Who is he?:
The late president of Poland who served from December 2005 until his death in a plane crash on April 10, 2010. A former child star who served part of his term with his identical twin brother, Jaroslaw, serving as prime minister. A onetime activist for democracy in communist Poland who advised the Solidarity movement and was once interned by the communists as an anti-socialist element.
Birthdate:
June 18, 1949, in Warsaw, Poland. His identical twin brother, Jaroslaw, was born 45 minutes earlier than Lech. His father was part of the underground Warsaw Uprising during World War II, and his mother was a linguist. He and Jaroslaw starred in a classic Polish 1962 kids' film, "The Two Who Stole the Moon."
Personal life:
Married Maria Helena Mackiewicz, an economist, in 1978. Had one daughter, Marta, born in 1980. Had two granddaughters, Ewa and Martyna. Lech and Maria were both animal lovers and had two dogs and two cats.
Political affiliation:
Kaczynski founded the conservative Law and Justice Party in 2001 with his brother; many of the members were formerly of the Solidarity movement. From 2006 on he served as an independent, with his brother serving as chairman of the Law and Justice Party.
Career:
A lawyer by trade, Kaczynski in 1976 began his work with the legendary labor movements that would lead to the downfall of communism in Poland. He was Lech Walesa's main adviser when the former Solidarity leader became president in 1990. He was president of the Supreme Chamber of Control (state budget auditors) from 1992-95, and Minister of Justice for one year (2000-01) under Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek. He was mayor of Warsaw from 2002-05, until he was elected president of Poland. Kaczynski was close with other former Soviet states and with Israel, becoming the first Polish head of state to attend Jewish services.
Obituary:
Kaczynski, his wife, Poland's military joint chiefs of staff, the head of the national bank, and many other officials and Polish dignitaries were headed to Smolensk, Russia, to mark the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre, in which Soviets killed nearly 22,000 Polish nationals. The plane attempted to land in thick fog, clipped the tops of trees, and crashed, killing all 96 passengers and crew on board. Theories have ranged from technical failure to language barriers between the crew and air traffic control, which reportedly warned the plane to divert to Minsk or Moscow instead because of the fog.
Quote:
“We must turn the country around to face its citizens. The scale of the repair will be so great that Poland will become a new republic.”
