Jerzy Wojciech Łukaszewski (21 July 1924 – 3 June 2020) was a Polish and Belgian academic and diplomat. He lived in Belgium from 1960 on, where he taught at the

College of Europe The College of Europe (; ; ) is a post-graduate institute of European studies with three campuses in Bruges, Belgium; Warsaw, Poland; and Tirana, Albania. The College of Europe in Bruges was founded in 1949 as a result of the 1948 Congress of ...

Bruges Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...

from 1961 and served as its rector from 1972. From 1990 to 1996, he was Polish

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

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 ...

Life and career

Łukaszewski was born in Terebieżów,

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 ...

, and studied at the University of

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

where he obtained a doctorate in law and a Master in economical and political sciences. His subsequent academic, administrative and diplomatic career included: * 1951–1957, assistant and lecturer at the Catholic University of

Lublin Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...

. * 1957–1959, studies and research at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

(with a

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

scholarship). * 1959–1961, international civil servant at the

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is one of the firs ...

in Genève. The Polish government objected to his appointment, because he was not nominated officially by Poland. He was forced to resign and decided not to return to Poland. He was accepted in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

as a political refugee and obtained Belgian citizenship by

naturalization Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

. * 1961–1963, researcher at the College of Europe in Bruges. * 1963–1972, lecturer in political sciences at the College of Europe. * 1967–1985, professor at the Law Faculty of

Namur Namur (; ; ) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is the capital both of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Namur stands at the confl ...

. * 1972–1990, rector of the

, succeeding Hendrik Brugmans. He was active in enlarging the College and accepting a growing number of students (from 59 in 1972 up to 200 in 1990). * 1990–1996, ambassador of Poland in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. * 1998–2002, member of the Committee advising the Polish Government on the integration in Europe. * 2005–2010, member of the GPA (Group of Political Analysis), advising the President of the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

. He died in Brussels, aged 95.

Publications

Łukaszewski published more than 200 articles, in different languages, mostly dealing with European matters. Among them: *"Ze studiów nad imperializmem niemieckim (Sprawa misji Gen. Limana von Sanders w Turcji)", KUL, Lublin 1955 *ed. and co-author, "The People's Democracies after Prague : Soviet Hegemony, Nationalism, Regional Integration ? / Les Démocraties populaires après Prague : Hégémonie soviétique, Nationalisme, Intégration régionales ?", De Tempel, Bruges 1970 *" Coudenhove-Kalergi", Centre de recherches européennes, Lausanne 1977 *"Jean Rey", Fondation Jean Monnet pour l'Europe et Centre de recherches européennes, Lausanne 1984 *"Jalons de l'Europe", Fondation Jean Monnet pour l'Europe et Centre de recherches européennes, Lausanne 1985 *"

Altiero Spinelli Altiero Spinelli (31 August 1907 – 23 May 1986) was an Italian politician, political theorist and European federalist, referred to as one of the founding fathers of the European Union. A communist and militant anti-fascist in his youth, Spi ...

",Fondation Jean Monnet pour l'Europe et Centre de recherches européennes, Lausanne 1989 *"Cel : Europa, Dziewięć esejów o budowniczych jedności europejskiej", Noir sur Blanc, Warszawa 2002 *"O Polsce i Europie bez niedomówień", Noir sur Blanc, Warszawa 2006 *"Unia i Polska, w świecie wstrząsów i przemian", IESW, Lublin 2014 *"Iść, jak prowadzi busola – W europejskim kręgu nauki i dyplomacji, Wspomnienia", Wydawnictwo Literackie, Kraków 2018

Honours

* Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

* Grand officer of the Order of Leopold II * Grand officer of the Ordre national du Mérite (France) * Grand officer of the Ordre du Mérite de l' Ordre souverain de Malte * Commander of the Order of Leopold * Commander of the

Légion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

* Commander of the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic () is the most senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of Italy, President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking honour of the Republi ...

. * Commander of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on alien (law), foreigners for outstanding achievements in ...

. * Doctor honoris causa of the University of Aix-en-Provence-

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

References

College of Europe, Biography Lukaszewski
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lukaszewski, Jerzy Academic staff of the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin 1924 births 2020 deaths Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Order of Leopold II Recipients of the Ordre national du Mérite Commanders of the Legion of Honour Commanders of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Commanders of the Order of Polonia Restituta Rectors of the College of Europe Ambassadors of Poland to France Academic staff of the Université de Namur Belgian lecturers Polish lecturers