Władysław Marcin Kosiniak-Kamysz[a] (born 10 August 1981) is a Polish physician and politician, who has served as theDeputy Prime Minister of Poland, andMinister of National Defence since 2023. He has also served as the chairman of thePolish People's Party (PSL) since 2015. From 2011 to 2015, he wasMinister of Labour and Social Affairs in the governments ofDonald Tusk andEwa Kopacz. He was a candidate for president in2020.
Kosiniak-Kamysz was born inKraków in 1981, with his family originating fromSiedliszowice, a village inLesser Poland. He was brought up in the tradition of the folk movement. His father,Andrzej Kosiniak-Kamysz, a doctor and politician, served asMinister of Health and Social Welfare under the first non-communist government ofTadeusz Mazowiecki where he waged a constant struggle to ensure that in a situation of a constant lack of resources, health care at a technological level began to catch up with the West.[1] His uncle isZenon Kosiniak-Kamysz, politician and diplomat.[2] His paternal grandfather and namesake, Władysław, born at the beginning of theFirst World War, served as a soldier in the13th Wilno Uhlan Regiment andFarmers' Battalions during theSecond World War. After the war, he returned to his hometown ofBieniaszowice, where he ran his farm next to the mouth of theDunajec to theVistula, with his grandmother.
He studied in Kraków, where his parents moved. Kosiniak-Kamysz attended theJan III Sobieski High School, Kraków. He subsequently studiedmedical studies at theJagiellonian University Medical College until 2006. He became an assistant at the Department of Internal Medicine and Rural Medicine of the Jagiellonian University.[3] In 2010, Kosiniak-Kamysz obtained his doctorate in medical science along withTomasz Guzik. He received his doctorate based on the thesis labelled "The relationship of gene variation encoding GTP cyclohydrolase with the function of vascular endothelium in patients with type 2 diabetes", in which he studied the genetic determinants of diabetes. Kosiniak-Kamysz conducted scientific research, amongst others at theEmory University School of Medicine inAtlanta.
He started his first job at the Department of Internal Diseases and Rural Medicine of the Collegium Medicum of the Jagiellonian University, which he held a medical internship there.[4][3] Throughout his studies, Kosiniak-Kamysz was a volunteer of the Volunteer Association of Saint Elijah operated at theChurch of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Kraków.
Kosiniak-Kamysz has always been associated with thePolish People's Party. He co-founded the PSLyouth wing - Young People's Forum. Together they represented the people inTVP"Młodzież Kontra", in which they interviewed politicians. In this way, they gained their first skills in politics. Kosiniak-Kamysz took part in 12 electoral campaigns of the Polish People's Party. This was the first time during the2000 presidential election when he supportedJarosław Kalinowski's organisation by issuing leaflets, hanging posters and collecting signatures for electoral lists.
In the2010 local elections, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz received 763 votes.[5] SinceJacek Majchrowski was the mayor of Kraków, he was able to take his seat in the city council of Krakow.[6]
On 18 August 2011 he was appointed asMinister of Labor and Social Affairs inDonald Tusk's second cabinet.[7] He served in this post until 16 November 2015.
In the2015 parliamentary elections, the PSL andCivic Platform lost their parliamentary majority, and since then have been in the opposition. Due to the poor election result and because he did not get a mandate,Janusz Piechociński resigned as party chairman, and Kosiniak-Kamysz succeeded him on 7 November 2015.[8] In 2019, the PSL jointed to thePolish Coalition with political movementKukiz'15 and political partyUnion of European Democrats. In2019 parliamentary election, he received 33 784 votes.[9]
He was one of the main candidates in the2020 presidential election; in some polls, he obtained the second place, granting him a place in the second round;[10][11] though the current presidentAndrzej Duda has a large advantage above him (about 30% or more). Finally, Kosiniak-Kamysz received 2.36%.[12]
Following the2023 parliamentary election and the subsequent formation ofDonald Tusk's third government, Kosiniak-Kamysz was appointed minister of national defence and deputy prime minister on 13 December.[13]
In May 2024, Kosiniak-Kamysz attracted some criticism after revealing that he has had an emergency backpack at the ready sinceRussia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, with some saying this did not send a reassuring message about Poland's security. Kosiniak-Kamysz claimed his comments were taken out of context, posting onX that "Preparedness for crisis situations is not only an obligation, but also our responsibility."[14]
In August 2024, he stated in an interview that Ukraine would not enter theEuropean Union until the issue of the exhumation of the Polish victims of theVolhynian Genocide and their proper remembrance is resolved. His words came as a reaction to Ukrainian Foreign MinisterDmytro Kuleba who suggested that this issue should be left for historians.[15][16]
He divorced his first wife in 2016.[17] He married Paulina Kosiniak-Kamysz in 2019, with whom he has two daughters and a son.[18]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minister of Labour and Social Policy 2011–2015 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Deputy Prime Minister of Poland 2023–present With:Krzysztof Gawkowski | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Minister of National Defence 2023–present | Incumbent |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Chairman of thePolish People's Party 2015–present | Incumbent |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
Acting defense ministers shown initalics |
