Professor Lena Barbara Kolarska-Bobińska (born 3 December 1947 in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

) is a Polish sociologist, academic and politician who served as the Polish Minister of Science and Higher Education from 2013 to 2015. In order to take the appointment, Kolarska-Bobińska resigned as a

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

(MEP), where she represented the

Lublin Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...

region from the Civic Platform Party list from

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

Early life and education

Kolarska-Bobińska is a graduate of the Sociology Department of the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw (, ) is a public university, public research university in Warsaw, Poland. Established on November 19, 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country, offering 37 different fields of study as well ...

, as well as a post-doctoral fellow at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

and the Business School of

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...

. She also holds a Doctorate (dr. hab.) (1974) and the title of Professor from the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology,

Polish Academy of Sciences The Polish Academy of Sciences (, PAN) is a Polish state-sponsored institution of higher learning. Headquartered in Warsaw, it is responsible for spearheading the development of science across the country by a society of distinguished scholars a ...

Career

At the Polish Academy of Sciences, Kolarska-Bobińska was head of the Department of Economics and Politics until 1991. From 1991 to 1997 she was director of CBOS, Poland's largest public opinion research centre. From 1997 until July 2009, she served as director of the

Institute of Public Affairs, Poland An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ca ...

, an independent, non-partisan public policy

think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...

, stepping down upon her election to the European Parliament. In the European Parliament, Kolarska-Bobińska served on the

Committee on Industry, Research and Energy A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

and the

Committee on Petitions The Committee on Petitions (PETI) is a permanent committee of the European Parliament to offer a petition process including a web portal to create and admit petitions. Its current chair, elected on 10 July 2019, is Dolors Montserrat, member of the ...

. In addition to her committee assignments, she was part of the parliament's delegation for relations with India.Lena Kolarska-Bobińska

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

. Kolarska-Bobińska has written over 300 books and articles. She has been a lecturer at universities in Poland and abroad. She often comments on political and social developments for Polish and international media. She is a regular

columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (periodical), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the ...

for the Polish newspaper "

Gazeta Wyborcza (; ''The Electoral Gazette'' in English) is a Polish nationwide daily newspaper based in Warsaw, Poland. It was launched on 8 May 1989 on the basis of the Polish Round Table Agreement and as a press organ of the Solidarity (Polish trade union), t ...

" and was until 2009, a regular

for the French journal '' Les Échos''. Kolarska-Bobińska is a member of many Polish and international associations and advisory boards. She was a member of the Economic Council of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

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 Polish presidential election, 1990 election, Wałę ...

(1992–1995), adviser of the Chief Negotiator for Poland's accession to the EU (1998–2001), and a member of President

Aleksander Kwaśniewski Aleksander Kwaśniewski (; born 15 November 1954) is a Polish politician and journalist. He served the maximum two terms as the president of Poland from 1995 to 2005. His tenure as President was marked by modernization of Poland, rapid economi ...

's Reflection Group (2001–2005). She endorses the idea of a

Federal Europe A federal Europe, also referred to as the United States of Europe (USE) or a European federation, is a hypothetical scenario of European integration leading to the formation of a sovereign superstate (similar to the United States of America), ...

by signing the manifesto of the

Spinelli Group The Spinelli Group is an initiative founded with a view to reinvigorate the endeavour for federalisation of the European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic uni ...

Personal life

Kolarska-Bobińska is married to Krzysztof Bobiński who is the president of Unia & Polska, a pro-European think-tank in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

and former Warsaw correspondent of the Financial Times (1976–2000). They have two children. She is fluent in Polish, English and Spanish.

Honours

List of National Honours: * Knight's Cross of the Order of Poland Reborn awarded by the Polish President (1997). * Officer's Cross of the Order of Poland Reborn awarded by the Polish President (2004). * European Medal awarded by the European Integration Committee and the Business Centre Club (2004). * 'Ordre National du Mérite' awarded by the President of the French Republic (2005)

Publications (selected)

* ''Centralization and Decentralization: Decisions, Power, Myth'', Ossolineum, 1984. * ''Aspirations, Values and Interests. Poland 1989–94'', Instytut Filozofii i Socjologii PAN, 1994. * ''Cztery reformy. Od koncepcji do realizacji'' (red., współautor), ISP, 2000. * ''Polacy wobec wielkiej zmiany. Integracja z Unią Europejską'' (red., współautor), ISP, 2001. * ''Obraz Polski i Polaków w Europie'' (red., współautor), ISP, 2003. * ''Przed referendum europejskim, absencja, sprzeciw, poparcie'' (red., współautor), ISP, 2003. * ''Świadomość ekonomiczna społeczeństwa i wizerunek biznesu'' (red., współautor), ISP, 2004.

References

External links

European Parliament

Personal Website

Institute of Public Affairs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kolarska-Bobinska, Lena 1947 births Civic Platform MEPs Women MEPs for Poland Education ministers of Poland Knights of the Order of Polonia Restituta Living people MEPs for Poland 2009–2014 Officers of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Ordre national du Mérite Members of the Polish Academy of Sciences Polish women journalists Polish sociologists Women government ministers of Poland Polish women academics