Waldemar Pawlak facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Brigadier General
Waldemar Pawlak
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| Prime Minister of Poland | |
| In office 26 October 1993 – 6 March 1995 |
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| President | Lech Wałęsa |
| Deputy | Aleksander Łuczak Marek Borowski Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz |
| Preceded by | Hanna Suchocka |
| Succeeded by | Józef Oleksy |
| Caretaker 5 June 1992 – 10 July 1992 |
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| President | Lech Wałęsa |
| Preceded by | Jan Olszewski |
| Succeeded by | Hanna Suchocka |
| Deputy Prime Minister of Poland | |
| In office 16 November 2007 – 27 November 2012 |
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| Prime Minister | Donald Tusk |
| Preceded by | Zyta Gilowska Przemysław Gosiewski |
| Succeeded by | Janusz Piechociński |
| Minister of Economy | |
| In office 16 November 2007 – 27 November 2012 |
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| Prime Minister | Donald Tusk |
| Deputy | Adam Szejnfeld |
| Preceded by | Piotr Woźniak |
| Succeeded by | Janusz Piechociński |
| Leader of the Polish People's Party | |
| In office 29 January 2005 – 17 November 2012 |
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| Preceded by | Janusz Wojciechowski |
| Succeeded by | Janusz Piechociński |
| In office 29 June 1991 – 11 October 1997 |
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| Preceded by | Roman Bartoszcze |
| Succeeded by | Jarosław Kalinowski |
| Member of the Sejm | |
| In office 18 June 1989 – 11 November 2015 |
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| Constituency | 16 – Płock |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 5 September 1959 Model, Poland |
| Political party | Polish People's Party |
| Spouse | Elżbieta Pawlak |
| Profession | Mechanician, farmer, teacher |
| Awards |     |
Waldemar Pawlak (born 5 September 1959) is a Polish politician. He served as Prime Minister of Poland two times. His first time was for a short period in 1992. His second time was from 1993 to 1995. From November 2007 to November 2012, he was the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Economy. Pawlak is the youngest prime minister Poland has ever had.
He is also a leader in the Polish Volunteer fire department, holding the rank of Brigadier General. Since 2015, Pawlak has been helping the Agency for the Modernisation of Ukraine (AMU). He shares his knowledge about the economy there.
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Early Life and Career Beginnings
Pawlak was born in a village called Model, Masovian Voivodeship on 5 September 1959. He studied at the Warsaw University of Technology and earned an engineering degree. As a student, he took part in protests against Poland's martial law from 1981 to 1983. After finishing his studies, he briefly managed a small farm in eastern Poland. This helped him become popular with Polish farmers later in his political life.
In 1984, Pawlak started working as a computer teacher in Kamionka. His political journey began in 1985 when he joined the United People's Party. After 1990, he joined the Polish People's Party, which was the new name for his old party. He was elected to the Polish parliament, called the Sejm, in 1989 and has been a member since then. In 1991, he became the leader of the Polish People's Party.
Waldemar Pawlak's Time as Prime Minister
First Time as Prime Minister: The 33 Days
On 5 June 1992, the previous prime minister, Jan Olszewski, had to leave office. This happened after the parliament voted that they no longer supported him. This event was known as "the nightshift". After Olszewski left, President Lech Wałęsa chose Pawlak to be a temporary prime minister. Pawlak's job was to create a new government with different political groups.
However, after 33 days, Pawlak could not get enough support from the Sejm (parliament). He had to resign as prime minister. President Wałęsa then chose Hanna Suchocka, who successfully formed a new government. Even though Pawlak's first attempt to form a government failed, he gained a lot of respect. The experience he got during these "33 days" helped him become prime minister again later.
Second Time as Prime Minister: Leading the Country
In 1993, the Polish People's Party and the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) won the election by a lot. They had a very strong majority in parliament. This meant Pawlak became prime minister again. His government worked with the SLD.
Prime Minister Pawlak and a powerful SLD leader, Aleksander Kwaśniewski, soon had disagreements. Both leaders used their political parties to gain more power. Pawlak was at first friendly with President Wałęsa against the SLD. But their good relationship also ended.
In 1995, Pawlak offered Kwaśniewski three choices for the government's future. Kwaśniewski surprised many by choosing an option that made Józef Oleksy the new prime minister.
Pawlak was known for being quiet and not liking to talk to journalists. People sometimes said he wasn't active enough. He also famously gave up his fancy prime ministerial car for a simpler Polish-made car. This showed he was supporting Polish workers and was well-liked by many people when the country was facing economic challenges.
During his time in office, Pawlak supported many ideas to help workers and make companies more responsible. Even with these goals, he did not stop the trend of businesses becoming private in Poland during the 1990s. Many people saw Pawlak as a leader who mainly represented Polish farmers.
Life After Being Prime Minister
Even though many people liked him, Pawlak did not win the presidential election in 1995. He finished in fifth place. After losing the political struggle with Kwaśniewski and the presidential election, he was replaced as party leader in 1997.
His party, the PSL, had a difficult time in the 1997 elections. They became a much smaller party in the Sejm. Pawlak did not play a big role in politics for some time after this.
Returning to Politics in 2005
Pawlak became the leader of his party again in 2005. This happened after the party had some problems and lost popularity. After this, Pawlak became the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy in a new government formed in 2007. This government was a partnership between the Civic Platform (PO) and Pawlak's party, the PSL.
Even though the PSL was still the smallest party in parliament, Pawlak helped it achieve important political successes. His party did better in elections. They also gained more influence in rural areas of Poland. The PSL was also given three important jobs in the government. This was important because without the PSL's votes, the main party would not have had enough support in parliament.
In 2010, Pawlak was a candidate for president again, but he did not win. In 2023, he was elected to the Senate, which is the upper house of the Polish parliament.
Personal Life
Pawlak is married and has two children.
