Maria Helena Kaczyńska (; ; 21 August 1942 – 10 April 2010) was the

First Lady of Poland First Lady of the Republic of Poland is an informal designation customarily applied to the wife of the President of Poland, president of the Republic of Poland (as so far all Polish president in Third Republic had wives). The First Lady does not ho ...

from 2005 to 2010 as the wife of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

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 ...

. She and her husband died in a plane crash in the Russian city of

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 ...

Early and personal life

Kaczyńska was born in Machava (near Kabylnik, now

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

), the daughter of Lidia and Czesław Mackiewicz. Her father fought in the

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

Armia Krajowa The Home Army (, ; abbreviated AK) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) established in the ...

(Home Army), while an uncle fought in the Polish II Corps of Gen.

Władysław Anders Władysław Albert Anders (11 August 1892 – 12 May 1970) was a Polish military officer and politician, and prominent member of the Polish government-in-exile in London. Born in Krośniewice-Błonie, then part of the Russian Empire, he serv ...

at the

Battle of Monte Cassino The Battle of Monte Cassino, also known as the Battle for Rome, was a series of four military assaults by the Allies of World War II, Allies against Nazi Germany, German forces in Kingdom of Italy, Italy during the Italian Campaign (World War ...

during the Italian Campaign of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

; another uncle was murdered by the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

(Soviet secret police) Fischer, Benjamin B.,
The Katyn Controversy: Stalin's Killing Field
. "Studies in Intelligence", Winter 1999–2000. Retrieved on 10 December 2005. at Katyń. Kaczyńska attended primary and secondary schools in Rabka Zdrój in southern

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 ...

. She studied transport economics and foreign trade in Sopot at what is now the University of Gdańsk. After graduating in 1966, she worked at the Maritime Institute 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 ...

, where she met

in 1976. They married in 1978, and had a daughter. In addition to her native Polish, Maria Kaczyńska spoke four languages such as English, French and some Spanish and Russian.

Death

On 10 April 2010, 10:41 MSD (06:41 UTC), Maria Kaczyńska, and her husband, Polish President

, both died when the Polish Air Force Tupolev Tu-154M they were aboard crashed while attempting to land at Smolensk-North Airport in the Russian city of

. All 89 passengers on board and the seven crew members were killed.Polish President, 95 Others Killed in Plane Crash
", '' VOA News'', 10 April 2010, Retrieved 10 April 2010. The Kaczyńskis were traveling with several senior government figures on a trip to mark the 70-year anniversary of the

Katyn Massacre The Katyn massacre was a series of mass killings under Communist regimes, mass executions of nearly 22,000 Polish people, Polish military officer, military and police officers, border guards, and intelligentsia prisoners of war carried out by t ...

, where thousands of Polish military officers were executed by the

. She was buried along with her husband on 18 April 2010 in the

Wawel Cathedral The Wawel Cathedral (), formally titled the Archcathedral Basilica of Stanislaus of Szczepanów, Saint Stanislaus and St. Wenceslas, Saint Wenceslaus, () is a Catholic cathedral situated on Wawel Hill in Kraków, Poland. Nearly 1000 years old, it ...

. Her

diary A diary is a written or audiovisual memorable record, with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwritten but are now also often digita ...

was found by her daughter after her death, sparking an interest among many publishers who desired to buy it and release it. However, Marta Kaczyńska-Dubieniecka said the diary was too precious for her to sell and also explained that she was not likely to reveal its content.

Honours and awards

: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 ...

(16 April 2010, posthumously) :Grand Cross of the Order of Vytautas the Great (15 April 2009, Lithuania) :Xirka Ġieħ ir-Repubblika (26 January 2009, Malta) :Grand Cross of the

Order of Prince Henry The Order of Prince Henry () is a Portuguese order of knighthood created on 2 June 1960, to commemorate the quincentenary of the death of the Portuguese ''infante'' Prince Henry the Navigator, one of the main initiators of the Age of Discovery. M ...

(1 September 2008, Portugal) :Dame Grand Cross of the Order pro merito Melitensi (14 May 2007)

Notes

According to the list of passports of the Tu-154 flight. Some media gives her date of birth as 21 August 1943.

References

External links

Polish First Lady's official websiteMaria Kaczyńska official biography (in English)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaczynska, Maria 1942 births 2010 deaths People from Myadzyel district Burials at Wawel Cathedral First ladies of Poland Polish Roman Catholics People from Opole Lubelskie County University of Gdańsk alumni Grand Crosses of the Order of Polonia Restituta Grand Crosses of the Order of Vytautas the Great Grand Crosses of the Order of Prince Henry Victims of the Smolensk air disaster