Marian Krzaklewski (; born 23 August 1950 in

Kolbuszowa Kolbuszowa ( yi, קאלבאסאוו) is a small town in south-eastern Poland, with 9,190 inhabitants (02.06.2009). Situated in the Sandomierz Forest in the Subcarpathian Voivodship (since 1999), it is the capital of Kolbuszowa County. Kolbuszo ...

) is a Polish politician. A member of

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 ...

since the 1980s, he was one of the most known and influential Polish politicians in the late 1990s, when he created the

Solidarity Electoral Action Solidarity Electoral Action ( pl, Akcja Wyborcza Solidarność, AWS) was a political coalition in Poland from 1996 to 2001. From 1997 to 2001, its official name was ''Akcja Wyborcza Solidarność Prawicy'' (AWSP) or Electoral Action Solidarity o ...

(AWS). The AWS coalition, especially when it joined forces with Freedom Union, was a major accomplishment in Polish politics, transforming the fragmented post-Solidarity camp into a powerful political force. Krzaklewski studied information science from Politechnika Śląska and holds a PhD degree. In 1980 he became involved with Solidarity, the famous Polish

anti-communist Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, w ...

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 ( ...

and

social movement A social movement is a loosely organized effort by a large group of people to achieve a particular goal, typically a social or political one. This may be to carry out a social change, or to resist or undo one. It is a type of group action and may ...

. Within the movement he was active in the

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

region. In 1991 he replaced

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 election, Wałęsa became the first democratica ...

(then

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 ...

) as the chairman of Solidarity. In opposition both to the government of Wałęsa and later the

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

SLD, he was one of the founders of the center and

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...

Solidarity Electoral Action, which eventually became victorious in the

1997 Polish parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Poland on 21 September 1997.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1491 In the Sejm elections, 47.93% of citizens cast their votes, 96.12% of which were counted as val ...

. Krzaklewski, who was elected as a

deputy Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spai ...

to the Polish parliament (

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 ...

), was considered for the post of

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 ...

, however in the end the post went to

Jerzy Buzek Jerzy Karol Buzek (born 3 July 1940) is a Polish politician and Member of the European Parliament from Poland. He has served as Prime Minister of Poland from 1997 to 2001, since being elected to the European Parliament in 2004, he served as Pre ...

. Amid the decreasing support for AWS, political infighting and corruption (TKM), he contested the 2000 Polish presidential election. As the major right-wing candidate, he polled very poorly, achieving just 15.6% of the vote. (Incumbent Kwasniewski won a majority in the first round). Subsequently, AWS suffered a crushing defeat in the

2001 Polish parliamentary election Parliamentary elections was held in Poland on 23 September 2001 to elect deputies to both houses of the National Assembly.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1491 The election concluded with an overwhe ...

. Krzaklewski resigned as the leader of AWS in 2001 and was replaced as chairman of the Solidarity trade Union by

Janusz Śniadek Janusz Józef Śniadek (; born 26 May 1955 in Sopot) is a Polish labor and political leader who was Chairman of Solidarity in the years 2002-2010. He studied in the department of shipbuilding of the Gdańsk University of Technology from 1975, a ...

in 2002. He currently is a member of the National Commission of NSSZ Solidarity and works as an EU expert in Brussels. Krzaklewski failed to return to politics running from his native region in South-Eastern Poland from the ruling Civic Platform list.

Notes

1950 births Living people People from Kolbuszowa Solidarity Electoral Action politicians Civic Platform politicians Polish trade unionists Candidates in the 2000 Polish presidential election Solidarity (Polish trade union) activists Members of the Polish Sejm 1997–2001 Polish dissidents {{Poland-politician-stub