Mateusz Morawiecki

Mateusz Jakub Morawiecki (Polish: [maˈtɛuʂ ˈjakup mɔraˈvjɛt͡skʲi] ⓘ; born 20 June 1968) is a Polish economist, historian and politician who has served as prime minister of Poland since 2017. A member of the Law and Justice (PiS) party, he previously served in the cabinet of prime minister Beata Szydło as deputy prime minister from 2015 to 2017, Minister of Development from 2015 to 2018 and Minister of Finance from 2016 to 2018. Prior to his political appointment, Morawiecki had an extensive business career.

Mateusz Morawiecki
Official portrait, 2019
Prime Minister of Poland
Assumed office
11 December 2017
PresidentAndrzej Duda
Deputy
See list
Preceded byBeata Szydło
Deputy Prime Minister of Poland
In office
16 November 2015 – 11 December 2017
Prime MinisterBeata Szydło
Preceded byJanusz Piechociński
Succeeded byBeata Szydło
Minister of Finance
In office
28 September 2016 – 9 January 2018
Prime MinisterBeata Szydło
Himself
Preceded byPaweł Szałamacha
Succeeded byTeresa Czerwińska
Minister of Development
In office
16 November 2015 – 9 January 2018
Prime MinisterBeata Szydło
Himself
Preceded byMaria Wasiak
Succeeded byJerzy Kwieciński
Minister of Sport and Tourism
In office
15 November 2019 – 5 December 2019
Prime MinisterHimself
Preceded byWitold Bańka
Succeeded byDanuta Dmowska
Personal details
Born
Mateusz Jakub Morawiecki

(1968-06-20) 20 June 1968
Wrocław, Polish People's Republic
Political partyLaw and Justice (since 2016)
Other political
affiliations		Independent (before 2016)
SpouseIwona Morawiecka
Children4
ParentKornel Morawiecki (father)
EducationUniversity of Wrocław (BA)
Wrocław University of Science and Technology
Wrocław University of Economics (MBA)
University of Hamburg
University of Basel (MAS)
OccupationEconomist, historian, magazine editor, politician
Signature
Websitepremier.gov.pl
Government
Governments

Born in Wrocław, Morawiecki became heavily engaged in anti-communist movements in his youth. He attended the University of Wrocław and extended his education at the University of Hamburg and University of Basel. He obtained degrees in arts, business administration and advanced studies. From 1996 to 2004, Morawiecki lectured at the Wrocław University of Economics, as well as from 1996 to 1998 at the Wrocław University of Technology. From 1998, Morawiecki worked for Bank Zachodni WBK from the Santander Group, where he was promoted to the position of managing director and eventually chairman.

On 11 December 2017, following prime minister Szydło's resignation, Morawiecki was nominated to succeed her by the chief staff of the Law and Justice party, which he joined in 2016.

Early life and education

Mateusz Morawiecki was born 20 June 1968 in Wrocław, Silesia, to Kornel Morawiecki (physicist and Fighting Solidarity leader) and his wife Jadwiga. Morawiecki is of distant German descent and has Jewish roots.[1][2]

Morawiecki stated in a press interview that at the age of 12[3] he helped his father copying underground political literature and in August 1980 he plastered the streets of Wrocław with posters calling for a general strike.[4] After martial law was declared in 1981, he helped print and distribute underground Solidarity magazines. As a son of a well known opposition activist, he was sometimes detained and intimidated by the police.[5] In an interview, he said he threw Molotov cocktails at police cars[4] and was on many occasions stopped and beaten by Poland's secret police (Służba Bezpieczeństwa, SB). Another reason for this was his sympathizing with the Hippie movement as an early teenager, a time during which he underwent an arrest due to alleged marijuana possession. This was also the time he first encountered Ryszard Terlecki – a precursor of the Hippie movement in Poland, and later one of his close coworkers. In connection to this, Morawiecki has mentioned that his colleague from the PiS party "knows perfectly well what fighting for freedom means".[6]

In the 1980s, at the age of 12, he edited an illegal political newspaper Lower Silesia Bulletin and was active in the Independent Students' Association. He continued taking part in political demonstrations until the late 1980s and participated in occupation strikes at the University of Wroclaw in 1988 and 1989. He co-organized the Club for Political Thought "Free and Solidary".[7]

Morawiecki is an alumnus of the University of Wrocław (history, 1992), Wrocław University of Technology (1993), Wrocław University of Economics (Business Administration, 1995), the University of Hamburg (European Law and Economic Integration, 1995–97), and the University of Basel (European Studies, 1995–97). While at the Wrocław University of Technology, he studied abroad at Central Connecticut State University and completed an advanced executive program at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.[8][9]

Business career

In 1991 Morawiecki began work at Cogito Company and co-created two publishing firms, Reverentia and Enter Marketing-Publishing. That same year he co-founded the magazine Dwa Dni (Two Days), later becoming editor-in-chief.

In 1995 he completed an internship at Deutsche Bundesbank in credit analysis, financial restructuring, banking supervision, and financial market supervision. In 1996–97 he conducted banking and macroeconomic research at the University of Frankfurt.[10] In 1998, as deputy director of the Accession Negotiations Department in the Committee for European Integration, he oversaw and participated in numerous areas, including finance, of the negotiations for Polish accession to the European Union.

With Frank Emmert, he co-authored the first textbook on The Law of the European Union published in Poland.

From 1996 to 2004 Morawiecki lectured at the Wrocław University of Economics, and from 1996 to 1998 also at the Wrocław University of Technology. He sat on policy committees at many institutions of higher education. From 1998 to 2001 he was a member of the supervisory boards of the Wałbrzych Power Company, Dialog (a local telephone-service provider), and the Industrial Development Agency. From 1998 to 2002 he was a member of the Lower Silesian Regional Assembly.[11]

From November 1998 Morawiecki worked for Bank Zachodni WBK, Santander Group, where he began his career as deputy chair of the supervisory board, and supervisor of the economic analysis bureau and the international trade department. In 2001 he became managing director and a member of the board. In 2007–15 Morawiecki was chairman of Bank Zachodni WBK.[12]

Political career
Morawiecki at opening of Campus Warsaw

On 16 November 2015, President Andrzej Duda appointed Mateusz Morawiecki as both Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Development in the Cabinet led by Prime Minister Beata Szydło.[13] (This took place soon after Mateusz Morawiecki's father, Kornel Morawiecki, was elected to Poland's lower chamber of the parliament[14] and the Law and Justice party won the 2015 parliamentary elections.)

In March 2016, Mateusz Morawiecki announced that he had joined the Law and Justice party.

On 28 September 2016, in addition to his other positions, Morawiecki was appointed Minister of Finance, becoming the second most powerful member of the Government, overseeing the budget, government finances, European Union funds, and overall economic policy.[15]

As Finance Minister, Morawiecki outlined an ambitious "Plan for Responsible Development", known colloquially as the "Morawiecki Plan", aimed at stimulating economic growth and raising revenues for generous government plans, including "Family 500+" child benefits for all families with two or more children.[16] In March 2017, he took part in a meeting of G20 finance ministers in Baden-Baden, becoming Poland's first-ever representative at that summit.[17][18]

First term (2017–2019)
Morawiecki with Visegrád Group (V4) leaders and European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker, Brussels 2017
Morawiecki with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in Warsaw, 10 February 2022

In December 2017, Jarosław Kaczyński, the Chairman of the Law and Justice party, declared that he no longer had confidence in Beata Szydło to be the party's prime ministerial candidate, in part due to perceived conflict between her and other European Union leaders. With her position untenable, Szydło resigned, and Morawiecki quickly won internal party approval to be nominated as her successor. He was sworn in as prime minister of Poland on 11 December, immediately appointing Szydło as his deputy.[19] In his first major address to Sejm, he pledged "continuity" rather than radical change.[20]

In January 2018, following a highly public racist incident in Warsaw, Morawiecki declared: "There is no place in Poland for racism. The attack on a girl because of her skin color deserves the strongest condemnation. We shall do everything to make Poland safe for everyone."[21]

Mateusz Morawiecki and French President Emmanuel Macron during press conference, 2022

At the Munich Security Conference on 17 February that year, Morawiecki said "it is not going to be seen as criminal to say that there were Polish perpetrators, as there were Jewish perpetrators, as there were Russian perpetrators, as there were Ukrainian perpetrators, not only German perpetrators."[22][23] His remark roused controversy and prompted criticism by prominent Israeli politicians, including Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu[22][24] and Israeli President Reuven Rivlin.[25] The crisis was resolved in late June that year when the Polish and Israeli prime ministers issued a joint communiqué endorsing research into the Jewish Holocaust and condemning the expression, "Polish concentration camps".[26]

As other Visegrád Group leaders, Morawiecki opposes any compulsory EU long-term quota on redistribution of migrants. In May 2018, Morawiecki said: "Proposals by the European Union that impose quotas on us hit the very foundations of national sovereignty."[27]

Mateusz Morawiecki during meeting with Joe Biden, 2022
Mateusz Morawiecki with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, during a meeting in Kyiv, 24 February 2023

In July 2018 Morawiecki said he "will not rest" until "the whole truth" of the World War II-era massacres in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia has been explained. Between 1942 and 1945, members of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) killed up to 100,000 civilians in nowadays Western Ukraine.[28][29]

On the issue of Brexit, Morawiecki told the BBC in January 2019 that more and more Polish people are returning to Poland from the UK and he hoped the trend would continue to help boost the Polish economy.[30]

In January 2019 Morawiecki said that "Hitler's Germany fed on fascist ideology... But all the evil came from this (German) state and we cannot forget that, because otherwise we relativise evil."[31] Morawiecki wants Germany to pay World War II reparations for the destruction it caused during World War II.[32][33] In August 2019, he said that "Poland has yet to receive proper compensation from Germany… We lost six million people over the course of the war — many more than did countries that received major reparations."[34]

Second term (2019–present)
Morawiecki and Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal with Ukrainian tank crew members and Leopard 2 tanks provided by Poland, 24 February 2023

On 13 October 2019 Morawiecki led PiS to a re-election victory in that year's parliamentary election. PiS won its highest ever vote in a parliamentary election to date, taking in 43.6% of the national vote and retaining majority government. At the first sitting of the Sejm of the 9th term, he resigned from the Council of Ministers (pursuant to Article 162(1) of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland), which was accepted by the President on the same day.

On 15 September 2020, the Voivodeship administrative court in Warsaw ruled that the decision of Morawiecki to hold the elections only by postal vote on 10 May 2020 was a "gross violation of the law and was issued without [legal] grounds" and violated article 7 of the Polish Constitution, article 157, paragraph 1 and article 187, paragraph 1 and 2 of the Electoral Code.[35] The opposition demanded Morawiecki's resignation.[36]

In October 2021, Morawiecki accused the European Union of blackmail over several issues, however, he downplayed the possibility of a "Polexit" and said that the threat of economic sanctions was a "direct challenge".[37] In July 2021, he became the vice-president of Law and Justice.[38]

In December 2021, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz came to Warsaw for talks with Morawiecki. They discussed Poland’s dispute with the EU over the rule of law, the long-term EU climate policies and the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which would bring Russian gas to Germany and bypass Poland.[39] Morawiecki said "we do not want people to suffer as a result" of EU's Green Deal, accusing the bloc's Emissions Trading System of contributing to the 2021 global energy crisis.[40] From 10 February to 26 April 2022, he performed the duties of the Minister of Finance after the dismissal of Tadeusz Kościński.

In January 2023, Morawiecki said he supported the death penalty.[41][42][43]

In February 2023 as the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine entered its second year, Morawiecki told Hungarian President Katalin Novák in a formal meeting at the Bucharest Nine summit in Warsaw that "We must prepare for years-long deterrence and defense against the Russian threat."[44]

In February 2023, Morawiecki said that Poland would "use its own good relations" with Turkey under Erdoğan to persuade it "to the fastest possible, and preferably concurrent, accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO."[45]

In March 2023, he visited Saudi Arabia and met with Saudi Crown Prince and de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman.[46]

In March 2023, after Xi Jinping's three-day visit to Russia, Morawiecki expressed concern about a "dangerous" China-Russian alliance.[47] On 14 April after the visit of Emmanuel Macron to Beijing, where he met Xi Jinping and caused alarm in Washington because he spoke of France's "sovereign autonomy", Morawiecki went there and read a prepared paper to a diplomatic audience. In those remarks he said that "You can not protect Ukraine today and tomorrow by saying that Taiwan is none of our business. You have to support Ukraine if you want Taiwan to remain independent. If Ukraine is conquered, the next day China can attack Taiwan. I see here a very big connection, a lot of correlation between the situation in Ukraine and the situation in Taiwan and China." This caused the Chinese MFA to react sharply and inimically.[48]

In April 2023 Morawiecki told the Atlantic Council think-tank that: "Our relationship with Hungary changed a lot because of the position of Hungary toward Ukraine and Russia" after the invasion. "We had once very strong cooperation on the level of the Visegrad group [Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia], now much less so."[49]

In July 2023, Morawiecki warned that Poland is not planning to open its borders to imports of agricultural products from Ukraine, saying "We protect our agriculture, that’s why we don’t open borders for agricultural goods from Ukraine."[50][51]

Honours

 Poland:

 Lithuania:

 Ukraine:

In 2008 Morawiecki was made Honorary Consul of the Republic of Ireland in Poland. In 2013 he was awarded the Cross of Freedom and Solidarity. In 2015, he became the recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta.[12] In 2019, he was awarded the title Man of the Year at the annual Krynica Economic Forum.[60] He has also received other distinctions from economic clubs, universities, publishing houses, and cultural institutions.

Personal life
Pope Francis with Morawiecki and his family during a private audience at the Vatican

Morawiecki is married to Iwona Morawiecka, with whom he has four children: two daughters (Olga and Magdalena) and two sons (Jeremiasz and Ignacy).[61][62]

Two of his aunts married Jewish men and converted to Judaism. One aunt was saved during the Jewish Holocaust by a Righteous among the Nations.[63]

References
  1. "Rodzinna lustracja premiera". Wprost. 11 February 2018.
  2. JTA. "Poland appoints ex-banker with Jewish roots as prime minister". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  3. "Kim jest kandydat na premiera Mateusz Morawiecki [SYLWETKA]". gazetaprawna.pl. 7 December 2017.
  4. WPROST.pl (11 February 2020). "Morawiecki o czasach PRL: Rzucałem koktajlami Mołotowa (...) do tej pory koledzy wspominają moje poranione plecy". Wprost (in Polish). Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  5. "To spotkało Morawieckiego w latach 80. "Kazano mu kopać swój grób"". 8 December 2017.
  6. "PM defends deputy speaker Terlecki over his criticism of Tsikhanouskaya". Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  7. ""W domu nigdy o tym nie opowiadał. Nie chciał martwić matki". Dzieciństwo premiera wspomina jego mama". Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  8. "Mateusz Morawiecki". Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  9. "Mateusz Morawiecki". Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  10. "Mateusz Morawiecki". Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  11. "I Kadencja Sejmiku Województwa Dolnośląskiego". Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  12. "Mateusz Morawiecki". Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  13. "Oficjalna strona Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej / Aktualności / Nominacje / Prezydent powołał rząd". 16 November 2015. Archived from the original on 16 November 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  14. "Kornel Morawiecki". sejm.gov.pl. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  15. Cienski, Jan (29 September 2016). "Polish reshuffle puts sights on prime minister". Politico. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  16. "Trillions needed to modernise Poland: deputy minister". Radio Poland. 30 September 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  17. "Morawiecki wśród ministrów finansów G20 - Gospodarka - rp.pl". Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  18. "Rzeczy, które musisz wiedzieć o szczycie G20 | Ze świata". TVN24 BiS (in Polish). Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  19. "Komitet Polityczny PiS desygnował Mateusza Morawieckiego na Premiera". Prawo i Sprawiedliwość. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  20. Michał Broniatowski (12 December 2017), Poland's new PM won't change anything after leadership swap Politico Europe.
  21. "No place for racism in Poland, says PM after attack on teen". Radio Poland. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  22. ""Jewish perpetrators" remark reignites Poland Holocaust dispute". CBS News. 19 February 2018.
  23. Zieve, Tamara (19 February 2018). "Polish MP: I hope my prime minister is being stupid and not ruthless". The Jerusalem Post.
  24. Oppenheim, Maya (18 February 2018). "Benjamin Netanyahu attacks Polish PM for saying Jews were among perpetrators of the Holocaust". The Independent. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  25. "Polish Embassy in Israel Vandalized After Polish PM's Controversial Remarks". VOA News. 18 February 2018.
  26. "The Latest: Party Head: Israel Confirms Polish View on Nazis". AP News. 27 July 2018. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  27. "Refugee quotas 'hit foundations of national sovereignty': Polish PM". Radio Poland. 14 May 2018.
  28. "Polish PM pledges to fight for 'whole truth' of WWII massacres". Radio Poland. 11 July 2018.
  29. "Ukrainian nationalists plan protests against Polish anti-defamation law". Radio Poland. 5 February 2018.
  30. Geoghegan, Ian (24 January 2019). "Polish PM to UK: 'Give us our people back'". Politico.
  31. "Polish PM says Hitler's Germany responsible for Holocaust, not Nazis". France 24. 27 January 2019.
  32. "Poland upholds WWII reparation claims from Germany - DPA". The First News. 26 November 2021.
  33. "New Chancellor Meets Old Resentments. Polish PM Receives Olaf Scholz in Warsaw, Talks of War Reparations and a "Europe of Sovereign States"". Gazeta Wyborcza. 13 December 2021.
  34. "Feeling its WWII wounds, Poland seeks German reparations 80 years on". The Times of Israel. 28 August 2019.
  35. "Sąd uchylił decyzję premiera w sprawie wyborów kopertowych. "Rażąco narusza prawo, wydana bezpodstawnie"". tvn24.pl. 15 September 2020. Archived from the original on 15 September 2020.
  36. ""Oczekujemy dymisji premiera". Opozycja po wyroku ws. wyborów 10 maja". polsatnews.pl. 15 September 2020. Archived from the original on 15 September 2020.
  37. "Polish PM accuses EU of blackmail as row over rule of law escalates". BBC News. 19 October 2021. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  38. http://Premier%20Mateusz%20Morawiecki%20został%20wiceprezesem%20PIS Premier Mateusz Morawiecki został wiceprezesem PIS
  39. Scally, Derek (14 December 2021). "Tensions overshadow Olaf Scholz's inaugural visit to Warsaw". The Irish Times.
  40. von der Burchard, Hans (13 December 2021). "Leaders of Poland, Germany call for 'swift' solution to Warsaw's rule of law row with EU". Politico.
  41. "Poland's conservative premier in favor of death penalty". ABC News.
  42. "Poland risks new clash with EU over the death penalty". 5 January 2023.
  43. "Poland's Catholic premier sparks outrage with death penalty support". Independent.co.uk. 3 January 2023.
  44. "We need to prepare for years-long deterrence: Polish PM tells Hungarian President". Telewizja Polska S.A. 22 February 2023.
  45. "Poland to persuade Turkey to let Sweden into NATO". Euractiv. 14 February 2023.
  46. "Crown Prince, Polish PM review bilateral relations". Saudi Gazette. 8 March 2023.
  47. "Poland Voices Concern About 'Dangerous' Russia-China Alliance". The Moscow Times. 22 March 2023.
  48. "Beijing fumes over Polish PM's words on China, Taiwan". TVP World. 14 April 2023. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  49. "Polish PM Says Relations With Hungary 'Changed A Lot' Over Ukraine, Now Looking To Romania, Baltic States". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Reuters. 13 April 2023.
  50. "The grain war is in full swing – Poland won't open borders for Ukraine's agriculture". The New Voice of Ukraine. 19 July 2023.
  51. "Blockaded on all fronts: Poland and Hungary threaten to cut Ukraine's export route to the West". Politico. 20 July 2023.
  52. Board of Governors Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
  53. Board of Governors International Monetary Fund (IMF).
  54. "Postanowienie Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z dnia 23 czerwca 2015 r. o nadaniu orderów". sejm.gov.pl. 23 June 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  55. "Postanowienie Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z dnia 25 października 2013 r. o nadaniu orderów i odznaczeń". sejm.gov.pl. 25 October 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  56. "Wojciechowska i Sukiennik wśród "zasłużonych dla bankowości". Oto pełna lista NBP". tvn24.pl. 20 March 2019. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  57. "Mateusz Morawiecki otrzymał Srebrny Krzyż Solidarności Walczącej". wydarzenia.interia.pl. 26 June 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  58. "Apdovanotų asmenų duomenų bazė". lrp.lt. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  59. "УКАЗ ПРЕЗИДЕНТА УКРАЇНИ №380/2022". president.gov.ua. 1 June 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  60. "Forum Ekonomiczne w Krynicy-Zdroju. Mateusz Morawiecki z nagrodą Człowieka Roku". Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  61. "Wyborcza.pl". wroclaw.wyborcza.pl.
  62. "Oto rodzina Morawieckiego. Uchylamy rąbka tajemnicy!". Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  63. Poland appoints ex-banker with Jewish roots as prime minister By JTA, 8 December 2017
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mateusz Morawiecki.
Wikiquote has quotations related to Mateusz Morawiecki.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.