Szymon Andrzej Szynkowski vel Sęk (born 24 November 1982 in

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...

) is a Polish politician who currently serves as a member of Sejm and Secretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Early life and education

Szynkowski vel Sęk graduated from the

Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań The Adam Mickiewicz University ( pl, Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu; Latin: ''Universitas Studiorum Mickiewicziana Posnaniensis'') is a research university in Poznań, Poland. It traces its origins to 1611, when under the Royal Ch ...

with a degree in international relations (2006). Between 2003 and 2004, he was studying at

Osnabrück University Osnabrück University (german: Universität Osnabrück) is a public research university located in the city of Osnabrück in Lower Saxony, Germany. In 2011 it was attended by 11,034 students; the staff of 1,858 consisted of 209 professors, 936 ...

. From 2006 to 2015, Szynkowski vel Sęk served as

city councillor A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural council ...

in Poznań. He has been the founder and president (2012–2016) of Project Poznań, a local think-tank. In 2015–2016, he was Poznań's delegate to the Board of the Association of Polish Cities. From 2004 to 2015, Szynkowski vel Sęk was assistant of Jacek Tomczak,

Marcin Libicki Marcin Wojciech Libicki (born 2 February 1939 in Poznań) is a Polish politician, former member of the Polish parliament (Sejm), elected for the Poznań constituency. He is one of the leaders of the Law and Justice party. On 13 June 2004, he was ...

, Konrad Szymański,

Ryszard Czarnecki Richard Henry Czarnecki (, born 25 January 1963 pol. Ryszard Henryk Czarnecki) is a Polish politician and Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Poland. He is a member of the Law and Justice, part of the European Conservatives and Reform ...

, members of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the 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 adopts ...

Political career

In 2015 Szynkowski vel Sęk was elected member of the Polish

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 ...

. He sits on the Sejm's European Union and Foreign Affairs Committees, and chaired the Polish-German Parliamentary Group. On 1 June 2018 Szynkowski vel Sęk was appointed Secretary of State for the Polish Community Abroad, European Policy and Public Diplomacy at the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

. In October 2021, Szynkowski vel Sęk – on behalf of the Polish government – summoned Belgium's ambassador to express "disapproval and indignation" after Belgian

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 ...

Alexander De Croo Alexander De Croo (born 3 November 1975) is a Belgian politician and businessman who has served as the prime minister of Belgium since October 2020. De Croo was born in Vilvoorde, Flemish Brabant, and studied business engineering at the Vrije ...

accused Poland of "playing with fire" in a worsening dispute with the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

over the

rule of law The rule of law is the political philosophy that all citizens and institutions within a country, state, or community are accountable to the same laws, including lawmakers and leaders. The rule of law is defined in the ''Encyclopedia Britannica ...

.Alan Charlish and Anna Koper (29 October 2021)
Poland summons ambassador after Belgian PM's rule of law comments
''

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Szynkowski vel Sek, Szymon 1982 births Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań alumni Law and Justice politicians Living people Government ministers of Poland Politicians from Poznań Members of the Polish Sejm 2015–2019 Members of the Polish Sejm 2019–2023 Polish city councillors