Elżbieta Rafalska (; born 22 June 1955) is a Polish politician, and former Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy, serving 2015 to 2019. Since 2007, Rafalska has been 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' ...

and the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Education

She graduated from the ,

Gorzów Wielkopolski Gorzów Wielkopolski (), often abbreviated to Gorzów Wlkp. or simply Gorzów (formerly ), is a city in Geography of Poland, western Poland, located on the Warta, Warta River. It is one of the two principal cities and seats of the Lubusz Voivodes ...

branch. She graduated from the

University of Szczecin The University of Szczecin () is a public university in Szczecin, western Poland. It is the biggest university in West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomerania, with 33,267 students and a staff of nearly 1,200. Faculties The university consists o ...

in 1998 with a degree in

special education Special education (also known as special-needs education, aided education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, and SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual di ...

, and completed further postgraduate studies in 2001 in

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

Career

She was a member of the sixth term of the Senate, and was a member of the

during its sixth, seventh, and eighth terms. She served as the of the then-Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, now renamed to the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy. In 2015, she was elected to the Sejm, receiving 22,898 votes. On 16 November of that year she was appointed to the position of Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy by Prime Minister

Beata Szydło Beata Maria Szydło (, née Kusińska ; born 15 April 1963) is a Polish politician who has served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 2019. A member of Law and Justice (PiS), she previously served as the prime minister of Poland f ...

. She maintained this position in the 2017 government of newly-elected Prime Minister

Mateusz Morawiecki Mateusz Jakub Morawiecki (; born 20 June 1968) is a Polish economist, historian and politician who served as the prime minister of Poland between 2017 and 2023. A member of the Law and Justice (PiS) party, he previously served in the Cabinet of ...

. In the 2019 Polish European Parliament election, she was elected as a member of parliament, receiving 70,916 votes. Due to her new role in the European Parliament, she was succeeded by

Bożena Borys-Szopa Bożena Teresa Borys-Szopa (born 11 March 1954) is a Polish trade union activist and politician. She was the chief labour inspector (2006–2008), minister in the Chancellery of the President (2009–2010), and minister of family, labour and socia ...

as Minister of Family, Labour, and Social Policy. She ran unsuccessfully in the 2024 Polish European Parliament.

Political positions

In November 2024, Rafalska said that she " adno doubt" that the Civic Coalition primaries were manipulated by

Donald Tusk Donald Franciszek Tusk (born 22 April 1957) is a Polish politician and historian who has served as the prime minister of Poland since 2023, previously holding the office from 2007 to 2014. Tusk served as the president of the European Council (20 ...

in order to "humiliate"

Rafał Trzaskowski Rafał Kazimierz Trzaskowski (born 17 January 1972) is a Polish politician and political scientist specializing in European studies who has served as List of city mayors of Warsaw, Mayor of Warsaw since 22 November 2018. He served as a Member ...

and

Radosław Sikorski Radosław Tomasz Sikorski (; born 23 February 1963), also known as Radek Sikorski, is a Polish politician, journalist and statesman who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland since 2023, previously holding the office between 2007 and ...

. In a December 2024 interview, Rafalska emphasised the importance of ensuring that the country does not suffer

human capital flight Human capital flight is the emigration or immigration of individuals who have received advanced training in their home country. The net benefits of human capital flight for the receiving country are sometimes referred to as a "brain gain" whereas ...

from what she claimed was the increasing amount of young Poles emigrating abroad. She blamed PiS's opposition party,

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 ...

, saying that they "did nothing to keep young Poles in the country". During the 2019 social worker union strikes, Rafalska blamed local governments for not compensating social workers adequately and said that there was nothing the national government could do about the situation. According to the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy, the national government sets the minimum wage for social workers whilst the local governments determine the social workers' salaries.

Awards

Rafalska received the in 2017 for "implementing the 500+ Programme in cooperation with local governments" and was given the "Fighter for the Family" award by Platform for the Family Catalonia-ONU for 500+ Programme being an "important instrument promoting the family". In 2017, Hungarian President

János Áder János Áder (; born 9 May 1959) is a Hungarian politician and lawyer who served as President of Hungary from 2012 to 2022. He is a long-time politician of the Right-wing politics, right-wing Fidesz. As a representative of his party, he took par ...

awarded her the Commander's Cross of the

Order of Merit The Order of Merit () is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by Edward VII, admission into the order r ...

for her work in developing and strengthening Polish-Hungarian relations in the field of family and social policy.

Notes

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rafalska, Elzbieta 1955 births Living people Law and Justice politicians Women government ministers of Poland Members of the Polish Sejm 2007–2011 Members of the Polish Sejm 2011–2015 MEPs for Poland 2019–2024 Women MEPs for Poland People from Wschowa