Aleksandra Karolina Uznańska-Wiśniewska (; born 27 May 1994) is a Polish politician,

political scientist Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

humanitarian Humanitarianism is an ideology centered on the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotiona ...

and

social activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make Social change, changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from ...

. Since 2023, she is a member of the

Sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...

of Poland, as a member of the

Civic Platform The Civic Platform (, PO)The party is officially the Civic Platform of the Republic of Poland (''Platforma Obywatelska Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''). is a Centre-right politics, centre-right liberal conservative political party in Poland. Since ...

Biography

Early life and education

Aleksandra Uznańska-Wiśniewska was born on 27 May 1994 in

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. Her father,

Radosław Wiśniewski Radosław Wiśniewski (born 10 September 1992) is a Polish Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), striker for Liga okręgowa, regional league club Prawobrzeże Świnoujście. Besides Poland, he has played ...

, is a businessperson, and founder and chairperson of the

Redan Redan (a French language, French word for "projection", "salient") is a feature of fortifications. It is a work in a V-shaped Salients, re-entrants and pockets, salient angle towards an expected attack. It can be made from earthworks or other ...

company. He is

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

. Her mother, Piengjai Wiśniewska, is of

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

and Thai descent, and comes from

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. Aleksandra also has a brother. She attended the Emilia Sczaniecka 4th High School in Łódź, and at the age of 17, she received the

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

of the

United World Colleges The United World Colleges (UWC) is an international network of schools and educational programmes with the shared aim of "making education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future." The organisation was fo ...

, and moved to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, where she finished her high school education. She graduated from the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

with

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

s in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

and

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

, and from the

Blavatnik School of Government The Blavatnik School of Government is the school of public policy of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. The School was founded in 2010 following a £75 million donation from business magnate Len Blavatnik, supported by £26 million fro ...

of the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, with a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

public policy Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a Group decision-making, decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to Problem solving, solve or address relevant and problematic social issues, guided by a conceptio ...

. While studying at the London School of Economics, she was a chairperson of the Polish Business Society, and an organizer of the Polish Economic Forum.

Humanitarian work

In December 2015, during the

European migrant crisis The 2015 European migrant crisis was a period of significantly increased movement of refugees and Human migration, migrants into Europe, mostly from the Middle East. An estimated 1.3 million people came to the continent to request Right of asyl ...

, she volunteered to work in the

refugee camp A refugee camp is a temporary Human settlement, settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for in ...

Lesbos Lesbos or Lesvos ( ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of , with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, eighth largest ...

island in

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. She also conducted the field research of the

human rights violations Human rights are universally recognized moral principles or norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both national and international laws. These rights are considered inherent and inalienable, meaning t ...

in refugee camps in

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...

and

Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

, located in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Later she worked for the

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes on developing local capacity towar ...

agency on developing strategy for distribution of the

humanitarian aid Humanitarian aid is material and Humanitarian Logistics, logistic assistance, usually in the short-term, to people in need. Among the people in need are the homelessness, homeless, refugees, and victims of natural disasters, wars, and famines. Th ...

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

and

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, in response to the Syrian civil war. In 2019, she became the coordinator of the

Polish Humanitarian Action The Polish Humanitarian Action (PAH, pl. ''Polska Akcja Humanitarna'') is a Polish non-governmental organisation A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control ...

mission to

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

led by Paula Gierak. The mission was aimed at giving humanitarian aid in the

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

epidemic during the Yemeni civil war. Following the outbreak of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, she continued to work for the mission, helping to rebuild destroyed clinics, and to reestablish national healthcare system, which were affected by the war. In 2022 and 2023, following the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, she worked there for the Children's Aid Foundation helping to evacuate

orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or abusi ...

s, and later as the head of an Intersos mission. In 2025, she became a member of the council of the Jan Olszewski Aid to Poles in the East Foundation.

Political career

In 2019, Uznańska-Wiśniewska worked for the campaign team of

Janina Ochojska Janina Maria Ochojska (Polish pronunciation: ; born 12 March 1955) is a Polish humanitarian, social activist and astronomer, who serves as a Member of the European Parliament (2019–present). She is founder and director of the Polish Humanitar ...

, who was a candidate for a member of the

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

in the Polish election. In 2023, she became the

plenipotentiary A ''plenipotentiary'' (from the Latin ''plenus'' "full" and ''potens'' "powerful") is a diplomat who has full powers—authorization to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of a sovereign. When used as a noun more generally, the word can als ...

for citizen participation of the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Hanna Zdanowska Hanna Elżbieta Zdanowska (born 29 March 1959) is a Polish politician. Zdanowska is a member of the Civic Platform and the current city mayor of Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital ...

. In the same year she also became the face of the campaign "Will You Dare?" (

: ''Odważysz się?''), aimed at promoting participation in the election among young people. In 2023, Uznańska-Wiśniewska ran for office as a member of the

of Poland in the

parliamentary election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

. She ran as a

nonpartisan Nonpartisan or non-partisan may refer to: __NOTOC__ General political concepts * Nonpartisanship, also known as Nonpartisanism, co-operation without reference to political parties * Non-partisan democracy, an election with no official recognition ...

candidate of the Civic Coalition political alliance, in the constituency no. 9, which consists of the city of

, and counties of

Brzeziny Brzeziny (; , ''Brezin'') is a town in Poland, in Łódź Voivodeship, about east of Łódź. It is the capital of Brzeziny County and has a population of 12,326 as of December 2021. It is situated on the Mrożyca River within the historic Łęcz ...

and Łódź East. She finished with 25,436 votes (5.57%). Uznańska-Wiśniewska became the secretary of the Sejm, and a member of the Commission of Communications with Poles in Abroad, Commission of Foreign Affairs, and Commission of National Defense. Later, in 2024, she became member of the

party.

Private life

In 2025, she married

Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, née Uznański (Polish: ; born 12 April 1984 in Łódź) is a Polish engineer working at the European Space Agency (ESA) as a project astronaut since 2023, and was formerly employed at CERN. Early life and educat ...

, an engineer and astronaut who became the second Polish national to go to space. She holds citizenship of Poland and

Awards

* Karski2020 Award by the

Jan Karski Jan Karski (born Jan Kozielewski, 24 June 1914 – 13 July 2000) was a Polish soldier, Polish resistance movement in World War II, resistance-fighter, and diplomat during World War II. He is known for having acted as a courier in 1940–1943 to ...

Educational Fundation (2020) * Green Hero Award by

BNP Paribas Bank Polska BNP Paribas Bank Polska is a Polish bank, originally founded in 1975 as Bank Gospodarki Żywnościowej (BGŻ). It has been owned by BNP Paribas since 2015, and adopted its brand name in 2019. History The origins of BGŻ should be associated wi ...

(2022) * Medal for the 600th anniversary of

(2023)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uznanska Wisniewska, Aleksandra 1994 births Living people Polish political scientists Aleksandra Uznanska-Wisniewska Women political scientists Polish women political scientists 21st-century political scientists 21st-century Polish politicians 21st-century Polish women politicians Aleksandra Uznanska-Wisniewska Aleksandra Uznanska-Wisniewska Members of the Polish Sejm 2023–2027 Polish democracy activists Aleksandra Uznanska-Wisniewska Women human rights activists Polish women human rights activists Polish human rights activists Aleksandra Uznanska-Wisniewska People from Łódź Politicians from Łódź Scientists from Łódź Alumni of the London School of Economics Alumni of the University of Oxford Polish people of Chinese descent Polish people of Thai descent Aleksandra Uznanska-Wisniewska Aleksandra Uznanska-Wisniewska Politicians of Chinese descent Women members of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland United Nations Development Programme officials Thai expatriates in Poland