Jolanta Kwaśniewska (Polish: ,

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Konty, ; born 3 June 1955)''Wprost'' magazine, Ludzie, "Jolanta Kwasniewska"
/ref> is a Polish lawyer and charity activist who was

First Lady of Poland First Lady of the Republic of Poland is an informal designation customarily applied to the wife of the president of the Republic of Poland (as so far all Polish presidents have been male). The First Lady does not hold a constitutional position and ...

between 1995 and 2005, as the wife of the then President

Aleksander Kwaśniewski Aleksander Kwaśniewski (; born 15 November 1954) is a Polish politician and journalist. He served as the President of Poland from 1995 to 2005. He was born in Białogard, and during communist rule, he was active in the Socialist Union of Poli ...

Biography

She was a graduate of the 9th High School in

Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...

. In 1979, she graduated from the Faculty of Law and Administration at 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 ...

, then tried to pass the judge's apprenticeship exam. During her studies, she was the head of the faculty council of the Socialist Union of Polish Students. In November 1979, she married Aleksander Kwasniewski. On February 16, 1981, she gave birth to a daughter, Aleksandra. In 1984, she started her professional career in the Swedish-Polish Polish diaspora PAAT, producing, among others, imitation jewellery for the Soviet Union market. In this company, she was, among others Chief Commercial Officer. In 1991 she started her own business - a real estate agency called Royal Wilanów, which she founded with the wife of Ireneusz Nawrocki, later president of

Powszechny Zakład Ubezpieczeń Powszechny Zakład Ubezpieczeń Spółka Akcyjna (Polish pronunciation: , PZU) () is a publicly traded insurance company, a component of the WIG20 and Poland's biggest and oldest insurance company. PZU is headquartered in Warsaw and also one of t ...

(PZU) Życie. She managed this agency until her husband took the office of

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 ...

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

. During her husband's office, the company was handed over to trusteeship. After the end of the second presidential term of her husband in 2005, she returned to the management of this agency.

Personal life

She met the future president while she was a law student at the

, and they married in 1979. During her studies, she was the president of the executive committee of the Socialist Union of Polish Students, in which her husband was also active. She has been widely involved in charity work, and in 1997 founded the charity foundation ("Understanding Without Barriers"), whose aims include providing help and support to sick and disabled children. She is also the host of the television show ''Lekcja stylu'' ("Lessons in Style") on

TVN Style TVN Style is a Polish-language channel aimed at women featuring the latest in fashion, health and beauty. It was first launched on August 1, 2004 and a part of the TVN network, owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Line-up * ''Miasto kobiet'' (''City ...

Honours

* : Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold (1999) * : 1st class of the

Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana The Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana ( et, Maarjamaa Risti teenetemärk, sometimes translated as the Order of the Cross of St. Mary's Land) was instituted by the President of Estonia, Lennart Meri, on 16 May 1995 to honour the independence of ...

* : Commander Grand Cross of the

Order of the Three Stars Order of the Three Stars ( lv, Triju Zvaigžņu ordenis) is the highest civilian order awarded for meritorious service to Latvia. It was established in 1924 in remembrance of the founding of Latvia. Its motto is "Per aspera ad astra", meaning "Thr ...

References

1955 births Living people Jurists from Gdańsk First Ladies of Poland Polish Roman Catholics University of Gdańsk alumni Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 1st Class Recipients of the National Order of Merit (Malta) Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany {{Poland-bio-stub