Robert Artur Winnicki (born 18 July 1985) is a Polish politician who has been 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 ...

since 2015. He heads the

National Movement Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

political party. Before entering politics, Winnicki worked as a journalist. He served as a chairman of the

far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

All-Polish Youth The All-Polish Youth ( pl, Młodzież Wszechpolska) refers to two inter-linked Polish far-right ultranationalist youth organizations, with a Catholic-nationalist philosophy. Its agenda declares that its aim is "''to raise Polish youth in a Cath ...

from 2009 to 2013. In 2012, he founded the National Movement and in 2015, he was first elected in the

2015 Polish parliamentary election Parliamentary elections to both the Sejm and Senate were held in Poland on 25 October 2015 for the eighth term of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland, which ran from 12 November 2015 until 2019. The election was won by the largest opposition par ...

running as the main candidate on the list of

Kukiz'15 Kukiz'15 is a right-wing populist political party in Poland led by Paweł Kukiz. It was formed in 2015 as a loose movement that registered itself as an association in 2016 and later as a political party in 2020. Initially, it was connected with ...

in the 1-Legnica constituency. He was re-elected to the Sejm in 2019, this time running as the main candidate on the list of

Confederation Liberty and Independence The Confederation Liberty and Independence ( pl, Konfederacja Wolność i Niepodległość), frequently shortened to just Confederation ( pl, Konfederacja), is a far-right political party in Poland. It was initially founded in 2018 as a polit ...

in the 24-Białystok constituency.

Biography

Winnicki attended but did not graduate from the

University of Wrocław , ''Schlesische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität zu Breslau'' (before 1945) , free_label = Specialty programs , free = , colors = Blue , website uni.wroc.pl The University of Wrocław ( pl, Uniwersytet Wrocławski, U ...

where he studied political science. After his studies he worked in real estate and managed a hotel. He also worked as a journalist. His first political campaign was in 2007 when he unsuccessfully ran in the

2007 Polish parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Poland on 21 October 2007,Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1491 after the Sejm voted for its own dissolution on 7 September. The election took place two years be ...

as a candidate for the

League of Polish Families The League of Polish Families (Polish: ''Liga Polskich Rodzin'', LPR) is a conservative political party in Poland, with many far-right elements in the past. The party's original ideology was that of the National Democracy movement which was heade ...

(LPR). However, his political profile became well known and he was elected Chairman of the

in 2009 and served until 2013. His tenure as Chairman was the second longest in the Third Polish Republic and through his leadership the organization grew despite the collapse of the LPR. After his tenure ended he was the given the title of honorary chairman. In 2011, he worked with other nationalist groups to form and officially organize the "Independence March", a manifestation that would take place annually on 11 November, the anniversary of Poland's independence. The march went from being a marginal event to the single biggest annual march in the country. It has created mass controversy abroad. In 2012 he co-founded the

, which was founded to replace the LPR and the many other fringe nationalist parties which have come and gone through the years. In 2014 it was officially registered as a party and Winnicki became its first chairman. In 2018, Winnicki and

Janusz Korwin-Mikke Janusz Ryszard Korwin-Mikke (; born 27 October 1942), also known by his initials JKM or simply as Korwin, is a Polish far-right politician, paleolibertarian and author. He was a member of the European Parliament from 2014 until 2018. He was the ...

announced that their parties will be forming a coalition ahead of the elections coming up in 2019. The

Confederation Freedom and Independence The Confederation Liberty and Independence ( pl, Konfederacja Wolność i Niepodległość), frequently shortened to just Confederation ( pl, Konfederacja), is a far-right political party in Poland. It was initially founded in 2018 as a poli ...

was formed and officially registered next year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winnicki, Robert 1985 births Living people Catholicism and far-right politics Polish nationalists Far-right politics in Poland Confederation Liberty and Independence politicians Anti-Islam sentiment in Poland Members of the Polish Sejm 2015–2019 Members of the Polish Sejm 2019–2023 League of Polish Families politicians Kukiz'15 politicians