Kornel Morawiecki facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kornel Morawiecki
|
|
|---|---|
.jpg) |
|
| Senior Marshal of the Sejm | |
| In office 12 November 2015 – 12 November 2015 |
|
| Chairman of Freedom and Solidarity | |
| In office 18 May 2016 – 30 September 2019 |
|
| Chairman of the Freedom Party | |
| In office 7 July 1990 – 25 September 1993 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Kornel Andrzej Morawiecki
3 May 1941 Warsaw, General Government |
| Died | 30 September 2019 (aged 78) Warsaw, Poland |
| Spouses | Jadwiga Morawiecka (1st marriage) Anna Morawiecka (Not married) |
| Children | 5 |
| Parents | Michał Morawiecki Jadwiga Szumańska |
| Relatives | Mateusz Morawiecki (son) |
| Alma mater | University of Wrocław |
| Signature |  |
Kornel Andrzej Morawiecki (born 3 May 1941 – died 30 September 2019) was an important Polish politician. He founded and led a group called Fighting Solidarity. This group was part of the larger Solidarity movement in Poland during the 1980s. He was also a physicist by training. Later in his life, he became a member of the Polish parliament, known as the Sejm. His son, Mateusz Morawiecki, is currently the Prime Minister of Poland.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Kornel Morawiecki was born in Warsaw, Poland. His parents were Michał and Jadwiga Morawiecki. He finished high school in Warsaw in 1958. After that, he studied physics at the University of Wrocław. He earned his advanced degree in physics in 1963. In 1970, he completed his doctorate. He worked as a researcher at the University of Wrocław. Later, he also worked at the Wrocław Polytechnic.
Fighting for Freedom
In 1968, Kornel Morawiecki joined student protests. These protests were against the Communist government. After the government stopped the protests, he and his friends secretly printed and shared flyers. These flyers spoke out against the government's actions.
In 1979, he became an editor for an underground newspaper called "Biuletyn Dolnośląski." This newspaper was also against the Communist government. He was also a representative for the first big meeting of the Solidarity trade union.
Founding Fighting Solidarity
In May 1982, Kornel Morawiecki started a group called "Fighting Solidarity." This group was special because it was one of the few that openly called for the end of communism in Poland. They also wanted countries in the Soviet Bloc to be free from Moscow. They even believed the Soviet Union should break up into new countries. At the time, these ideas seemed very extreme.
However, Fighting Solidarity did not believe in using violence. They wanted to achieve their goals peacefully. After martial law in Poland was declared in 1981, Morawiecki became one of the most wanted people in Poland. The secret police tried very hard to find him.
Arrest and Escape
After six years of working secretly, he was finally caught in November 1987. The secret police arrested him in Wrocław. He was then taken to a prison in Warsaw. Even though he was caught, his friends and the group's important papers were not found.
In 1988, the Communist government offered him a chance to go to Rome for medical help. They wanted to get rid of people who caused trouble. The Catholic Church helped make sure he could return to Poland. But when he tried to come back three days later, his passport was taken. He was sent to Vienna. He managed to sneak back into Poland in September 1988. He pretended to be a human rights visitor from Canada.
After Communism Fell
After communism ended in Poland, Morawiecki wanted to become President of Poland in 1990. But he could not get enough signatures to run. During his TV campaign, he famously flipped over a round table. This was a symbol against the Polish Round Table Agreement. He felt this agreement gave too many compromises to the former communists.
Awards and Recognition
For his work to make Poland independent, he received an award called the Officer's Cross of Polonia Restituta. This award came from the Polish government that was in exile. In 2007, he refused to accept an even higher award. He believed his organization, Fighting Solidarity, deserved the highest honor, the Order of the White Eagle. He also received a medal from the Czech Prime Minister. This was for his opposition to the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968.
Later Political Career
He ran for president again in the 2010 Polish presidential election. However, he received very few votes. In the 2015 election for the Sejm, he was a top candidate. He was part of the Kukiz'15 political group.
In April 2016, he was involved in a small scandal in the Sejm. He left his voting card in the machine after feeling sick. Another member of parliament, Małgorzata Zwiercan, used his card to cast a vote for him. This caused a lot of discussion. After this, he left the Kukiz'15 group. He then started to organize his own political party.
Besides his political work, he also worked at the Mathematics Institute of the Wrocław University of Technology.
Family Life
In 1959, Kornel Morawiecki married Jadwiga. They had four children together. One of their children is Mateusz Morawiecki, who is now the Prime Minister of Poland. After his divorce from Jadwiga, he married Anna. They had one son. Kornel Morawiecki passed away in 2019 from pancreatic cancer.
See also
