Death And State Funeral Of Lech And Maria Kaczyński
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Lech Kaczyński Lech Aleksander Kaczyński (; 18 June 194910 April 2010) was a Polish politician who served as the city mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 2005, and as President of Poland from 2005 until his death in 2010 in an air crash. The aircraft carrying ...
, the fourth
President of the Republic of Poland The president of Poland ( ), officially the president of the Republic of Poland (), is the head of state of Poland. His or her prerogatives and duties are determined in the Constitution of Poland. The president jointly exercises the executiv ...
, died on 10 April 2010, after a
Polish Air Force The Polish Air Force () is the aerial warfare Military branch, branch of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as ''Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej'' (). In 2014 it consisted of roughly 26,000 military personnel an ...
Tu-154 crashed outside of
Smolensk Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest cities in Russia. It has been a regional capital for most of ...
, Russia, killing all 96 aboard. His wife, economist and First Lady Maria Kaczyńska, was also among those killed. After the death of Kaczyński was announced, a week of mourning was declared by the
acting President of Poland Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its Enactment (psychology), enactment by an actor who adopts a Character (arts), character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the Mimesis, mi ...
,
Bronisław Komorowski Bronisław Maria Komorowski (; born 4 June 1952) is a Polish politician and historian who was the fifth president of Poland from 2010 to 2015. Komorowski previously served as Ministry of National Defence (Poland), Minister of National Defence ...
, spanning 11 to 18 April with a
state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements o ...
for the couple held on 18 April. Several countries observed a day of national mourning on the date of the funeral. The couple were buried together in a crypt in the
Wawel Cathedral The Wawel Cathedral (), formally titled the Archcathedral Basilica of Stanislaus of Szczepanów, Saint Stanislaus and St. Wenceslas, Saint Wenceslaus, () is a Catholic cathedral situated on Wawel Hill in Kraków, Poland. Nearly 1000 years old, it ...
,
Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
, afterwards.


Death

On 10 April 2010, a
Polish Air Force The Polish Air Force () is the aerial warfare Military branch, branch of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as ''Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej'' (). In 2014 it consisted of roughly 26,000 military personnel an ...
Tupolev Tu-154 The Tupolev Tu-154 (; NATO reporting name: "Careless") is a three-engined, medium-range, narrow-body airliner designed in the mid-1960s and manufactured by Tupolev. A workhorse of Soviet and (subsequently) Russian airlines for several decades, ...
M aircraft crash landed near
Smolensk Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest cities in Russia. It has been a regional capital for most of ...
, Russia, killing all 96 passengers and crew. Those killed include Kaczyński, and his wife; the chief of the
Polish General Staff Polish General Staff, formally known as the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces ( Polish: ''Sztab Generalny Wojska Polskiego'') is the highest professional body within the Polish Armed Forces. Organizationally, it is an integral part of the M ...
and other senior Polish
military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...
officers; the 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 ...
; Poland's deputy foreign minister; Polish
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...
officials; 12 members of the Polish
parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
, including vice-speakers; senior members of the Polish clergy; and relatives of victims of the
Katyn massacre The Katyn massacre was a series of mass killings under Communist regimes, mass executions of nearly 22,000 Polish people, Polish military officer, military and police officers, border guards, and intelligentsia prisoners of war carried out by t ...
. They were en route from
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
to attend an event to mark the 70th anniversary of the massacre. The site of the massacre is approximately 19 kilometres (12 mi) west of Smolensk. The cause of the crash was investigated. According to preliminary reports, the pilot attempted to land at Smolensk Airbase in
fog Fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Reprint from Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud usually resembling stratus and is heavily influenc ...
which reduced visibility to about ,&nbs
translate
/ref>&nbs

/ref> The plane was too low as it approached the runway, striking trees in the fog, turning around and falling to the ground from the airfield in a wooded area, where it broke into pieces.&nbs

/ref> Polish parliamentary speaker
Bronisław Komorowski Bronisław Maria Komorowski (; born 4 June 1952) is a Polish politician and historian who was the fifth president of Poland from 2010 to 2015. Komorowski previously served as Ministry of National Defence (Poland), Minister of National Defence ...
immediately became
Acting President of Poland Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its Enactment (psychology), enactment by an actor who adopts a Character (arts), character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the Mimesis, mi ...
in law.


Declarations and tributes

The international response to Kaczyński's death and the deaths of the other people on board saw countries and many other entities express sorrow and condolences to the people of Poland. At least 96 countries, 13 international organizations and several other entities expressed their reaction on behalf of the incident. An official mourning was proclaimed in 22 countries other than Poland.


Funeral events


Period of mourning

A week of national mourning was declared in Poland. Poles around the world mourned Kaczyński and set up shrines in the week that followed. Many wept openly. Flags flew at half staff in Poland. Sports fixtures, including women's U-17 UEFA Championship elite qualifying phase game
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 ...
versus
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...
in Ukraine, were postponed. Concerts were cancelled, while cinemas, theatres, restaurants and shopping malls were closed. Streets emptied.


11–13 April 2010 (repatriation, lying in state)

A two-minute silence was held on 11 April 2010. Tens of thousands of Poles held a vigil in Warsaw. Kaczyński's coffin was flown to Warsaw that afternoon where his daughter, the Acting President, and the Prime Minister were among the dignitaries to greet it at the airport. The coffin was draped in the
flag of Poland The national flag of Poland ( ) consists of two horizontal stripes of equal width, the upper one white and the lower one red. The two colours are defined in the Constitution of Poland, Polish constitution as the national colours. A variant of t ...
. A small ceremony took place there then the coffin was given a military escort to the
Presidential Palace, Warsaw The Presidential Palace () is the official residence of the Polish List of heads of state of Poland, head of state and president alongside the Belweder Palace, located in Warsaw, Poland. Originally constructed in 1643 as an aristocratic mansion, i ...
. Tens of thousands of Poles lined the streets of Warsaw to witness the occasion. The palace's entrance gate was laid with candles,
crucifix A crucifix (from the Latin meaning '(one) fixed to a cross') is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the (Latin for 'body'). The cru ...
es, flowers and the flag of Poland. A public viewing then took place and Kaczyński lay in state from 13 April when his wife arrived home. On 12 April, Russia had a day of mourning, with flags being flown at half staff and no advertising allowed in the media. Ukraine also marked a day of national mourning on this date. The
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
had a day of mourning on 12 April, and a minute of silence was observed at
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
headquarters in
Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
. Neighbouring Lithuania had a three-day period of national mourning.


14–16 April 2010

On 15 April, a day of national mourning was declared in Canada and Serbia. On 16 April, Poland announced it was "the family's will" not to delay the state funeral after the air travel disruption around Europe in the aftermath of the
eruption A volcanic eruption occurs when material is expelled from a volcanic vent or fissure. Several types of volcanic eruptions have been distinguished by volcanologists. These are often named after famous volcanoes where that type of behavior has ...
of
Eyjafjallajökull Eyjafjallajökull (; "glacier of (the mountain) Eyjafjöll"), sometimes referred to by the numeronym E15, is one of the smaller ice caps of Iceland, north of Skógar and west of Mýrdalsjökull. The ice cap covers the caldera of a volcano wi ...
in Iceland.


17 April 2010 (commemoration ceremony)

A public noon commemoration ceremony in Warsaw's Piłsudski Square was attended by more than 100,000 people on 17 April 2010. Sirens sounded and bells tolled around the country. A three-gun salute was fired. People waved the
flag of Poland The national flag of Poland ( ) consists of two horizontal stripes of equal width, the upper one white and the lower one red. The two colours are defined in the Constitution of Poland, Polish constitution as the national colours. A variant of t ...
complete with black ribbons, and the names of those who died in the crash were read out from a white stage decorated with a giant cross and photographs of the dead. The crowds bowed their heads.


18 April 2010 (funeral)

The day of the funeral was declared a period of national mourning in Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia.


Ceremony

The couple's coffins were driven at a slow pace through the streets of Warsaw, passing Warsaw's city hall and a museum dedicated to the 1944
Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising (; ), sometimes referred to as the August Uprising (), or the Battle of Warsaw, was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from ...
which Kaczyński favoured. The coffins were then flown from Warsaw to Kraków. The funeral ceremony began at 14:00 (12:00 UTC) with a
Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...
held at Kraków's St Mary's Basilica, with thousands of mourners in attendance.
Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...
Stanisław Dziwisz,
Archbishop of Kraków The archbishop of Kraków is the head of the archdiocese of Kraków. A bishop of Kraków first came into existence when the diocese was created in 1000; it was promoted to an archdiocese on 28 October 1925. Due to Kraków's role as Poland's politic ...
, presided over the ceremony and addressed Russian President
Dmitry Medvedev Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev (born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician and lawyer who has served as Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia since 2020. Medvedev was also President of Russia between 2008 and 2012 and Prime Mini ...
personally: "The sympathy and help we have received from urRussian brothers has breathed new life into a hope for closer relations and reconciliation between our two Slavic nations." After the funeral, Kaczynski and his wife were buried at
Wawel Cathedral The Wawel Cathedral (), formally titled the Archcathedral Basilica of Stanislaus of Szczepanów, Saint Stanislaus and St. Wenceslas, Saint Wenceslaus, () is a Catholic cathedral situated on Wawel Hill in Kraków, Poland. Nearly 1000 years old, it ...
, amidst controversy.


Dignitaries

Several leaders and monarchs were unable to attend due to the air travel disruption around Europe in the aftermath of the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland. Poland closed its airspace on 16 April, along with many neighbouring countries, preventing many leaders from making the plane trips to attend. President of the United States
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
cancelled his planned attendance, speaking of his regret in a statement that blamed "the volcanic ash that is disrupting air travel over Europe". German Chancellor
Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German retired politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. She is the only woman to have held the office. She was Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2005 and Leade ...
was stranded somewhere between
Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
and northern Italy, so Germany was represented by
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Horst Köhler Horst Köhler (; 22 February 1943 – 1 February 2025) was a German politician who served as President of Germany from 2004 to 2010. As the candidate of the two Christian Democratic sister parties, the Christian Democratic Union of Germany, CDU ...
and Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, who travelled to Poland in a helicopter. The
Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...
from the United Kingdom also cancelled his visit due to the air travel conditions. President of Ireland
Mary McAleese Mary Patricia McAleese ( ; ; ; born 27 June 1951) is an Irish activist lawyer, academic, author, and former politician who served as the president of Ireland from November 1997 to November 2011. McAleese was first elected as president in 1997, ...
announced she was to attend but was later forced to cancel her attendance due to the spread of the volcanic ash plume. Spanish King
Juan Carlos I Juan Carlos I (; Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 November 1975 until Abdication of Juan Carlos I, his abdic ...
, Spanish Prime Minister
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (; born 4 August 1960) is a Spanish politician and member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). He was the Prime Minister of Spain being elected for two terms, in the 2004 and 2008 general elections. O ...
, and South Korean Prime Minister Chung Un-chan both confirmed they were unable to attend. Prime Minister of Canada
Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. He is to date the only prime minister to have come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ser ...
, along with members of the opposition parties, also cancelled their planned attendance due to the air travel disruptions in Europe. Governor-General of Australia
Quentin Bryce Dame Quentin Alice Louise Bryce, (née Strachan; born 23 December 1942) is an Australian academic who served as the 25th Governor-General of Australia from 2008 to 2014. She is the List of elected and appointed female heads of state, first wom ...
attempted to travel to the funeral but found herself delayed in the United Arab Emirates on the day it was due to take place. All but six out of 56 ambassadors to Poland who were scheduled to attend were unable to do so, including Malta's ambassador, who was stuck in Istanbul on his way.
President of Israel The president of the State of Israel (, or ) is the head of state of Israel. The president is mostly, though not entirely, ceremonial; actual executive power is vested in the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet led by the Prime Minister of Israel, pr ...
Shimon Peres Shimon Peres ( ; ; born Szymon Perski, ; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician and statesman who served as the prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the president of Israel from 2007 t ...
could not attend as the funeral clashed with the state ceremony for
Yom Hazikaron Yom HaZikaron (), in full, ''Yom HaZikaron LeHalelei Ma'arkhot Yisrael ul'Nifge'ei Pe'ulot HaEivah'' (), is Israel's official day of remembrance for fallen Israeli soldiers and terrorism victims, enacted into Israeli law in 1963. While Yom H ...
(Israel's memorial day); despite this, Peres released a statement in which he referred to the Polish President as a " righteous gentile" and a man who was a friend to Israel and the Jewish people. Many government members in Israel expressed their sorrows over the death of the Polish President, including Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...
and Foreign Minister
Avigdor Lieberman Avigdor Lieberman (, ; born 5 June 1958) is a Soviet-born Israeli politician who served as Ministry of Finance (Israel), Minister of Finance between 2021 and 2022, having previously served twice as Deputy Prime Minister of Israel from 2006 to ...
. More than two dozen European leaders, including President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev, were the main dignitaries to join the hundreds of thousands of Poles. Many planned alternative travel arrangements over land. The President of Slovenia
Danilo Türk Danilo Türk (; born 19 February 1952) is a Slovenian diplomat, professor of international law, human rights expert, and political figure who served as President of Slovenia from 2007 to 2012. He was the first Slovene ambassador to the United Nat ...
drove around during 16 April. The President of Romania
Traian Băsescu Traian Băsescu (; born 4 November 1951) is a Romanian politician who served as the president of Romania from 2004 to 2014. Prior to his presidency, Băsescu served as Romanian minister of transport on multiple occasions between 1991 and 2000, ...
flew by helicopter to the northwest of his country before driving on through Hungary and Slovakia. The President of Lithuania
Dalia Grybauskaitė Dalia Grybauskaitė (; born 1 March 1956) is a Lithuanian politician who served as the eighth president of Lithuania from 2009 to 2019. She is the first and so far only woman to hold the position and in 2014 she became the first President of Li ...
reached the funeral by car travelling some from
Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...
. The Prime Minister of Estonia Andrus Ansip drove for 18 hours for . The President of the Czech Republic
Václav Klaus Václav Klaus (; born 19 June 1941) is a Czech economist and politician who served as the second president of the Czech Republic from 2003 to 2013. From July 1992 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in January 1993, he served as the second ...
used car and train to travel the required . The President of Slovakia Ivan Gašparovič drove from
Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...
. The President of Hungary
László Sólyom László Sólyom (, ; 3 January 1942 – 8 October 2023) was a Hungarian politician, lawyer, and librarian who was President of Hungary from 2005 until 2010. Previously he was the first president of the Constitutional Court of Hungary from 199 ...
and his Prime Minister
Gordon Bajnai György Gordon Bajnai (; born 5 March 1968) is a Hungarian entrepreneur and economist, who served as the Prime Minister of Hungary from 2009 to 2010. Prior to that, he functioned as Government of Hungary, Minister of Local Government and Regiona ...
drove from
Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
. Former President of Ukraine
Viktor Yushchenko Viktor Andriiovych Yushchenko (, ; born 23 February 1954) is a Ukrainian politician who was the third president of Ukraine from 23 January 2005 to 25 February 2010. He aimed to orient Ukraine towards Western world, the West, European Union, and N ...
and his wife set out by road from Budapest. Representatives from Morocco flew into Kraków in a
Cessna Cessna () is an American brand of general aviation aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of the Cessna Aircraft Company, an American general aviation aircraft manufactu ...
on 17 April ahead of the funeral.


=Attending dignitaries

=


Burial

After the ceremony, the coffins were brought in procession through Kraków. They then moved to Wawel Castle and Cathedral, where a 21-gun salute was fired. Screens broadcast the events to the masses who shouted on the streets, "Lech Kaczyński! We thank you!" Lech Kaczyński and Maria Kaczyńska were buried together in a
sarcophagus A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek language, Greek wikt:σάρξ, σάρξ ...
, placed in the antechamber to
Józef Piłsudski Józef Klemens Piłsudski (; 5 December 1867 – 12 May 1935) was a Polish statesman who served as the Chief of State (Poland), Chief of State (1918–1922) and first Marshal of Poland (from 1920). In the aftermath of World War I, he beca ...
's
crypt A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...
in the
Wawel Cathedral The Wawel Cathedral (), formally titled the Archcathedral Basilica of Stanislaus of Szczepanów, Saint Stanislaus and St. Wenceslas, Saint Wenceslaus, () is a Catholic cathedral situated on Wawel Hill in Kraków, Poland. Nearly 1000 years old, it ...
,
Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
on 18 April 2010; Kaczyński's family revealed this decision on 13 April. This decision was considered controversial by many Poles who felt his achievements were not in the same league as others buried at Wawel causing objections.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Death and state funeral of Lech Kaczynski and Maria Kaczynska 2010 in Poland Smolensk air disaster Kaczynski, Lech Kaczynski, Lech Kaczynski, Lech Lech Kaczyński 2010 Polish presidential election Kaczyński, Lech and Maria