Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz
Gronkiewicz-Waltz in 2014
Member of the European Parliament for Poland
Incumbent
Assumed office 10 October 2024
Preceded by	Marcin Kierwiński
Constituency	Warsaw
Mayor of Warsaw
In office 2 December 2006 – 22 November 2018
Preceded by	Lech Kaczyński Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz (Acting)
Succeeded by	Rafał Trzaskowski
Member of the Sejm
In office 26 October 2005 – 26 November 2006
Constituency	Warsaw I
Vice President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
In office July 2001 – July 2004
President	Jean Lemierre
President of the National Bank of Poland
In office 5 March 1992 – 31 December 2000
Preceded by	Andrzej Topiński (Acting)
Succeeded by	Leszek Balcerowicz
Personal details
Born	Hanna Beata Gronkiewicz (1952-11-04) 4 November 1952 (age 72) Warsaw, Poland
Political party	Civic Platform (since 2005)
Other political affiliations	Civic Coalition (since 2018)
Spouse	Andrzej Waltz
Alma mater	University of Warsaw
Awards

Hanna Beata Gronkiewicz-Waltz (born 4 November 1952) is a Polish politician and lawyer. She is also a law professor. She was the mayor of Warsaw, the capital city of Poland, from 2006 to 2018. She was the first and, so far, only woman to hold this important job.

Life and Political Career

Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz has had a long and interesting career in public service. She has held several important roles in Poland and internationally.

Early Roles and Banking

From 1992 to 2000, she was the head of the National Bank of Poland. This is Poland's central bank, which manages the country's money and financial system. After that, she became a vice president at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. This bank helps countries in Europe develop their economies. She worked there from 2001 to 2004.

Joining the Sejm

In 2005, Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz was elected to the Sejm. The Sejm is like Poland's main parliament, where laws are made. She ran as a member of the Civic Platform political party.

Becoming Mayor of Warsaw

In 2006, she ran for mayor of Warsaw. She won the election in a second round of voting, getting more than half of the votes. This made her the first woman to lead the city of Warsaw.

A Challenge to Her Role

Soon after she became mayor, there was a problem with some paperwork. A new law said that mayors and their spouses had to share information about their finances by certain dates. There was confusion about the deadlines. Some people thought her husband's documents were handed in a couple of days late.

This led to a big discussion about whether she could stay in her job. However, a special court in Poland, called the Constitutional Tribunal, looked at the law. They decided that the law was confusing and unfair. Because of this court ruling, Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz was able to keep her position as mayor.

Supporting Equality

As mayor, Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz took a different approach from the previous mayor on some topics. For example, she approved the Equality Parade in Warsaw. This parade supports the rights of LGBT people. She said that the parade would not cause any problems and pointed to a court decision that said it was wrong to ban such events. She believed in allowing people to express themselves peacefully.

Re-election and European Parliament

In November 2010, Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz was re-elected as the mayor of Warsaw. She won by getting more than 50% of the votes in the first round, so a second election was not needed.

In 2024, she became a Member of the European Parliament (MEP). This means she now represents Poland in the European Parliament, which makes decisions for the whole European Union.

Selected Awards

Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz has received several awards for her work and service:

• Silver Cross of Merit (from Poland, 1990)
• Officer of the Legion of Honour (from France, 2008)
• Commander's Cross with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta (from Poland, 2010)
• Order of the Polar Star (from Sweden, 2011)
• Order of the Crown (from Belgium, 2011)

Images for kids

• 

  Gronkiewicz-Waltz in 2007

See also

In Spanish: Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz para niños

• Members of Polish Sejm 2005–2007