Jacek Cichocki (born 17 December 1971) is an independent Polish politician and a former member of the Polish Council of Ministers. Cichocki served as the minister of interior in the second cabinet of

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 ...

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 Pl ...

and later as chief of the Chancellery for Tusk and his successor Ewa Kopacz

Early life and education

Cichocki was born in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is official ...

on 17 December 1971. He received a bachelor's degree in philosophy and sociology from the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields of ...

Career

Cichocki began his career as an expert on armed conflict and ethnic tensions within the former

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

for the Centre for Eastern Studies in 1992, working for the centre until 2008. Additionally, Cichocki also was employed as a programme assistant at the

Stefan Batory Foundation The Stefan Batory Foundation ( pl, Fundacja im. Stefana Batorego) is an independent Polish non-government organization established by American financier and philanthropist, George Soros, along with a group of Polish opposition leaders of 1980s, and ...

for its East-Central Europe Forum, where he worked from 1995 to 1997. He became deputy director of the Centre for Eastern Studies in 2001. From 2004 to 2007, he served as the head of the centre. Following this term, Cichocki joined the government of Prime Minister

, working as a secretary of state for security services in the Chancellery from 2007 to November 2011. Following a cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister Tusk, Cichocki was appointed interior minister in Tusk's second cabinet on 18 November 2011, where Cichocki presided over the nation's law enforcement services. Cichocki replaced Jerzy Miller in the post. During his tenure, Cichocki presided over security operations during the UEFA Euro 2012 football championship, defending the event's security preparations and the

Policja Policja () is the generic name for the national police force of the Republic of Poland. The Polish police force was known as ''policja'' throughout the Second Polish Republic (1918–1939), and in the modern Republic of Poland since 1990. Its cu ...

's response to the 12 June 2012 violent clashes between Polish and Russian fans in

coinciding with a match between both teams. Following the riot, Cichocki demanded prosecutors to aggressively pursue legal actions against detained Polish hooligans to "fully feel the consequences of their antics," while ordering arrested Russian fans to be deported and excluded from entering the

Schengen Area The Schengen Area ( , ) is an area comprising 27 European countries that have officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and ...

for five years. Cichocki concluded after the championship's completion that far fewer people were arrested during the events than had been expected. Cichocki's tenure at the interior ministry lasted until 25 February 2013, when he was replaced by

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 No ...

. Cichocki was then subsequently reshuffled in the cabinet to become chief of the chancellery, replacing Tomasz Arabski in the post. Cichocki served as a non-affiliated independent member of the cabinet during both the

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 ...

and

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 i ...

coalition governments under Tusk and later Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cichocki, Jacek 1971 births Living people Politicians from Warsaw University of Warsaw alumni Interior ministers of Poland Leaders of organizations