
Maciej Płażyński (; 10 February 1958 – 10 April 2010) was a Polish
liberal-conservative
Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by libe ...
politician.
Biography
Płażyński was born in
Młynary. He began his political career in 1980 / 1981 as one of the leaders of the
Students' Solidarity; he was governor of the
Gdańsk Voivodship from August 1990 to July 1996, and was elected to 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' ...
(the lower house of the Polish parliament) in September 1997. To date he is longest serving Marshal of the Sejm of the Third Republic of Poland.
In January 2001, he founded the
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 ...
political party with
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 ...
and
Andrzej Olechowski. He left Civic Platform for personal reasons and at the time of his death was an independent MP. He was member of
Kashubian-Pomeranian Association. He was later chosen as a chairman of the
Association "Polish Community".
Maciej Płażyński was married to Elżbieta Płażyńska and together they had three children: Jakub, Katarzyna, and
Kacper.
Płażyński died in the
plane crash
An aviation accident is an event during aircraft operation that results serious injury, death, or significant destruction. An aviation incident is any operating event that compromises safety but does not escalate into an aviation accident. Pre ...
Prezydenckim Tu-154 leciały najważniejsze osoby w państwie (Polish)
which occurred while landing at Smolensk-North airport 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, on 10 April 2010. The crash also involved President 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 ...
and 94 others.
Honours and awards
In 2000, Płażyński was awarded 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 ...
, First Class. He received the titles of honorary citizen of Młynary, Puck, Pionki
Pionki is a town in Radom County, Masovian Voivodeship, central Poland with 18,846 inhabitants (2016). Surrounded by the ''Kozienice'' Wilderness, Pionki is located in northern part of historic province of Lesser Poland, from Radom, and from Wa ...
and Lidzbark Warmiński
Lidzbark Warmiński (; , ), often shortened to Lidzbark, is a historical town located within the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It is the capital of Lidzbark County.
Lidzbark Warmiński was once the capital of Warmia and fo ...
.
On 16 April 2010 he was posthumously
Posthumous may refer to:
* Posthumous award, an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death
* Posthumous publication, publishing of creative work after the author's death
* Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1 ...
awarded the Grand Cross 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 ...
. He was also awarded a Gold Medal of Gloria Artis
The Gloria Artis Medal for Merit to Culture () or Gloria Artis Medal, is a departmental decoration of Poland in arts awarded by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland to persons and organizations for distinguish ...
.
See also
* 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 ...
References
External links
Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Plazynski, Macej
1958 births
2010 deaths
People from Elbląg County
20th-century Polish lawyers
Marshals of the Sejm of the Third Polish Republic
Members of the Polish Sejm 1997–2001
Members of the Polish Sejm 2001–2005
Members of the Senate of Poland 2005–2007
Victims of the Smolensk air disaster
University of Gdańsk alumni
Grand Crosses of the Order of Polonia Restituta
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
Recipients of the Gold Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis
Polish Roman Catholics
Members of the Polish Sejm 2007–2011
Political party founders