Relations, University College London
*1973:
Master of Arts
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
– Economy and History, University College London
*1975:
Master of Science
A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...
– Economics,
Career
Jan Vincent-Rostowski was a lecturer at
Kingston University
, mottoeng = "Through Learning We Progress"
, established = – gained University Status – Kingston Technical Institute
, type = Public
, endowment = £2.3 m (2015)
, ...
(former Kingston Polytechnic), then from 1988 to 1995 at the
UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies
The UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES ) is a school of University College London (UCL) specializing in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, Russia and Eurasia. It teaches a range of subjects, including the histor ...
,
University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
. From 1992 to 1995 he also worked concurrently at the Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
During this time, together with
Ljubo Sirc
Ljubo Sirc CBE (19 April 1920 – 1 December 2016) was a British- Slovene economist and prominent dissident from Yugoslavia.
Life and work
Sirc was born in Kranj, then part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, in a wealthy and reno ...
, Vincent-Rostowski co-edited the academic journal, ''Communist Economies'' (later known as ''Communist Economies & Economic Transformation'' and ''
Post-Communist Economies'').
During the early 1980s, he was active (together with his wife Wanda Kościa) in the
Polish Solidarity Campaign
Britain's Polish Solidarity Campaign (PSC) was a UK-based campaign in solidarity with Solidarity (the Solidarność trade union) and other democratic forces in Poland. It was founded in August 1980 by Robin Blick, Karen Blick, and Adam Westoby ...
, a
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 ...
support group based in London. From 1989 to 1991, during Poland's transition following the fall of communism, Vincent-Rostowski was an advisor to the Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister,
Leszek Balcerowicz
Leszek Henryk Balcerowicz (pronounced ; born 19 January 1947) is a Polish economist, statesman, and Professor at Warsaw School of Economics. He served as Chairman of the National Bank of Poland (2001–2007) and twice as Deputy Prime Minister of ...
.
In the early 1990s, Vincent-Rostowski also advised the Russian Federation on macroeconomic policy. In 1991, he co-founded the Warsaw-based Centre for Social and Economic Analysis (CASE), a think-tank designed to assist Europe’s newly independent nations during the transition to capitalism. He was also a member of the Foundation's Council (he resigned from this post when he was nominated as Minister of Finance).
Since 1995, he has been Professor of Economics and was the head of the Department of Economics at the
Central European University
Central European University (CEU) is a private research university accredited in Austria, Hungary, and the United States, with campuses in Vienna and Budapest. The university is known for its highly intensive programs in the social sciences and ...
in Budapest during the periods: 1995–2000 and 2005–2006.
From 1997 to 2000, Vincent-Rostowski was Chairman of the Macro-Economic Policy Council at the Polish Ministry of Finance.
From 2002 to 2004, he was an Economic Adviser to the
National Bank of Poland
The Narodowy Bank Polski (; the National Bank of Poland), often abbreviated to NBP, is the central bank of Poland, founded in 1945. It controls the issuing of Poland's currency, the Polish złoty. The bank is headquartered in Warsaw, and has bra ...
.
In 2004, Vincent-Rostowski was appointed Economic Adviser to
Bank Pekao
Bank Polska Kasa Opieki Spółka Akcyjna, commonly using the shorter name Bank Pekao S.A., is a universal bank and currently the second largest bank in Poland with its headquarters in Warsaw. The Italian bank UniCredit used to own 59% of the comp ...
. He left this post in November 2007.
Minister of Finance, 2007–2013
Vincent-Rostowski joined the Cabinet of Premier
Donald Tusk
Donald Franciszek Tusk ( , ; born 22 April 1957) is a Polish politician who was President of the European Council from 2014 to 2019. He served as the 14th Prime Minister of Poland from 2007 to 2014 and was a co-founder and leader of the Civic Pla ...
on 16 November 2007, and served as
Minister of Finance of Poland
Poland's Ministry of Finance ( pl, Ministerstwo Finansów), headed by the Minister of Finance ''(Minister Finansów)'', is part of the government of Poland. Among its powers and responsibilities it drafts the national budget, deals with taxes, ...
until November 2013.
He was named European Finance Minister of the Year in 2009 by ''
The Banker
''The Banker'' is an English-language monthly international financial affairs publication owned by ''The Financial Times'' Ltd. and edited in London, United Kingdom. The magazine was first published in January 1926 through founding Editor, Brend ...
'' magazine. In November 2012, Rostowski was cited by the ''
Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...
'' as the third best finance minister in Europe.
During his six-year tenure at the ministry, Rostowski oversaw an overhaul of the public finance sector, including a cap on spending growth and a decision to redeem sovereign bonds held by privately managed pension fund companies, a move that drew criticism from the fund companies and some economists.
[Marcin Sobczyk (June 15, 2014)]
Polish Government Roiled by Leaked Recording
''Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
''. As part of a cabinet shuffle in late 2013, Tusk replaced Rostowski with
Mateusz Szczurek
Mateusz Szczurek (born 11 August 1975 in Warsaw, Poland) is a Polish economist and politician. He was the Polish Minister of Finance in the governments of successive prime ministers Donald Tusk and Ewa Kopacz from 2013 to 2015.
Education
Szczurek ...
.
Later career
Rostowski was a member of Britain's
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
. In the beginning of 2010, it was announced that two months prior he has become member of the
Civic Platform
Civic Platform ( pl, Platforma Obywatelska, PO)The party is officially the Civic Platform of the Republic of Poland (''Platforma Obywatelska Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''). is a political party in Poland. It is currently led by Donald Tusk.
It w ...
party (PO). In the wake of the Parliamentary Elections of 2011, he became Member of Parliament, being elected from the list of Civic Platform Party (PO).
In late 2015,
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Ewa Kopacz
Ewa Bożena Kopacz (; given name, née Lis; born 3 December 1956) is a Polish politician who has served as a Vice-President of the European Parliament since 2019. She previously was Marshal of the Sejm from 2011 to 2014, the first woman to hold th ...
appointed Rostowski as her top political adviser.
Vincent-Rostowski has published around 40 academic papers on European enlargement, monetary policy, currency policy and the transformation of post communist economies. He is the author of academic books including ''Macroeconomic Instability in Post-Communist Countries'' published by
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
.
Political views
Rostowski is a believer in free markets, as well as a fiscal conservative. On social matters, he previously opposed
in-vitro fertilisation
In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation where an egg is combined with sperm in vitro ("in glass"). The process involves monitoring and stimulating an individual's ovulatory process, removing an ovum or ova (egg or eggs) ...
, abortion and same-sex civil unions.
In the run-up to the 2019 European Parliament election, he stated that his opinions on such matters have changed.
Rostowski supports Poland's joining the Euro, but in the wake of the European sovereign debt crisis, he advocates waiting until "the Euro has become safe to join".
Personal life
Rostowski has two children. He is fluent in
Polish
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 ...
, English and French.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rostowski
1951 births
Academics of the UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies
Alumni of the London School of Economics
Alumni of University College London
British economists
British people of Polish descent
British people of Polish-Jewish descent
Central European University faculty
Civic Platform politicians
Finance Ministers of Poland
Living people
Polish economists
Polish people of Jewish descent
Deputy Prime Ministers of Poland
Members of the Polish Sejm 2011–2015
Change UK politicians