Ewa Kopacz Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Ewa Kopacz MEP
Kopacz in 2024

Prime Minister of Poland
In office 22 September 2014 – 16 November 2015
President	Bronisław Komorowski Andrzej Duda
Deputy	Tomasz Siemoniak Janusz Piechociński
Preceded by	Donald Tusk
Succeeded by	Beata Szydło
Vice-President of the European Parliament
Incumbent
Assumed office 3 July 2019 Serving with see list
President	David Sassoli Roberta Metsola
Preceded by	Zdzisław Krasnodębski
Member of the European Parliament
Incumbent
Assumed office 2 July 2019
Constituency	Greater Poland
Leader of the Civic Platform
In office 8 November 2014 – 26 January 2016
Secretary General	Paweł Graś Andrzej Biernat
Preceded by	Donald Tusk
Succeeded by	Grzegorz Schetyna
Marshal of the Sejm
In office 8 November 2011 – 22 September 2014
Preceded by	Grzegorz Schetyna
Succeeded by	Radosław Sikorski
Minister of Health
In office 16 November 2007 – 8 November 2011
Prime Minister	Donald Tusk
Preceded by	Zbigniew Religa
Succeeded by	Bartosz Arłukowicz
Member of Sejm
In office 19 October 2001 – 4 June 2019

Personal details
Born	Ewa Bożena Lis (1956-12-03) 3 December 1956 (age 68) Skaryszew, Poland
Political party	United People's Party (before 1989) Freedom Union (1994–2001) Civic Platform (2001–present)
Other political affiliations	European People's Party
Spouse	Marek Kopacz (div. 2008)
Children	1
Education	Medical University of Lublin
Awards

Ewa Bożena Kopacz (born 3 December 1956) is a Polish politician. She has been a Vice-President of the European Parliament since 2019. Before that, she was the Prime Minister of Poland from 2014 to 2015. She was also the Marshal of the Sejm (like the speaker of parliament) from 2011 to 2014. She was the first woman to hold this important role.

Ewa Kopacz also served as the Minister of Health from 2007 to 2011. She has been a member of the Civic Platform political party since 2001. She led this party from 2014 to 2016. She became prime minister after Donald Tusk and was the second woman to hold this position in Poland.

Before becoming a politician, Ewa Kopacz worked as a doctor. She was a pediatrician (a children's doctor) and a general practitioner. She was once named one of the world's most powerful women by Forbes magazine.

Early Life and Education
Political Journey
Personal Life
Honours and Awards
See also

Early Life and Education

Ewa Kopacz was born in Skaryszew, Poland. Her parents were Mieczysław and Krystyna Lis. Her father worked as a mechanic, and her mother was a tailor. She grew up in the city of Radom.

In 1981, she finished her studies at the Medical University of Lublin. She then trained to become a family doctor and specialized in pediatrics. She worked in clinics in small villages and later in the town of Szydłowiec. She led the local health care center there until 2001.

Political Journey

Ewa Kopacz started her political journey in the 1980s. She joined the United People's Party. In the 1990s, she became part of the Freedom Union party. She led the party's groups in the Radom area. In 1998, she was chosen as a councilor for the Masovian Voivodship region.

In 2001, Kopacz joined the new Civic Platform political party. She was elected to the Polish Parliament, called the Sejm, in 2005. There, she became the head of the Health Committee. She also led the Civic Platform party in the Masovia region.

Member of the Sejm

Ewa Kopacz was first elected to the Sejm in 2001. She was re-elected three more times: in 2005, 2007, and 2011. In November 2011, she was chosen to be the Marshal of the Sejm. This is a very important role, similar to the speaker of a parliament.

Minister of Health

As Minister of Health, Ewa Kopacz became known for her careful approach to health issues. In 2009, during the swine flu outbreak, she asked drug companies to prove their vaccines were safe. She wanted them to take full responsibility for any side effects.

She advised the Polish government to wait for proper testing before buying the vaccine. Poland decided not to buy the vaccine at that time.

Prime Minister of Poland

On 22 September 2014, Ewa Kopacz became the Prime Minister of Poland. She took over after Donald Tusk resigned to become the President of the European Council. She then formed her own government. On 8 November 2014, she also became the leader of the Civic Platform party.

Ewa Kopacz with President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker

As prime minister, Kopacz promised to keep Poland's foreign policy steady. She said her government would support Ukraine. She also wanted a stronger U.S. military presence in Poland. This was to help protect Poland from possible Russian aggression.

At her first meeting with other European Union leaders in October 2014, Kopacz helped Poland get good deals. These deals were part of an agreement to reduce carbon pollution in Europe. Her government also declared 2015 the "Year of Improving Air Quality." They supported plans to control pollution from vehicles and home heating.

In June 2015, Kopacz changed some of her government ministers. This happened after her party's ally, President Bronislaw Komorowski, lost the presidential election. She brought in new people to her government. These included a former Olympic rower, Adam Korol, as sports minister. A famous heart surgeon, Marian Zembala, became the new health minister.

In the 2015 national elections, Kopacz received many votes. However, her party lost the elections. She resigned as prime minister on 16 November 2015. Beata Szydło then became the new prime minister.

Member of the European Parliament

Kopacz in 2024

After the 2019 European elections, Ewa Kopacz became a Member of the European Parliament. Since then, she has served as one of its Vice-Presidents. In this role, she is part of the Parliament's leadership. She worked under Presidents David Sassoli and Roberta Metsola.

She is also part of the leadership team for the European People's Party Group. Kopacz joined special committees to work on fighting cancer and dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. She is also a member of the "MEPs Against Cancer" group.