Marek Marian Belka (; born 9 January 1952 in Lódź) is a Polish professor of economics and politician who has served as

Prime Minister of Poland The President of the Council of Ministers ( pl, Prezes Rady Ministrów, lit=Chairman of the Council of Ministers), colloquially referred to as the prime minister (), is the head of the cabinet and the head of government of Poland. The responsibi ...

and Finance Minister of Poland in two governments. He is a former Director of the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...

's (IMF) European Department and former Head of

Narodowy Bank Polski The Narodowy Bank Polski (; the National Bank of Poland), often abbreviated to NBP, is the central bank of Poland, founded in 1945. It controls the issuing of Poland's currency, the Polish złoty. The bank is headquartered in Warsaw, and has bran ...

(''National Bank of Poland''). He has served as a

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

(MEP) since July 2019. In 1978–1979 and 1985–1986 he did scientific internships at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

and

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

, and in 1990 -

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

. From 1986, he was associated with Institute of Economics of the Polish Academy of Sciences. He published over 100 scientific papers devoted mainly to money theory and anti-inflation policy in

developing countries A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreem ...

. He specializes in applied economics and contemporary economic thought. He is also a member of the Committee of Economic Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences. He held a number of important public functions in the country and abroad. In 1990 he became an advisor and consultant at

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a part of the government in most countries that is responsible for matters related to the finance. Lists of current ministries of finance Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Finance (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Finance and Ec ...

, followed by the Ministry of Ownership Transformations and the Central Planning Office. In the years 1994–1996 he was the vice-chairman of the Council of Socio-Economic Strategy at the Council of Ministers, and then economic advisor to the President of the Republic of Poland

Aleksander Kwaśniewski Aleksander Kwaśniewski (; born 15 November 1954) is a Polish politician and journalist. He served as the President of Poland from 1995 to 2005. He was born in Białogard, and during communist rule, he was active in the Socialist Union of Poli ...

. In 1996 he became a consultant

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

. He was twice Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland and

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

: in 1997 in Cabinet of Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz and in 2001–2002 in

Cabinet of Leszek Miller Cabinet of Leszek Miller was appointed on 19 October 2001, passed the Motion of Confidence, vote of confidence on 26 October 2001, and 13 June 2003. The Cabinet References

{{Polish Cabinets Polish government cabinets, Miller, Leszek Hi ...

. In 2004–2005 he served as

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 ...

and the chairman of the Committee for European Integration. In 2005 he held the office of the

Minister of Sport A Ministry of Sports or Ministry of Youth and Sports is a kind of government ministry found in certain countries with responsibility for the regulation of sports, particularly those participated in by young people. The Ministry of Youth and Spo ...

in his own government . From 2006 executive secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), and from November 2008 director of the European Department

. Previously, he was also the head of the coalition Council for International Coordination in Iraq (2003), and then the director of economic policy in the Provisional Coalition Authority in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, where he answered, among others for currency reform, creation of a new banking system and supervision of the economy (2003-2004). He was appointed president of the

National Bank of Poland The Narodowy Bank Polski (; the National Bank of Poland), often abbreviated to NBP, is the central bank of Poland, founded in 1945. It controls the issuing of Poland's currency, the Polish złoty. The bank is headquartered in Warsaw, and has bra ...

. He took office on 11 June 2010 and ended his term on 21 June 2016. In January 2011, he was elected for a three-year term (extended for another three years in 2014) to

Steering Committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

European Systemic Risk Board The European Systemic Risk Board () is a group established on 16 December 2010 in response to the ongoing financial crisis. It is tasked with the macro-prudential oversight of the financial system within the European Union in order to contrib ...

. Belka ran for and was elected an MEP at the 2019 European Parliament election. He has been appointed the vice-president of the S&D Group.

Early life and education

Belka graduated from the Socio-Economic Department of the

University of Łódź The University of Łódź ( Polish: ''Uniwersytet Łódzki'', Latin: ''Universitas Lodziensis'') is a public research university founded in 1945 in Łódź, Poland, as a continuation of three higher education institutions functioning in Łódź i ...

in 1972 and later studied on scholarships at

and

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

. He holds an M.A. in economics of foreign trade and a PhD in economics from the University of Łódź; his thesis was on US anti-inflationary policy.Annie Maccoby Berglof (4 July 2014)
Poland’s central bank chief Marek Belka on crises and secret tapes
''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

''. He became a professor in 1994.

Early career

From 1990 until 1996 Belka worked as consultant for the

Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Poland Poland's Ministry of Finance ( pl, Ministerstwo Finansów), headed by the Minister of Finance ''(Minister Finansów)'', is part of the government of Poland. Among its powers and responsibilities it drafts the national budget, deals with taxes, f ...

and the

. He served as

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

and

in 1997 and from 2001 to 2002; and as an economic consultant of the

President of the Republic 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 ...

in the meantime. He also served as Adviser to the three successive

Prime Ministers of Albania The Prime Minister of Albania ( sq, Kryeministri i Shqipërisë), officially styled Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania ( sq, Kryeministri i Republikës së Shqipërisë), is the head of government of the Republic of Albania and the mos ...

–

Fatos Nano Fatos Nano (; born 16 September 1952) is an Albanian socialist politician who served as Prime Minister of Albania in 1991, from 1997 to 1998 and from 2002 to 2005. He was the first leader and founder of the Socialist Party of Albania and a member ...

Pandeli Majko Pandeli Sotir Majko (born 15 November 1967) is an Albanian socialist politician. He served twice as Prime Minister of Albania; once from 1998 to 1999, and again in 2002. Political career Early career Majko has been a member of the Euro-Socialis ...

and

Ilir Meta Ilir Rexhep Meta (; born 24 March 1969) is an Albanian politician. He served as President of Albania from 24 July 2017 to 24 July 2022. Previously Meta served as Prime Minister from 1999 to 2002 and he was Speaker of the Parliament of Albania f ...

– from 1997 to 2001. Later, Belka worked as an advisor to

JP Morgan JPMorgan Chase & Co. is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered in City of New York, New York City and Delaware General Corporation Law, inco ...

for Central and Eastern Europe from 2002 to 2003. In 2003 he was responsible for economic policy in the interim

Coalition Provisional Authority ) , capital = Baghdad , largest_city = capital , common_languages = ArabicKurdishEnglish (''de facto'') , government_type = Transitional government , legislature = Iraqi Governing Council , title_leader = Administrator , leader1 = Jay ...

Political career

Career in national politics

Belka was active in the

Polish Students' Association Polish Students' Association ( pl, Zrzeszenie Studentów Polskich) is the oldest of Polish student societies. It was created in 1950 in Polish People's Republic. Currently it has about 10,000 members in about 100 academic institutions. See also *I ...

and the Polish Socialist Youth Union. From 1973 to 1990 he was a member of the

Polish United Workers' Party The Polish United Workers' Party ( pl, Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza; ), commonly abbreviated to PZPR, was the communist party which ruled the Polish People's Republic as a one-party state from 1948 to 1989. The PZPR had led two other lega ...

. In the 1980s he was the first secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party at the University of Łódź. Belka was designated

by President

on 29 March 2004 and sworn into office the next 2 May. He failed to receive the required parliamentary support on 14 May, but on 11 June he was designated again. On 24 June he finally managed to receive enough support in 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 ...

– the Lower House of

Polish Parliament The parliament of Poland is the bicameral legislature of Poland. It is composed of an upper house (the Senate) and a lower house (the Sejm). Both houses are accommodated in the ''Sejm'' complex in Warsaw. The Constitution of Poland does not ...

– winning a vote of confidence by a majority of 235 votes to 215. Belka joined the new liberal Democratic Party - demokraci.pl in May 2005, but failed to win a seat in

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...

in the 2005 elections. Also in 2005, he was a candidate for the post of

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...

Secretary General, but lost to José Ángel Gurría.

Career in international organizations

From 2006 to 2008, Belka served as Executive Secretary of the UN

Economic Commission for Europe The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE or UNECE) is one of the five regional commissions under the jurisdiction of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. It was established in order to promote economic cooperation and i ...

(ECE). In 2007, Belka was proposed by Poland as managing director of the

(IMF), but the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

(EU) finally decided to advance former French minister

Dominique Strauss-Kahn Dominique Gaston André Strauss-Kahn (; born 25 April 1949), also known as DSK, is a French economist and politician who served as the tenth managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and was a member of the French Socialist P ...

's candidacy. On 15 July 2008, Strauss-Kahn named Belka as Director of the IMF's European Department, a position Belka took up on 1 November 2008. In this capacity, he led the fund's response to the global economic crisis in Europe.

President of the National Bank of Poland, 2010–2016

On 27 May 2010 Belka was nominated as the next President of the National Bank of Poland by Acting President

Bronisław Komorowski Bronisław Maria Komorowski (; born 4 June 1952) is a Polish politician and historian who served as President of Poland from 2010 to 2015. Komorowski served as Minister of Defence from 2000 to 2001. As Marshal of the Sejm, Komorowski exercised ...

. On 10 June 2010, he was approved by the Parliament (253 votes in favor; 184 against) as Head of National Bank of Poland. In June 2014, the Polish magazine ''

Wprost ''Wprost'' (, meaning "Directly") is a Polish-language weekly news magazine published in Poznań, Poland.

'' published a series of transcripts of secret recordings involving senior Polish government officials, including one in which Belka discussed the forthcoming 2015 election with the interior minister

Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz (born 29 July 1961) is a Polish politician who served as the minister of interior from 25 February 2013 to 22 September 2014. Early life and education Sienkiewicz was born on 29 July 1961. He is the great-grandson of Nobe ...

. Belka said he would not resign over the remarks he is alleged to have made. The secret recordings were believed to have been made in one or more restaurants in the capital, Warsaw, and thought to date back as far as Summer 2013. In 2016, news media reported that Belka was considering taking up the role of the head of the

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is an international financial institution founded in 1991. As a multilateral developmental investment bank, the EBRD uses investment as a tool to build market economies. Initially focus ...

(EBRD). He was also a member of the Eminent Persons Group on Global Financial Governance, which was established by the

G20 The G20 or Group of Twenty is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 countries and the European Union (EU). It works to address major issues related to the global economy, such as international financial stability, climate change mitigatio ...

Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors for the period from 2017 to 2018.

Member of the European Parliament, 2019-present

In the 2019 European Parliament election Belka was elected as the MEP for the

constituency. In Parliament, he has since been serving on the

Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs The Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) is a committee of the European Parliament which is responsible for the regulation of financial services, the free movement of capital and payments, taxation and competition policies, oversight ...

. In 2020, he also joined the Subcommittee on Tax Matters. In addition to his committee assignments, Belka is a member of the delegation for relations with the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. He is also a member of the URBAN Intergroup.

Other activities

International organizations

European Investment Bank The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the European Union's investment bank and is owned by the EU Member States. It is one of the largest supranational lenders in the world. The EIB finances and invests both through equity and debt solutions ...

(EIB), Member of the Appointment Advisory Committee (since 2017) *

(ESRB), Member of the Steering Committee (2011-2016)Marek Belka, Visiting Professor in Practice, Institute of Global Affairs

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

. *

(EBRD), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (2010-2016) * Joint World Bank-IMF Development Committee, Chairman (2011-2015) * European Bank Coordination Initiative (EBCI, Vienna Initiative 2), Chairman of the Steering Committee (2013-2016)

Corporate boards

* Echo Polska Properties, Independent Member of the Board of Directors (since 2016) *

Bank Millennium Bank Millennium S.A. is a Poland-based commercial bank with headquarters in Warsaw, and owned by the Portuguese bank Millennium BCP. It is one of the largest banks in Poland and has been operating for 32 years. In 2018, it was the 7th bank in Po ...

, Member of the Supervisory Board (2002-2004) *

LOT Polish Airlines LOT Polish Airlines, legally incorporated as Polskie Linie Lotnicze LOT S.A. (, ''flight''), is the flag carrier of Poland. Established in 1928, LOT was a founding member of IATA and remains one of the world's oldest airlines in operation. Wit ...

, Chairman of the Board of Directors (2002-2003)

Non-profit organizations

Berggruen Institute The Berggruen Institute is a Los Angeles-based think tank founded by Nicolas Berggruen. History In 2010, Nicolas Berggruen and Nathan Gardels sat down with a group of academics, business leaders, and political veterans in California to discus ...

, Member of the Council for the Future of Europe * Museum Berggruen, Member of the International Council *

Trilateral Commission The Trilateral Commission is a nongovernmental international organization aimed at fostering closer cooperation between Japan, Western Europe and North America. It was founded in July 1973 principally by American banker and philanthropist David ...

, Member of the European Group * Polish-American Freedom Foundation, Member of the Board of Directors (2000-2010)

Recognition

Belka received an

Honorary Doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

from

Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University ( gd, Oilthigh Heriot-Watt) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and subsequently granted univ ...

in 2006. Belka is an Honorary Member of the

International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation (IRWF) is a non-governmental organization which researches Holocaust rescuers and advocates for their recognition. The organization developed educational programs for school to promote peace and civil ...

. In October 2013 he was elected into the

Polish Economy Hall of Fame The membership in the Polish Economy Hall of Fame ( pl, Galeria Chwały Polskiej Ekonomii) is an award for Polish economists. Idea In 2005 the Polish edition of German business magazine ''Manager Magazin'' established ''Galeria Chwały Polsk ...

.Information with fotos
at the NBP website (in Polish)

Personal life

Belka is married and has two children. The family lives in

References

External links

* Marsh, David
"Poles won’t reject euro, but won’t rush to join"
''

MarketWatch MarketWatch is a website that provides financial information, business news, analysis, and stock market data. Along with ''The Wall Street Journal'' and ''Barron's'', it is a subsidiary of Dow Jones & Company, a property of News Corp. Histor ...

'', 22 October 2012. , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Belka, Marek 1952 births Alumni of the London School of Economics Columbia University alumni Democratic Left Alliance politicians Democratic Party – demokraci.pl politicians Deputy Prime Ministers of Poland Finance Ministers of Poland Governors of the National Bank of Poland International Monetary Fund people Living people MEPs for Poland 2019–2024 Polish officials of the United Nations Polish United Workers' Party members Politicians from Łódź Prime Ministers of Poland University of Łódź alumni World Bank people Recipients of the National Order of Merit (Romania) Chevening Scholars