Władysław Marcin Kosiniak-Kamysz (born 10 August 1981) is a Polish physician and politician. Since 2015, he has served as the chairman of the

Polish People's Party The Polish People's Party ( pl, Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe, PSL) is an agrarian political party in Poland. It is currently led by Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz. Its history traces back to 1895, when it held the name People's Party, although it ...

(PSL). From 2011 to 2015, he was Minister of Labor and Social Affairs in the governments of

Donald Tusk Donald Franciszek Tusk ( , ; born 22 April 1957) is a Polish politician who was President of the European Council from 2014 to 2019. He served as the 14th Prime Minister of Poland from 2007 to 2014 and was a co-founder and leader of the Civic Pla ...

and

Ewa Kopacz Ewa Bożena Kopacz (; née Lis; born 3 December 1956) is a Polish politician who has served as a Vice-President of the European Parliament since 2019. She previously was Marshal of the Sejm from 2011 to 2014, the first woman to hold the office, a ...

. He was a candidate for president in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

Early life

Family

Kosiniak-Kamysz was born in

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

during the time of

Communist Poland The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million nea ...

. He was brought up in the tradition of the folk movement. His father,

Andrzej Kosiniak-Kamysz Andrzej is the Polish form of the given name Andrew. Notable individuals with the given name Andrzej * Andrzej Bartkowiak (born 1950), Polish film director and cinematographer * Andrzej Bobola, S.J. (1591–1657), Polish saint, missionary and m ...

, a doctor and politician who served as Minister of Health and Social Welfare under the first non-communist government of

Tadeusz Mazowiecki Tadeusz Mazowiecki (; 18 April 1927 – 28 October 2013) was a Polish author, journalist, philanthropist and Christian-democratic politician, formerly one of the leaders of the Solidarity movement, and the first non-communist Polish prime min ...

where he waged a constant struggle to ensure that in a situation of permanent lack of resources, health care at a technological level began to catch up with the West. His paternal grandfather and namesake, Władysław, born at the beginning of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, served as a soldier in the 13th Wilno Uhlan Regiment and Farmers' Battalions during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. After the war, he returned to his hometown of Bieniaszowice, where he ran his farm next to the mouth of the Dunajec to the

Vistula The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...

, with his grandmother.

Education

He studied in Kraków, where his parents moved. Kosiniak-Kamysz attended the

Jan III Sobieski High School, Kraków Jan III Sobieski High School in Kraków is a high school in Kraków, Kraków, Poland. It was founded in 1883. History The school was founded as a tribute to King Jan III Sobieski and his victory at battle of Vienna. The new building, which is sti ...

. He subsequently studied medical studies at the

Jagiellonian University Medical College Jagiellonian University Medical College is the oldest medical school in Poland. The Jagiellonian University's Faculties of Medicine and Pharmacy are acclaimed as one of the largest medical academies in Poland. The school was established by King C ...

until 2006. He wanted to be a doctor to help others and save their lives. He became an assistant at the Department of Internal Medicine and Rural Medicine of the Jagiellonian University. In 2010, Kosiniak-Kamysz obtained his doctorate in medical science among with Tomasz Guzik. He received his doctorate based on the thesis labelled "The relationship of gene variation encoding GTP cyclohydrolase with the function of vascular endothelium in patients with type 2 diabetes", in which he studied the genetic determinants of diabetes. Kosiniak-Kamysz conducted scientific research, amongst others at the

Emory University School of Medicine The Emory University School of Medicine is the graduate medical school of Emory University and a component of Emory’s Robert W. Woodruff Health Sciences Center. Before it was established as the Emory School of Medicine in 1915, the school ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. He started his first job at the Department of Internal Diseases and Rural Medicine of the Collegium Medicum of the Jagiellonian University, which he held a medical internship there. Throughout his studies, Kosiniak-Kamysz was a volunteer of the Volunteer Association of Saint Elijah operated at the

Church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Kraków Church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary ( pl, Kościół Nawiedzenia Najświętszej Maryi Panny) is a historic Roman Catholic church in Kraków, Poland; located at ul. Karmelicka 19 street in the Old Town. It is the city's first Car ...

Political career

Kosiniak-Kamysz has always been associated with the

. He co-founded the PSL

youth wing A youth wing is a subsidiary, autonomous, or independently allied front of a larger organization (usually a political party but occasionally another type of organization) that is formed in order to rally support for that organization from members ...

- Young People's Forum. Together they represented the people in TVP ''"Młodzież Kontra"'', in which they interviewed politicians. In this way, they gained their first skills in politics. Kosiniak-Kamysz took part in 12 electoral campaigns of the Polish People's Party. This was the first time during the 2000 presidential election when he supported

Jarosław Kalinowski Jarosław Kalinowski (; born 12 April 1962) is a Polish politician from the agrarian Polish People's Party (PSL). Kalinowski was born in Wyszków. He was first elected to the Sejm in 1993, and was reelected in the subsequent elections of 1997, ...

's organisation by issuing leaflets, hanging posters and collecting signatures for electoral lists. In the 2010 local elections, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz received 763 votes. Since

Jacek Majchrowski Jacek Maria Majchrowski (born 13 January 1947 in Sosnowiec) is a Polish politician, lawyer, historian, professor at the Jagiellonian University, and the current mayor of Kraków since 2002; making him the longest serving mayor in the history of ...

was the mayor of Kraków, he was able to take his seat in the city council of Krakow. On 18 August 2011 he was appointed as Minister of Labor and Social Affairs in Donald Tusk's second cabinet. He served in this post until 16 November 2015. In the 2015 parliamentary elections, the PSL and

Civic Platform Civic Platform ( pl, Platforma Obywatelska, PO)The party is officially the Civic Platform of the Republic of Poland (''Platforma Obywatelska Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''). is a political party in Poland. It is currently led by Donald Tusk. It w ...

lost their parliamentary majority, and since then have been in the opposition. Due to the poor election result and because he did not get a mandate,

Janusz Piechociński Janusz Piechociński (born 15 March 1960 in Studzianki) is a Polish politician, Minister of the Economy and Deputy Prime Minister of Poland Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland is the deputy of the Prime Minister of Poland and memb ...

resigned as party chairman, and Kosiniak-Kamysz succeeded him on 7 November 2015. In 2019, the PSL jointed to the

Polish Coalition The Polish Coalition ( pl, Koalicja Polska, KP) is a political alliance in Poland. It is led by the Polish People's Party. It was formed in 2019. In the 2019 parliamentary election, the Polish Coalition placed fourth, winning 30 seats in tot ...

with political movement

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 wit ...

and political party

Union of European Democrats The Union of European Democrats ( pl, Unia Europejskich Demokratów, UED) is a liberal political party in Poland. It is led by Elżbieta Bińczycka. It was founded as a merger of Democratic Party – demokraci.pl and "European Democrats" in ...

. In 2019 parliamentary election, he received 33 784 votes. He was one of the main candidates in the

2020 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 January: **C ...

; in some polls, he obtained the second place, granting him a place in the second round; though the current president

Andrzej Duda Andrzej Sebastian Duda (; born 16 May 1972) is a Polish lawyer and politician who has served as president of Poland since 6 August 2015. Before becoming president, Andrzej Duda was a member of Polish Lower House (Sejm) from 2011 to 2014 and the ...

has a large advantage above him (about 30% or more). Finally, Kosiniak-Kamysz received 2,36%.

Personal life

He divorced his first wife in 2016. He married Paulina Kosiniak-Kamysz in 2019, with whom he has a daughter Zofia. He is

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

References

Gazeta.pl, ''Władysław Kosiniak - Kamysz będzie nowym ministrem pracy'', 17. November 2011
/ref>
/ref> Rada Miasta Krakowa, ''Uchwała Nr. IV/25/10'', 13 December 2010
Online
(PDF-Datei) Ludzie wprost, ''Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz''
recovered on 19 November 2011
/ref> {{DEFAULTSORT:Kosiniak-Kamysz, Wladyslaw Polish People's Party politicians 1981 births Living people Government ministers of Poland Members of the Polish Sejm 2015–2019 Members of the Polish Sejm 2019–2023 Candidates in the 2020 Polish presidential election Jagiellonian University alumni Polish Roman Catholics