Jerzy Andrzej Szmajdziński (, 9 April 1952 – 10 April 2010) was a Polish politician who was a Deputy Marshal of Polish Sejm and previously served as Minister of Defence. He was a candidate for

President of Poland The president of Poland ( pl, Prezydent RP), officially the president of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Prezydent Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej), is the head of state of Poland. Their rights and obligations are determined in the Constitution of Polan ...

in the 2010 election. Szmajdziński graduated from the

Wrocław University of Economics The Wroclaw University of Economics and Business''Statut Uniwer ...

. In the 1970s and 1980s he was an activist for the Federation of Socialist Unions of Polish Youth and the Socialist Union of Polish Youth, serving as its chairman from 1986–1989. He remained a member of

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 ...

from 1973 until its end in 1990. Later, he entered the leadership position of the

Social Democracy of the Republic of Poland Social Democracy of the Republic of Poland (SdRP) ( pl, Socjaldemokracja Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, SdRP) was a social-democratic political party in Poland created in 1990, shortly after the Revolutions of 1989. The party was the main party of ...

party. In December 1999, he became the deputy chairman of the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD). He became 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 ...

in 1990, and in his second term Szmajdziński was chairman of the National Defense Committee and in the third term a deputy chairman of that commission. He was Minister of National Defence from 19 October 2001 to 2005. He was elected to the Sejm on 25 September 2005, gaining 20,741 votes in 1

Legnica Legnica (Polish: ; german: Liegnitz, szl, Lignica, cz, Lehnice, la, Lignitium) is a city in southwestern Poland, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the Kaczawa River (left tributary of the Oder) and the Czarna Woda (Kaczawa), Czarna Woda ...

district as a candidate from the SLD list. On a national SLD convention in December 2009 he was chosen as the party's candidate in the 2010 presidential elections in Poland. His candidacy received 11% of the votes in March's pre-election poll. Szmajdziński died on the day after his 58th birthday, in the

plane crash An aviation accident is defined by the Convention on International Civil Aviation Annex 13 as an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft, which takes place from the time any person boards the aircraft with the ''intention of fl ...

that also involved President

Lech Kaczyński Lech Aleksander Kaczyński (; 18 June 194910 April 2010) was a Polish politician who served as the city mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 2005, and as President of Poland from 2005 until his death in 2010. Before his tenure as president, he prev ...

and 94 others.

Electoral history

Honours and awards

In 2002, Szmajdziński was made an honorary citizen of Jelenia Gora and in 2004 an honorary citizen of

Bolków Bolków (german: Bolkenhain) is a town in Jawor County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district ( gmina) called Gmina Bolków and part of the '' Neisse-Nysa-Nisa'' Euroregion. Overvi ...

. In 2004, he was appointed an honorary Knight Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

. On 16 April 2010 he was

posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' (E ...

decorated with the Commander's Cross with Star of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on al ...

. On the same day, the Parliament of the

Province of Lower Silesia The Province of Lower Silesia (german: Provinz Niederschlesien; Silesian German: ''Provinz Niederschläsing''; pl, Prowincja Dolny Śląsk; szl, Prowincyjŏ Dolny Ślōnsk) was a province of the Free State of Prussia from 1919 to 1945. Between ...

posthumously awarded him the title of Honorary Citizen of Lower Silesia. On 20 May 2010 Wrocław city council granted him the title of Honorary Citizen of

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

and on 28 March 2011 Legnica City Council gave him the title of Honorary Citizen of

Private life

Married to Małgorzata. The couple has two children, Agnieszka and Andrzej.

References

External links

*
Jerzy Szmajdziński – parliamentary page
– includes declarations of interest, voting record, and transcripts of speeches. , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Szmajdzinski, Jerzy 1952 births 2010 deaths Democratic Left Alliance politicians Polish Roman Catholics Members of the Polish Sejm 1991–1993 Members of the Polish Sejm 1993–1997 Members of the Polish Sejm 1997–2001 Members of the Polish Sejm 2001–2005 Members of the Polish Sejm 2005–2007 Members of the Polish Sejm 1985–1989 Interior ministers of Poland Ministers of National Defence of Poland Politicians from Wrocław Polish United Workers' Party members Commanders with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta Victims of the Smolensk air disaster Members of the Polish Sejm 2007–2011 Wrocław University of Economics alumni Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 1st Class

Electoral history

Honours and awards

Private life

See also

References

External links