Lech Wałęsa (;
; born 29 September 1943) is a Polish statesman,
dissident
A dissident is a person who actively challenges an established political or religious system, doctrine, belief, policy, or institution. In a religious context, the word has been used since the 18th century, and in the political sense since the 2 ...
, and
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...
laureate who served as the
president 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 executive ...
between 1990 and 1995. After winning the
1990 election, Wałęsa became the first democratically elected president of Poland since
1926
In Turkey, the year technically contained only 352 days. As Friday, December 18, 1926 ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Saturday, January 1, 1927 '' (Gregorian Calendar)''. 13 days were dropped to make the switch. Turkey thus became the ...
and the first-ever Polish president elected by
popular vote. An
electrician
An electrician is a tradesman, tradesperson specializing in electrical wiring of buildings, transmission lines, stationary machines, and related equipment. Electricians may be employed in the installation of new electrical components or the ...
by trade, Wałęsa became the leader of the
Solidarity movement and led a successful pro-democratic effort, which in 1989 ended
Communist rule in Poland and ushered in the end of the
Cold War
The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
.
While working at the
Lenin Shipyard
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...
(now Gdańsk Shipyard), Wałęsa, an electrician, became a trade-union activist, for which he was persecuted by the
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 ...
, placed under surveillance, fired in 1976, and arrested several times. In August 1980, he was instrumental in political negotiations that led to the ground-breaking
Gdańsk Agreement between striking workers and the government. He co-founded the Solidarity trade-union, whose membership rose to over ten million.
After
martial law in Poland
Martial law in Poland () existed between 13 December 1981 and 22 July 1983. The Polish United Workers' Party, government of the Polish People's Republic drastically restricted everyday life by introducing martial law and a military junta in an a ...
was imposed and Solidarity was outlawed, Wałęsa was again arrested. Released from custody, he continued his activism and was prominent in the establishment of the
Round Table Agreement that led to the semi-free
1989 Polish parliamentary election and a Solidarity-led government. He presided over Poland's transition from
Marxist–Leninist state socialism into a
free-market capitalist liberal democracy
Liberal democracy, also called Western-style democracy, or substantive democracy, is a form of government that combines the organization of a democracy with ideas of liberalism, liberal political philosophy. Common elements within a liberal dem ...
, but his active role in Polish politics diminished after he narrowly lost the
1995 Polish presidential election. In 1995, he established the
Lech Wałęsa Institute.
Since 1980, Wałęsa has received hundreds of
prizes, honors and awards from multiple countries and organizations worldwide. He was named the
Time Person of the Year (1981) and one of
Time's 100 most important people of the 20th century (1999). He has received over forty honorary degrees, including from
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 ...
,
Fordham University
Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...
and
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
, as well as dozens of the highest state orders, including the
Presidential Medal of Freedom, the
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, and the French Grand Cross of
Legion of Honour
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 ...
. In 1989, Wałęsa was the first foreign non-head of state to address the
Joint Meeting of the U.S. Congress. The
Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport has borne his name since 2004.
Early life
Wałęsa was born in
Popowo,
Lipno county in the present-day
Kuyavian-Pomeranian voivodeship * Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship is one of the 16 voivodeships (provinces) in Poland.
* Kuyavian-Pomeranian is one of 13 Polish constituency of the European Parliament.
* Kuyavian-Pomeranian Regional Assembly is the regional legislature of t ...
, then under Nazi German occupation.
His father, Bolesław Wałęsa (1909–1945), was a carpenter who was rounded up and interned in a
forced labour camp at Młyniec (outpost of
KL Stutthof) by the
German occupying forces before Lech was born. Bolesław returned home after the war but died two months later from exhaustion and illness. Lech's mother, Feliksa Wałęsa (née Kamieńska; 1915–1976),
has been credited with shaping her son's beliefs and tenacity.
[David C. Cook (2005), ''Mothers of Influence: The Inspiring Stories of Women Who Made a Difference in Their Children and Their World.'' New edition. . ]
After Bolesław's death, Feliksa remarried her brother-in-law, Stanisław Wałęsa (1917–1981), a farmer.
Lech had three elder full siblings; Izabela (1935–2012), Edward (born 1937) and Stanisław (born 1940); and three younger half-brothers; Tadeusz (born 1945), Zygmunt (born 1948) and Wojciech (1950–1988).
In 1973, Lech's mother and stepfather emigrated to the US for economic reasons.
[ They lived in , where Feliksa died in a car accident in 1976 and Stanisław died of a heart attack in 1981.][ Both of them were buried in Poland.][
In 1961, Lech graduated from primary and ]vocational school
A vocational school (alternatively known as a trade school, or technical school), is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary education#List of tech ed skills, secondary or post-secondar ...
in nearby Chalin and Lipno as a qualified electrician. He worked as a car mechanic from 1962 to 1964, and then embarked on his two-year, obligatory military service, attaining the rank of corporal
Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...
before beginning work on 12 July 1967 as an electrician at Lenin Shipyard
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...
(), now called Gdańsk Shipyard () in Gdańsk
Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...
.
Solidarity movement
From early in his career, Wałęsa was interested in workers' concerns; in 1968 he encouraged shipyard colleagues to boycott official rallies that condemned recent student strikes.[ He was a charismatic leader,][ who helped organize the illegal 1970 protests at the Gdańsk Shipyard when workers protested at the government's decree raising ]food prices
Food prices refer to the average price level for food across countries, regions and on a global scale. Food prices affect producers and consumers of food. Price levels depend on the food production process, including food marketing and food di ...
and he was considered for the position of chairman of the strike committee.[ The strikes' outcome, which involved the deaths of over 30 workers, galvanized Wałęsa's views on the need for change.][ In June 1976, Wałęsa lost his job at the Gdańsk Shipyard because of his continued involvement in illegal unions, strikes, and a campaign to commemorate the victims of the 1970 protests.] Afterwards, he worked as an electrician for several other companies but his activism led to him continually being laid off and he was jobless for long periods.[ Wałęsa and his family were under constant surveillance by the Polish secret police; his home and workplace were always bugged.][ Over the next few years, he was arrested several times for participating in dissident activities.][
Wałęsa worked closely with the Workers' Defence Committee (''KOR''), a group that emerged to lend aid to people arrested after the 1976 labor strikes and to their families.][ In June 1978, he became an activist of the underground Free Trade Unions of the Coast (''Wolne Związki Zawodowe Wybrzeża'').] On 14 August 1980, another rise in food prices led to a strike at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk, of which Wałęsa was one of the instigators. Wałęsa climbed over the shipyard fence and quickly became one of the strike leaders.[ The strike inspired other similar strikes in Gdańsk, which then spread across Poland. Wałęsa headed the Inter-Enterprise Strike Committee, coordinating the workers at Gdańsk and at 20 other plants in the region.][ On 31 August, the government, represented by Mieczysław Jagielski, signed an accord (the Gdańsk Agreement) with the Strike Coordinating Committee.][ Wałęsa used an oversized pen to sign the agreement, which was shown on television networks worldwide.] The agreement granted the Lenin Shipyard workers the right to strike and permitted them to form an independent trade union. The Strike Coordinating Committee legalized itself as the National Coordinating Committee of the ''Solidarność'' (Solidarity) Free Trade Union, and Wałęsa was chosen as chairman of the committee. The Solidarity trade union quickly grew, ultimately claiming over 10 million members—more than a quarter of Poland's population.[ Wałęsa's role in the strike, in the negotiations, and in the newly formed independent trade union gained him fame on the international stage.][
On 10 March 1981, through the introduction of his former superior in the army, Wałęsa met ]Wojciech Jaruzelski
Wojciech Witold Jaruzelski ( ; ; 6 July 1923 – 25 May 2014) was a Polish military general, politician and ''de facto'' leader of the Polish People's Republic from 1981 until 1989. He was the First Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party ...
for the first time in the office building of the Council of Ministers for three hours. During the meeting, Jaruzelski and Wałęsa agreed that mutual trust was necessary if the problems of Poland were to be solved. Wałęsa said "It's not the case that the name of socialism is bad. Only some people spoiled the name of socialism". He also complained about and criticized the government. Jaruzelski informed Wałęsa of the coming war games of the Warsaw Pact from 16 to 25 March, hoping he could help maintain the social order and avoid anti-Soviet remarks. Jaruzelski also reminded Wałęsa that Solidarity had used foreign funds. Wałęsa joked "We don't have to take only dollars. We can take corn, fertilizer, anything is okay. I told Mr. Kania before that I would take everything from the enemy. The more the better, until the enemy was weakened no more".
Wałęsa held his position until 13 December 1981, when General Jaruzelski declared martial law in Poland
Martial law in Poland () existed between 13 December 1981 and 22 July 1983. The Polish United Workers' Party, government of the Polish People's Republic drastically restricted everyday life by introducing martial law and a military junta in an a ...
.[ Wałęsa and many other Solidarity leaders and activists were arrested; he was incarcerated for 11 months until 14 November 1982 at Chylice, ]Otwock
Otwock (Yiddish: אָטוואָצק) is a city in the Masovian Voivodeship in east-central Poland, some south-east of Warsaw, with 43,895 inhabitants (2024). Otwock is part of the Warsaw metropolitan area. It is situated on the right bank of the ...
, and Arłamów; eastern towns near the Soviet border. On 8 October 1982, Solidarity was outlawed. In 1983, Wałęsa applied to return to the Gdańsk Shipyard as an electrician.[ The same year, he was awarded the ]Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...
.[ He was unable to accept it himself, fearing Poland's government would not let him back into the country.][ His wife Danuta accepted the prize on his behalf.][
Through the mid-1980s, Wałęsa continued underground Solidarity-related activities.][ Every issue of the leading underground weekly publication ''Tygodnik Mazowsze'' bore his motto, "Solidarity will not be divided or destroyed".][Timothy Garton Ash]
"Poland After Solidarity
" ''The New York Review of Books'', vol. 38, no. 11 (13 June 1991). Following a 1986 amnesty for Solidarity activists, Wałęsa co-founded the Provisional Council of NSZZ Solidarity (''Tymczasowa Rada NSZZ Solidarność''), the first overt legal Solidarity entity since the declaration of martial law.[ From 1987 to 1990, he organized and led the semi-illegal Provisional Executive Committee of the Solidarity Trade Union. In mid-1988, he instigated work-stoppage strikes at the Gdańsk Shipyard.]
, Encyklopedia WIEM He was frequently hauled in for interrogations by the Polish secret police, the Security Service, during the 1980s. On many of these occasions, Danuta—who was even more anti-Communist than her husband—was known to openly taunt Security Service agents when they picked Lech up.
After months of strikes and political deliberations, at the conclusion of the 10th plenary session
A plenary session or plenum is a session of a conference or deliberative assembly in which all parties or members are present. Such a session may include a broad range of content, from keynotes to panel discussions, and is not necessarily r ...
of the Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR, the Polish Communist party), the government agreed to enter into Round Table Negotiations that lasted from February to April 1989.[ Wałęsa was an informal leader of the non-governmental side in the negotiations.] During the talks, he traveled throughout Poland giving speeches in support of the negotiations.[ At the end of the talks, the government signed an agreement to re-establish the Solidarity Trade Union and to organize semi-free elections to the Polish parliament; in accordance with the Round Table Agreement, only members of the Communist party and its allies could stand for 65 percent of the seats in the lower house, 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' ...
.[
In December 1988, Wałęsa co-founded the Solidarity Citizens' Committee;] this was ostensibly an advisory body but in practice a political party that won the parliamentary elections in June 1989. Solidarity took all the seats in the Sejm that were subject to free elections, and all but one seat in the newly re-established 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 ...
.[Poland. Parliamentary Chamber: Sejm. Elections held in 1989]
Inter-Parliamentary Union. Last accessed 28 January 2010. Wałęsa was one of Solidarity's most public figures; he was an active campaigner, appearing on many campaign posters, but did not run for parliament himself.[ Solidarity winners in the Sejm elections were referred to as "Wałęsa's team" or "Lech's team" because they had all appeared on their election posters with Wałęsa.
While ostensibly only chairman of Solidarity, Wałęsa played a key role in practical politics. In August 1989, he persuaded leaders of parties formerly allied with the Communist party to form a non-Communist coalition government—the first non-Communist government in the Soviet Bloc. The parliament elected Tadeusz Mazowiecki as the first non-Communist ]Prime Minister of Poland
A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only wa ...
in over forty years.
Presidency
Following the June 1989 parliamentary elections, Wałęsa was disappointed that some of his former fellow campaigners were satisfied to govern alongside former Communists.[ He decided to run for the newly re-established office of president, using the slogan, "I don't want to, but I have to" (''"Nie chcę, ale muszę."'').][ On 9 December 1990, Wałęsa won the presidential election, defeating Prime Minister Mazowiecki and other candidates to become Poland's first freely elected head of state in 63 years, and the first non-Communist head of state in 45 years.][ In 1993, he founded his own political party, the ]Nonpartisan Bloc for Support of Reforms
The Nonpartisan Bloc for Support of Reforms (, BBWR) was an officially nonpartisan organization (but, in fact, a political party) affiliated with Lech Wałęsa. The party was established in 1993, and became part of Solidarity Electoral Action in ...
(''BBWR''); the grouping's Polish-language acronym echoed that of Józef Piłsudski's " Nonpartisan Bloc for Cooperation with the Government," of 1928–35, likewise an ostensibly non-political organization.
During his presidency, Wałęsa saw Poland through privatization
Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation w ...
and transition to a free-market economy (the Balcerowicz Plan), Poland's first completely free parliamentary elections in 1991, and a period of redefinition of the country's foreign relations.["Lech Wałęsa," ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved 11 January 2010, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/634519/Lech-Walesa] He successfully negotiated the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Poland and won a substantial reduction in foreign debts.[ Wałęsa supported Poland's entry into ]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 ...
and 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 ...
, both of which occurred after his presidency, in 1999 and 2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
, respectively. In the early 1990s, he proposed the creation of a sub-regional security system called ''NATO bis''. The concept was supported by right-wing and populist movements in Poland but garnered little support abroad; Poland's neighbors, some of which (e.g. Lithuania
Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
), had recently regained independence and tended to see the proposal as Polish neo-imperialism.[Monika Wohlefeld, 1996]
"Security Cooperation in Central Europe: Polish Views
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 ...
," 1996.
Wałęsa has been criticized for a confrontational style and for instigating "war at the top", wherein former Solidarity allies clashed with one another, causing annual changes of government.[From "Walesa, Lech," ''Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia'', 2001.](_blank)
/ref>[ This increasingly isolated Wałęsa on the political scene.][ As he lost political allies, he came to be surrounded by people who were viewed by the public as incompetent and disreputable.][ Mudslinging during election campaigns tarnished his reputation.][ Some thought Wałęsa, an ex-electrician with no higher education, was too plain-spoken and too undignified for the post of president.]
" ''A Guide to the 20th century: Who's Who'', Channel 4. Others thought him too erratic in his views[Jane Perlez]
''New York Times'', 6 July 1994. or complained he was too authoritarian and that he sought to strengthen his own power at the expense of the Sejm.[Voytek Zubek]
"The Eclipse of Walesa's Political Career,"
''Europe-Asia Studies'', vol. 49, no. 1 (January 1997), pp. 107–24.[ Wałęsa's national security advisor Jacek Merkel credited the shortcomings of Wałęsa's presidency to his inability to comprehend the office of the president as an institution. He was an effective union leader capable of articulating what the workers felt but as president he had difficulty delegating power or navigating bureaucracy. Wałęsa's problems were compounded by the difficult transition to a market economy; in the long run it was seen as highly successful but it lost Wałęsa's government much popular support.][
Wałęsa's BBWR performed poorly in the 1993 parliamentary elections; at times his popular support dwindled to 10 percent and he narrowly lost the 1995 presidential election, winning 33.11 percent of the vote in the first round and 48.28 percent in the run-off against ]Aleksander Kwaśniewski
Aleksander Kwaśniewski (; born 15 November 1954) is a Polish politician and journalist. He served the maximum two terms as the president of Poland from 1995 to 2005. His tenure as President was marked by modernization of Poland, rapid economi ...
, who represented the resurgent Polish post-Communist Democratic Left Alliance (SLD).[ Wałęsa's fate was sealed by his poor handling of the media; in televised debates he appeared incoherent and rude; in response to Kwaśniewski's extended hand at the end of the first of the two debates, he replied that the post-Communist leader could "shake his leg".][ After the election, Wałęsa said he was going into "political retirement" and his role in politics became increasingly marginal.][
]
Post-presidency
After losing the 1995 election, Wałęsa announced he would return to work as an electrician at the Gdańsk Shipyard. Soon afterwards, he changed his mind and chose to travel around the world on a lecture circuit. Wałęsa developed a portfolio of three lectures ("The Impact of an Expanded NATO on Global Security", "Democracy: The Never-Ending Battle" and "Solidarity: The New Millennium"), and reads them at universities and public events with an appearance fee of around £50,000 ($70,000).
In 1995, he founded the '' Lech Wałęsa Institute,'' a think tank
A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...
with a mission "to popularize the achievements of Polish Solidarity, educate young generations, promote democracy, and build civil society in Poland and around the world".[ In 1997, he founded a new party, Christian Democracy of the Third Polish Republic, hoping it would help him to successfully run in future elections. Wałęsa's contention for the 2000 presidential election ended with a crushing defeat when he polled 1.01 percent of the vote.] His humiliation was increased because Aleksander Kwaśniewski
Aleksander Kwaśniewski (; born 15 November 1954) is a Polish politician and journalist. He served the maximum two terms as the president of Poland from 1995 to 2005. His tenure as President was marked by modernization of Poland, rapid economi ...
, who was re-elected in the first round with 54 percent of the vote, is a former Communist apparatchik
__NOTOC__
An '' apparatchik'' () was a full-time, professional functionary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union or the government of the Soviet Union, Soviet government ''apparat'' (Wiktionary:аппарат#Russian, аппарат, appar ...
. Wałęsa polled in seventh place, after which he announced his withdrawal from Polish politics.
In 2006, Wałęsa quit Solidarity in protest of the union's support of the ruling right-wing Law and Justice
Law and Justice ( , PiS) is a Right-wing populism, right-wing populist and National conservatism, national-conservative List of political parties in Poland, political party in Poland. The party is a member of European Conservatives and Refo ...
party, and Lech and Jarosław Kaczyński—twin brothers who had been prominent in Solidarity and were now serving as the country's president and prime minister, respectively.[ The main point of disagreement was the Kaczyński's focus on rooting out those who had been involved in Communist rule and their party's attempt to make public all the files of the former Communist secret police.][ Until then only members of the government and parliament had to declare any connection with the former security services.] Wałęsa and his supporters argued the so-called transparency legislation advocated by the government might turn into a witch hunt and the more than 500,000 Poles who had possibly collaborated with the Communist secret police could face exposure.
Political views
In 2011, Wałęsa rejected Lithuania
Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
's Order of Vytautas the Great due to his concerns over the treatment of the Polish minority and Polish culture by the Lithuanian government.
Wałęsa is known for his conservative stance on LGBT rights
Rights affecting lesbian, Gay men, gay, Bisexuality, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the Capital punishmen ...
. In 2013, he said on Polish television: "I do not wish for this minority, which I tolerate and understand, to impose itself on the majority". Referring to Robert Biedroń, he argued that, considering they represent less than one percent of Polish society, homosexual MPs should sit "in the last row of the parliament, or even behind its walls". After sharp international criticism, including the San Francisco Board of Supervisors's decision to rename Walesa Street as a result of these remarks, Wałęsa apologized for his comments, stressing that "being a man of old date, in my view one's sexual orientation should lie in one's intimate sphere". He said that his intentions were "distorted by the media" and that homosexuality should be respected. Over the following years, Wałęsa's views shifted, and he has voiced his support for the introduction of same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...
in Poland and has repeatedly met with Biedroń, whom he called "a talent" and "a future president of Poland".
In 2013, Wałęsa suggested the creation of a political union between Poland and Germany. In 2014, in a widely publicized interview, Wałęsa expressed his disappointment in another Nobel laureate, US president 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 ...
: he told CNN, "When he was elected there was great hope in the world. We were hoping that Obama would reclaim moral leadership for America, but that failed ... in terms of politics and morality America no longer leads the world". Wałęsa also accused Obama of not deserving his Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...
; during the 2012 US presidential campaign he endorsed Obama's opponent Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...
.
In September 2015, Wałęsa, referring to the migrant crisis in Europe, said: "watching the refugees on television, I noticed that ... they are well fed, well dressed and maybe even are richer than we are ... If Europe opens its gates, soon millions will come through and while living among us will start exercising their own customs, including beheading". In August 2017, ten Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...
laureates, including Wałęsa, urged Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
to stop the executions of 14 young people for participating in the 2011–12 Saudi Arabian protests.
Wałęsa regarded a victory by Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
in the 2024 United States presidential election
United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 5, 2024. The Republican Party (United States), Republican Party's Ticket (election), ticket—Donald Trump, who was the 45th president of ...
as a "misfortune" both for the United States and the world, without providing further explanation. In March 2025, he and other former Polish political prisoners wrote a letter to Trump expressing their "horror and distaste" with his conduct during a contentious meeting between him and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which took place in the backdrop of American aid during 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 ...
. Wałęsa has actively backed Ukraine's defence, calling upon NATO to continually provide support and suggesting a Ukrainian victory is imperative to protecting democracy.
Wałęsa and secret police conspiracy theory
Despite the 2000 ruling of a special lustration court affirming his innocence, for many years there have been allegations that Wałęsa was an informant of the Security Service of the Polish People's Republic (Służba Bezpieczeństwa or SB), the Communist security services, in his twenties. In his 2002 book titled ''The Polish Revolution: Solidarity'', British historian Timothy Garton Ash writes that Wałęsa, while vehemently denying being a regular Security Service informer, admitted that he had "signed something" under interrogation in the 1970s. In 2008, a book written by historians Sławomir Cenckiewicz and Piotr Gontarczyk titled ''SB a Lech Wałęsa. Przyczynek do biografii'' (''SB and Lech Wałęsa. Contribution to biography'') purported to show that Wałęsa, codenamed ''Bolek'', had been an operative for the security services from 1970 to 1976.
The issue of Wałęsa's alleged collaboration with the communist regime resurfaced again in February 2016, when the Institute of National Remembrance
The Institute of National Remembrance – Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation (, abbreviated IPN) is a Polish state research institute in charge of education and archives which also includes two public prosecutio ...
seized materials from the widow of Czesław Kiszczak, former minister of the Minister of Interior, that were said to document Wałęsa's role as a spy for the security services. In 2017, a handwriting study ordered by the government-controlled Institute of National Remembrance
The Institute of National Remembrance – Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation (, abbreviated IPN) is a Polish state research institute in charge of education and archives which also includes two public prosecutio ...
(INR), stated that signatures on several documents from the 1970s belonged to Wałęsa. The exact nature of Wałęsa's relationship with Security Service continues to be a source of scholarly debate among historians. In 2018 INR Court Case against Wałęsa was dismissed, as the investigation concluded: "The reason for discontinuing the investigation was the finding that the above-mentioned act had not been committed," the release stated, which would indicate that Wałęsa could be innocent. The allegations remain controversial to this day, since both opponents and supporters of Wałęsa present evidence and arguments, which contradict each other.
2000 Lustration Court ruling
On 12 August 2000, Wałęsa, who was running a presidential campaign at the time, was cleared by the special Lustration Court of charges that he collaborated with the Communist-era secret services and reported on the activities of his fellow shipyard workers, due to the lack of evidence. Anti-Communists Piotr Naimski, one of the first members of the Workers' Defense Committee that led to the Solidarity
Solidarity or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics ...
trade union, and Antoni Macierewicz, Wałęsa's former Interior Minister
An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and iden ...
, testified against him in the closed vetting trial. Naimski, who said he testified with a "heavy heart", expressed his disappointment that Wałęsa "made a mistake by not going openly to the public, and he has missed an important chance". According to Naimski, the court cleared Wałęsa on "technical grounds" because it did not find certain original documents—many of which had been destroyed since 1989—that offered sufficient proof that Wałęsa was lying.
In 1992, Naimski, as a head of the State Protection Office, started the process of screening people suspected of being Communist collaborators in Poland. In June that year, he helped Antoni Macierewicz prepare a list of 64 members of the government and parliament who were named as spies in the police records; these included Wałęsa, then the Polish president. Wałęsa's name was included on the list after a wrenching internal debate about the virtues of honesty versus political discretion. In response to the publication of this list, President Wałęsa immediately engineered the fall of prime minister Jan Olszewski and the dismissal of Interior Minister Macierewicz. A parliamentary committee later concluded Wałęsa had not signed an agreement with the secret police.
A 1997 Polish law made vetting a requirement for those seeking high public office. According to the law, it is not a crime to have collaborated, but those who deny it and are found to have lied are banned from political life for ten years. The 2000 presidential election was the first use of this law. Despite helping Wałęsa in 2005 to receive the official status of a "victim of communist regime" from the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN), this court ruling did not convince many Poles. In November 2009, Wałęsa sued the president of Poland, Lech Kaczyński, over his repeated collaboration allegations. Five months later, Kaczyński failed to invite Wałęsa to the commemoration service at Katyn, which almost certainly saved Wałęsa's life because the presidential plane crashed, killing all on board. In August 2010, Wałęsa lost a libel case against Krzysztof Wyszkowski, his former fellow activist, who also publicly accused Wałęsa of being a Communist agent in 1970s.
''SB and Lech Wałęsa. A contribution to biography'' (2008)
The most comprehensive analysis of Wałęsa's possible collaboration with secret police was provided in a 2008 book ' (''SB and Lech Wałęsa. Contribution to biography''). The book was written by two historians from the Institute of National Remembrance, Sławomir Cenckiewicz and Piotr Gontarczyk, and included documents from the archives of the secret police that were inherited by the institute. Among the documents were registration cards, memos, notes from the secret police, and reports from the informant.
The book's authors argue that Wałęsa, working under the code name ''Bolek'', was a secret police informant from 1970 (after being released from jail) until 1976 (before he was fired from the shipyard). According to the authors, "he wrote reports and informed on more than 20 people and some of them were persecuted by the Communist police. He identified people and eavesdropped on his colleagues at work while they were listening to Radio Free Europe
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...
for example". The book describes the fate of seven of his alleged victims; information regarding others was destroyed or stolen from the files.[ According to them, Wałęsa received over 13,000 zlotys as remuneration for his services from the Security Service, while the monthly salary at the time was about 3,500 zlotys.][ The authors said oppositionist activity in Poland in the first half of 1970s was minimal and Wałęsa's role in it was quite marginal.][ However, according to the book, despite formally renouncing his ties with Security Service in 1976, Wałęsa went on to have contacts with Communist officials.
The authors also claim that during his 1990–1995 presidency, Wałęsa used his office to destroy the evidence of his collaboration with the secret police by removing incriminating documents from the archives.][ According to the book, historians discovered that with the help of the state intelligence agency, Wałęsa, Interior Minister Andrzej Milczanowski, and other members of Wałęsa's administration had borrowed from the archives the secret police files that had connections to Wałęsa, and returned them with key pages removed.][ When it was discovered at the turn of 1995/96, the following prosecutorial inquiry was discontinued for political reasons despite the case attracting much public attention.][
Sławomir Cenckiewicz also said that in 1983, when Wałęsa was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, the secret police tried to embarrass him and leaked information about Wałęsa's previous collaboration with the government. By this time though, Wałęsa was already so popular that most Poles did not believe the official media and dismissed the allegations as a manipulation by the Communist authorities.][ The book's first print run sold out in Poland within hours.] The book received substantial coverage in the media, provoked nationwide debate, and was noted by the international press. Wałęsa vowed to sue the authors but never did.
Kiszczak archives
On 18 February 2016, the government-affiliated INR in Warsaw announced it had seized a package of original documents that allegedly proved Wałęsa was a paid Security Service informant.[ The documents dated from the period 1970–1976; they were seized from the home of a recently deceased former interior minister, General Czesław Kiszczak.] The documents' authenticity was confirmed by an archival expert, but the prosecutors demanded a handwriting examination. Eventually, the requested examination concluded that the documents were authentic, which suggest he was a paid informant.[ Wałęsa previously said that he had signed a commitment to inform document, but that he had never acted on it.][
The dossier consists of two folders. The first is a "personal file" containing 90 pages of documents, including a handwritten commitment to cooperate with Polish Security Service dated 21 December 1970,][ and signed ''Lech Wałęsa – Bolek'' with a pledge he would never admit his collaboration with secret police "not even to family";] the file also contains the confirmations of having received funds. The second is a "work file" which contains 279 pages of documents, including numerous reports by ''Bolek'' on his co-workers at Gdańsk Shipyard, and notes by Security Service officers from meetings with him. According to one note, Wałęsa agreed to collaborate out of fear of persecution after the workers' protest in 1970.[ The documents also show that at first ''Bolek'' eagerly provided information on the opinions and actions of his co-workers and took money for the information, but his enthusiasm diminished and the quality of his information decreased until he was deemed no longer valuable and collaboration with him was terminated in 1976.]
The sealed dossier also contained a letter, hand-written by Kiszczak in April 1996, in which he informs the Director of the Polish Central Archives of Modern Records ( ''Archiwum Akt Nowych'') about the accompanying files documenting the collaboration of Wałęsa with the Polish Security Service and asks him not to publish this information until five years after Wałęsa's death. In his letter, Kiszczak said he kept the documents out of reach: before the 1989 revolution, trying to protect Wałęsa's reputation; and afterwards to make sure they did not disappear or were used for political reasons. This letter and the accompanying documents had never been sent.
On 16 February 2016, about three months after Kiszczak's death, his widow Maria approached the Institute of National Remembrance and offered to sell the documents to the archives for 90,000 zlotys ($23,000). However, according to Polish law, all documents of the political police must be handed in to the state. The administration of the institute notified the prosecutor's office, which conducted a police search of the Kiszczaks' house and seized all the historic documents. Maria Kiszczak later said she had not read her husband's letter and had "made a mistake".
Wałęsa's response
For years, Wałęsa vehemently denied collaborating with the Polish Security Service and dismissed the incriminating files as forgeries created by the Security Service to compromise him. Wałęsa also denies that during his presidency he removed documents incriminating him from the archives.[ Until 2008, he denied having ever seen his Security Service file.][ After the publication of the book ''SB a Lech Wałęsa'' in 2008, he said that while he was president "I did borrow the file, but didn't remove anything from it. I saw there were some documents there about me and that they were clearly forgeries. I told my secretaries to tape up and seal the file. I wrote 'don't open' on it. But someone didn't obey, removed the papers, now casting suspicion on me."] Wałęsa's interior minister Andrzej Milczanowski denied the cover-up and said he "had full legal rights to make those documents available to President Wałęsa" and that "no original documents were removed from the file", which contained only photocopies.
Wałęsa has offered conflicting statements regarding the authenticity of the documents. Initially he appeared to come close to an admission, saying in 1992, "in December 1970, I signed three or four documents"[ to escape from the secret police.] In his 1987 autobiography ''A Way of Hope'', Wałęsa said, "It is also the truth that I had not left that clash completely pure. They gave me a condition: sign! And then I signed."[ He denied he acted upon the collaboration agreement. However, in his later years Wałęsa said all the documents are forgeries and told the ]BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
in 2008, "you will not find any signature of mine agreeing to collaborate anywhere".
In 2009, after the publication of another biography connecting him with the secret police (''Lech Wałęsa: Idea and History'' by Pawel Zyzak), Wałęsa threatened to leave Poland if historians continue to question his past. He said that before revealing such information "a historian must decide whether this serves Poland". After the accusations against him resurfaced with the discovery of the Kiszczak dossier on 16 February 2016, Wałęsa called the files "lies, slander and forgeries", and said he "never took money and never made any spoken or written report on anyone". He said of the Polish public, which was about to believe in the allegations, "you have betrayed me, not me you", and "it was I who safely led Poland to a complete victory over communism". On 20 February 2016, Wałęsa wrote in his blog that a secret police officer had begged him to sign the financial documents in the 1970s because the officer had lost money entrusted to him to purchase a vehicle. Wałęsa appealed to the officer to step forward and clear him of the accusations.
Personal life
On 8 November 1969, Wałęsa married Mirosława Danuta Gołoś, who worked at a flower shop near the Lenin Shipyard where Wałęsa worked. Soon after they married, she began using her middle name more often than her first name, as per Lech's request. The couple had eight children; Bogdan (born 1970), Sławomir (1972–2025), Przemysław (1974–2017), Jarosław
Jarosław (; , ; ; ) is a town in southeastern Poland, situated on the San (river), San River. The town had 35,475 inhabitants in 2023. It is the capital of Jarosław County in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship.
History
Jarosław is located in the ...
(born 1976), Magdalena (born 1979), Anna (born 1980), Maria-Wiktoria (born 1982), and Brygida (born 1985).[.] , Anna is running her father's office in Gdańsk[ and Jarosław is a European MP.
In 2008, Wałęsa underwent a coronary artery stent placement and the implantation of a cardiac pacemaker at the Houston Methodist Hospital in ]Houston
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
, Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
. He underwent a heart operation in 2021.[ In January 2022, Wałęsa tested positive for ]COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
. He said he had received three doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Honors
In 1983, Wałęsa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Since then, he has received more than 30 state decorations and more than 50 awards from 30 countries, including Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...
(UK), 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 ...
(Germany), Legion of Honour
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 ...
(France) and European Human Rights Prize ( EU 1989). In 14 July 1994, He was honored by the Order of the State of Republic of Turkey, which is the highest state order awarded to foreign nationals by the President of the Republic of 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 2011, he declined to accept the Lithuanian highest order, citing his displeasure at Lithuania's policy towards the Polish diaspora. In 2008, he established the
In 2004, Gdańsk International Airport was officially renamed Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport and Wałęsa's signature was incorporated into the airport's logo. A college hall in Northeastern Illinois University (Chicago), six streets, and five schools in Canada, France, Sweden and Poland also were named after Lech Wałęsa
Wałęsa was named Man of the Year by ''Time'' magazine (1981), ''Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...
'' (1980), '' Saudi Gazette'' (1989) and 12 other newspapers and magazines. He was awarded with over 45 honorary doctorates by universities around the world,[ including ]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 ...
and Sorbonne.[ He was named an honorary ]karate
(; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...
black belt by International Traditional Karate Federation. Wałęsa is also an honorary citizen of more than 30 cities, including London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, Buffalo and Turin
Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
.[
In the United States, Wałęsa was the first recipient of the Liberty Medal, in 1989. That year, he also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and became the first non-head-of-state to address a joint meeting of the ]United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...
. In 2000, Wałęsa received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement. Wałęsa symbolically represented Europe by carrying the Olympic flag at the opening ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 (; Gosiute dialect, Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; ; Shoshoni language, Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), were an international wi ...
. In 2004, he represented ten newly acceded EU countries during the official accession ceremony in Strasbourg.[ In 1993, the heraldic authority of the Kingdom of Sweden assigned Wałęsa a personal ]coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...
on the occasion of his admittance into the Royal Order of the Seraphim.
Cultural references
Wałęsa has been portrayed, as himself or a character based on him, in a number of feature and television films. The two most notable of them are:
* '' Walesa: Man of Hope'' (2013) is a biographical drama by Oscar
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People and fictional and mythical characters
* Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar
* Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...
-winning filmmaker Andrzej Wajda
Andrzej Witold Wajda (; 6 March 1926 – 9 October 2016) was a Polish film and theatre director. Recipient of an Honorary Oscar, the Palme d'Or, as well as Honorary Golden Lion and Honorary Golden Bear Awards, he was a prominent member of the "P ...
about the lives of Wałęsa ( Robert Więckiewicz) and his wife Danuta (Agnieszka Grochowska
Agnieszka Grochowska (, born 31 December 1979) is a Polish film and theatre actress. She is a two-time recipient of Polish Film Awards having won the Polish Academy Award for Best Actress in 2013 and the Polish Academy Award for Best Supportin ...
) from 1970 to 1989. It shows Wałęsa's change from a shipyard worker into a charismatic labor leader. The film was shot in the historical locations of the depicted events, including the former Lenin Shipyard. It won three awards, including ''Silver Hugo'' for Robert Więckiewicz at Chicago International Film Festival and a ''Pasinetti Award'' for Maria Rosaria Omaggio at Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...
, and was nominated for five more awards.
* '' Man of Iron'' (1981) is another Andrzej Wajda film about the Solidarity movement. The main character, a young worker Maciej Tomczyk ( Jerzy Radziwiłowicz) is involved in the anti-Communist labor movement. Tomczyk is clearly portrayed as a parallel to Wałęsa, who appears as himself in the movie. The film was made during the brief relaxation of censorship in Poland between the formation of Solidarity in August 1980 and its suppression in December 1981. Waida was awarded both the '' Palme d'Or'' and the '' Prize of the Ecumenical Jury'' at the Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world.
Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...
for the film. In 1982, it was nominated for ''Oscar
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People and fictional and mythical characters
* Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar
* Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...
'' as the ''Best Foreign Language Film'' and gained seven other awards and nominations.
Both of these films were produced in Poland. In December 1989, Warner Bros. intended to produce a "major" movie about Wałęsa, to be made in 1990 and released in 1991. The company paid Wałęsa a $1 million fee for the rights to produce a biopic. Although the movie was never made, this payment sparked controversy in Poland when five years later it emerged that Wałęsa concealed this income to avoid paying taxes on it. The Gdańsk tax office initiated a tax fraud case against Wałęsa but it was later dismissed because the five-year statute of limitations
A statute of limitations, known in civil law systems as a prescriptive period, is a law passed by a legislative body to set the maximum time after an event within which legal proceedings may be initiated. ("Time for commencing proceedings") In ...
had already run out.
* Polish actor played Walesa in the 2005 television miniseries
In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...
''Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005.
In his you ...
''.
English musician Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...
drew from Wałęsa and the Solidarity movement as one of multiple sources of inspiration for his 1982 song " Wallflower", about the plight of political prisoners in Europe and Latin America. That same year, Bono
Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by the nickname Bono ( ), is an Irish singer-songwriter and activist. He is a founding member, the lead vocalist, and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Bono is known for his impassioned voca ...
was inspired by Wałęsa to write U2's first hit single, "New Year's Day
In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year, January 1, 1 January. Most solar calendars, such as the Gregorian and Julian calendars, begin the year regularly at or near the December solstice, northern winter ...
". Coincidentally, the Polish authorities lifted martial law
Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...
on 1 January 1983, the same day this single was released. Wałęsa also became a hero of a number of Polish pop songs, including a satirical 1991 hit titled '' Nie wierzcie elektrykom'' (''Don't Trust the Electricians'') from the second studio album by the punk rock band Big Cyc which featured a caricature
A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, ...
of Wałęsa on its cover.
Patrick Dailly's chamber opera
Chamber opera is a designation for operas written to be performed with a Chamber music, chamber ensemble rather than a full orchestra. Early 20th-century operas of this type include Paul Hindemith's ''Cardillac'' (1926). Earlier small-scale operas ...
''Solidarity'', starring Kristen Brown as Wałęsa, was premiered by the San Francisco Cabaret Opera in Berkeley, California, in September 2009.
Sid Meier's '' Civilization V'' video game lists Lech Wałęsa amongst its world leader rankings. Wałęsa is ranked 11th on a scale of 1 to 21, with Augustus Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...
ranked as the best world leader of all time and Dan Quayle
James Danforth Quayle (; born February 4, 1947) is an American retired politician who served as the 44th vice president of the United States from 1989 to 1993 under President George H. W. Bush. A member of the Republican Party (United States), ...
as the worst. Wałęsa is immediately outranked by Simon Bolivar and is ranked just above Ivan the Terrible
Ivan IV Vasilyevich (; – ), commonly known as Ivan the Terrible,; ; monastic name: Jonah. was Grand Prince of Moscow, Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1533 to 1547, and the first Tsar of all Russia, Tsar and Grand Prince of all R ...
. Lech Wałęsa ranks 9th out of 21 in Sid Meier's '' Civilization VI'', immediately outranked by Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ( ; ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors ...
and ranked just above Hatshepsut
Hatshepsut ( ; BC) was the sixth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, Egypt, ruling first as regent, then as queen regnant from until (Low Chronology) and the Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Thutmose II. She was Egypt's second c ...
.
Wałęsa is also notable for his " Wałęsisms", his peculiar utterances, many of which had become a well-established part of Polish culture.[Oszołom kontra pachołek. Dosadny język stał się zaletą polskich polityków - dowodzą uczestnicy plebiscytu "Srebrne usta"]
'' Wprost''[„Jestem za, a nawet przeciw” – najpopularniejsze „wałęsizmy”]
/ref>
"O języku Wałęsy"
(""About Wałęsa's Language), ''Teksty Drugie'', 1990, no. 4, pp. 60-81
Publications
*
*
*
*
Notes
References
External links
* of Lech Wałęsa Institute
*
Lech Wałęsa Biography and Interview
with American Academy of Achievement
Polish Solidarity union leader Lech Walesa addresses joint meeting of the U.S. Congress
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walesa, Lech
1943 births
20th-century Roman Catholics
21st-century Roman Catholics
Civic Platform politicians
Grand Collars of the Order of Liberty
Grand Collars of the Order of Prince Henry
Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour
Grand Crosses of the Order of Christopher Columbus
Grand Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary (civil)
Grand Crosses of the Order of Polonia Restituta
Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Romania)
Grand Crosses of the Order of the White Lion
Grand Crosses Special Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Living people
Nobel Peace Prize laureates
Nonviolence advocates
People from Lipno County
People of the Cold War
Polish anti-abortion activists
Polish anti-communists
Polish democracy activists
Polish dissidents
Polish electricians
Polish Nobel laureates
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Polish Round Table Talks participants
Polish trade unionists
Politicians of Catholic political parties
Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients
Presidents of Poland
Recipients of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 2nd class
Recipients of the Order of Saint James of the Sword
Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 1st Class
Roman Catholic activists
Solidarity (Polish trade union) activists
Solidarity Electoral Action politicians
Time Person of the Year
Candidates in the 1990 Polish presidential election
Candidates in the 1995 Polish presidential election
Candidates in the 2000 Polish presidential election
Recipients of the Medal of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay
Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)
Recipients of the Ronald Reagan Freedom Award