Jerzy Szmajdziński

Jerzy Andrzej Szmajdziński KBE (Polish pronunciation: [ˈjɛʐɨ ʂmajˈdʑiɲskʲi], 9 April 1952 – 10 April 2010) was a Polish politician who was a Deputy Marshal of Polish Sejm and previously served as Minister of Defence. He was a candidate for President of Poland in the 2010 election.

In this Slavic name, the surname is Szmajdziński, sometimes transliterated as Szmajdzinski.
Jerzy Andrzej Szmajdziński
KBE
Minister of National Defence
In office
19 October 2001 – 31 October 2005
PresidentAleksander Kwaśniewski
Prime MinisterLeszek Miller
Marek Belka
Preceded byBronisław Komorowski
Succeeded byRadosław Sikorski
Acting Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration of the Republic of Poland
In office
21 April 2004 – 2 May 2004
PresidentAleksander Kwaśniewski
Prime MinisterLeszek Miller
Preceded byJózef Oleksy
Succeeded byRyszard Kalisz
Deputy Marshal of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland
In office
6 November 2007 – 10 April 2010
Serving alongside:
Jarosław Kalinowski
Stefan Niesiołowski
Krzysztof Putra
Preceded byJanusz Dobrosz, Jarosław Kalinowski, Bronisław Komorowski, Wojciech Olejniczak, Genowefa Wiśniowska
Personal details
Born(1952-04-09)9 April 1952
Wrocław, Poland
Died10 April 2010(2010-04-10) (aged 58)
Smolensk, Russia
Political partyPolish United Worker's Party (1973–1990)
Social Democracy of the Republic of Poland (1990–1999)
Democratic Left Alliance (1999–)
Left and Democrats (caucus, 2007–)
SpouseMałgorzata Sekuła-Szmajdzińska
ProfessionEconomist

Szmajdziński graduated from the Wrocław University of Economics. In the 1970s and 1980s he was an activist for the Federation of Socialist Unions of Polish Youth and the Socialist Union of Polish Youth, serving as its chairman from 1986–1989. He remained a member of Polish United Workers' Party from 1973 until its end in 1990. Later, he entered the leadership position of the Social Democracy of the Republic of Poland party. In December 1999, he became the deputy chairman of the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD).

He became a member of the Sejm in 1990, and in his second term Szmajdziński was chairman of the National Defense Committee and in the third term a deputy chairman of that commission. He was Minister of National Defence from 19 October 2001 to 2005. He was elected to the Sejm on 25 September 2005, gaining 20,741 votes in 1 Legnica district as a candidate from the SLD list.

On a national SLD convention in December 2009 he was chosen as the party's candidate in the 2010 presidential elections in Poland. His candidacy received 11% of the votes in March's pre-election poll.

Szmajdziński died on the day after his 58th birthday, in the plane crash that also involved President Lech Kaczyński and 94 others.

Electoral history
Sejm
Election Party Votes % Constituency Elected?
1991 Democratic Left Alliance 5,706[1] 2.15 Jelenia Góra Yes
1993 20,677[2] 11.21 Yes
1997 44,397[3] 25.68 Yes
2001 Democratic Left Alliance – Labour Union 72,719[4] 22.15 Legnica Yes
2005 Democratic Left Alliance 20,741[5] 7.32 Yes
2007 Left and Democrats 42,724[6] 10.56 Yes

Honours and awards

In 2002, Szmajdziński was made an honorary citizen of Jelenia Gora and in 2004 an honorary citizen of Bolków.

In 2004, he was appointed an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire.[7]

On 16 April 2010 he was posthumously decorated with the Commander's Cross with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta. On the same day, the Parliament of the Province of Lower Silesia posthumously awarded him the title of Honorary Citizen of Lower Silesia. On 20 May 2010 Wrocław city council granted him the title of Honorary Citizen of Wrocław and on 28 March 2011 Legnica City Council gave him the title of Honorary Citizen of Legnica.

Private life

Married to Małgorzata. The couple has two children, Agnieszka and Andrzej.[8]

See also

References
  1. "Obwieszczenie Państwowej Komisji Wyborczej z dnia 31 października 1991 r. o wynikach wyborów do Sejmu Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, przeprowadzonych w dniu 27 października 1991 r." Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  2. "Obwieszczenie Państwowej Komisji Wyborczej z dnia 23 września 1993 r. o wynikach wyborów do Sejmu Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej przeprowadzonych w dniu 19 września 1993 r." Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  3. "Obwieszczenie Państwowej Komisji Wyborczej z dnia 25 września 1997 r. o wynikach wyborów do Sejmu Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej przeprowadzonych w dniu 21 września 1997 r." Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  4. "Wybory do Sejmu: wyniki głosowania. Koalicyjny Komitet Wyborczy Sojusz Lewicy Demokratycznej - Unia Pracy. Okręg wyborczy nr 1 LEGNICA". Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  5. "Wybory do Sejmu: Koalicyjny Komitet Wyborczy Lewica i Demokraci SLD+SDPL+PD+UP". Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  6. "Wybory do Sejmu: Komitet Wyborczy Sojusz Lewicy Demokratycznej". Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  7. "Honorary Knighthoods Awarded 1997-2006". Retrieved Jul 10, 2022.
  8. "AUTOBIOGRAFIA JERZEGO SZMAJDZIŃSKIEGO". Fundacja Jerzego Szmajdzińskiego. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
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