Jarosław Aleksander Kaczyński[a] (born 18 June 1949) is a Polish politician. He co-founded theLaw and Justice (PiS) party in 2001 with his twin brother,Lech Kaczyński, and has served as its leader since 2003. He served asPrime Minister of Poland from 2006 to 2007, and has twice held the post ofDeputy Prime Minister of Poland, first from 2020 to 2022, and a second time from June to November 2023. He is considered to have been theeminence grise of Poland,[1] when PiS formed the government in 2005–2007 and again in 2015–2023, with direct political influence over the prime ministersKazimierz Marcinkiewicz,Beata Szydło andMateusz Morawiecki.
Jaroslaw Kaczyński as a student took part in protest during theMarch 1968 political crisis. Subsequently, he became involved in the anti-communist opposition as a collaborator ofKOR andKSS KOR. He took part in the protests inAugust 1980 when he was arrested, then joined theSolidarity movement. In 1982 he became a member of the PolishHelsinki Committee. He took part in the1988 strikes.
In 1989, Kaczyński took part in theRound Table talks. In 1989–1991, he served as asenator. In 1990, he founded theCentre Agreement party, of which he served as leader until 1998. In 1990–91 he was head of the chancellery of PresidentLech Wałęsa. He served as a Member of Parliament from 1991 to 1993 and continuously since 1997.
Since the 2015 victories of PiS, both in thepresidential andparliamentary elections, Kaczyński was considered to be the most powerful politician in Poland and one of the most influential European leaders.[1] In 2020, he was designated as theDeputy Prime Minister of Poland with oversight over the defense, justice and interior ministries. He resigned from the government in November 2023 after the Law and Justice (PiS) party failed to gain a majority of seats in the Sejm in the2023 Polish parliamentary election.
As children, he starred with his brother in the 1962 Polish filmThe Two Who Stole the Moon (Polish:O dwóch takich, co ukradli księżyc), based on a popular children's story byKornel Makuszyński.[4] Kaczyński attended the Joachim Lelewel XLI High School, but due to failing to be promoted to the next grade he moved to the Mikołaj Kopernik XXXIII High School. He graduated from secondary school in 1967.[3]
Kaczyński studied law at theWarsaw University's Faculty of Law and Administration, where in 1976 he obtained aDoctor of Law (LL.D.) degree after completing a dissertation titled "The role of collegial bodies in governing institutions of higher education" under the supervision ofStanisław Ehrlich [pl].[5] From 1971 to 1976, he was employed as a researcher at the Institute of Scientific Policy and Higher Education and then became an assistant professor at theBiałystok branch of theUniversity of Warsaw.[3]
During his studies, he took part in the student protests in March 1968.[6] Kaczyński began working with theWorkers' Defence Committee (KOR) in 1976.[6] KOR was formed after the workers' protests ofJune 1976 to defend workers against persecution by the communist authorities. In 1976, he was stopped in time while carrying out tasks for the KOR during a journey to Płock.[6] Subsequently, the KOR was transformed into theCommittee for Social Self-Defense KOR (KSS KOR), which aimed to undertake broaderdissident activities. Jarosław Kaczyński worked in theIntervention Office of the KSS KOR [pl], run byZbigniew Romaszewski andZofia Romaszewska.[3] Its task was to register all cases of human rights violations by the authorities, providing assistance to the repressed and those affected by the regime's actions. Kaczyński investigated cases of murders committed by MO and SB officers.[6]
Kaczyński also joined the editorial board of the monthly magazineGłos in 1979, which was associated with KSS KOR and headed byAntoni Macierewicz.[3]
In 1991, he created the conservative, Christian democraticCentre Agreement party and later became its chairman, remaining in the role until 1998. In the years 1991 to 1993 and since 1997, Kaczyński was a member of theSejm.[9] In the same year, he worked under direction of the president of Poland,Lech Wałęsa, as the head of his presidential chancellery.[10] Wałęsa fired Kaczyński, who then led the protest movement against him.[11]
In the following months, he was afrontbench MP and the leader of his party. He was said to have an enormous influence on the prime minister's decision-making process. Kaczyński was described as the architect of the coalition with thepopulistSelf-Defense of the Republic of Poland (Polish:Samoobrona) and the far-rightLeague of Polish Families party.
Following reports of a rift between Kaczyński and Marcinkiewicz, the latter resigned on 7 July 2006. Kaczyński was appointed prime minister by his brother, the president, Lech Kaczyński, on 10 July, and sworn in on 14 July, following the formation of a cabinet and a confidence vote in the Sejm.[15][16][17] They were the first pair of brothers in the world to serve as president and prime minister of a country and the only twin brothers to have done so.[18] The following 15 months were erratic and not without controversy, Kaczyński initiated a nationwide program (Lustracja) which required thousands of public employees, teachers, and journalists to formally declare whether or not they had collaborated with the security services of the former communist regime.[19]In 2006, Kaczyński also established aCentral Anticorruption Bureau (Polish:Centralne Biuro Antykorupcyjne) with far-reaching powers and was embroiled in a case relating to thesuicide of Barbara Bilda who was under investigation for corruption. The government also modified Polish foreign relations relating to the European Union by adopting a moreeurosceptical stance, where Polish governments had in the past adopted a very pro-European Union position.
At the request of his government, taxes were reduced.
Despite gaining votes, Law and Justice lost theparliamentary election on 21 October 2007, finishing a distant second behind the pro-European andliberal-conservative party Civic Platform. Kaczyński was succeeded as prime minister byDonald Tusk, but remained chairman of Law and Justice and became leader of the opposition.
Following thedeath of his brother, Jarosław announced that he would run for president againstBronisław Komorowski in theelection held on 20 June 2010.[20][21]Joanna Kluzik-Rostkowska ran his electoral campaign staff and the spokesperson wasPaweł Poncyljusz. Kaczyński appeared to soften his image during the campaign in order to win centrist voters.[22] The campaign's motto wasPoland Comes First.[23] He polled 36.5% of the vote in the first round, against the acting president Bronisław Komorowski's 41.5%. In the second round he lost with 47.0% of the vote to Komorowski's 53.0%.
In order to win over moderate voters, rather than running as PiS's candidate for president or prime minister, Kaczyński put forward more moderate PiS members in the 2015 presidential and parliamentary elections.Andrzej Duda ran as PiS's presidential candidate, whileBeata Szydło was its candidate for prime minister.[24] PiS won both elections.[24] In the parliamentary election, PiS became the first party to win an outright majority since the end of communism.[25][26] But despite being a popular leader among PiS's base, he himself remains unpopular among the wider public, with some polls showing that more Poles think Kaczyński is not trustworthy compared to Duda or Szydło.[24] In 2017,Politico described him as the de facto ruler of Poland and as one of the most influential politicians in Poland.[27][28]
In 2020, Kaczyński became deputy prime minister in the Mateusz Morawiecki government.[29] Kaczyński announced in mid-October 2021 that he would step down as the deputy prime minister at the beginning of 2022 in order to focus on his leadership of his party,[30] and stepped down on 21 June 2022.[31]
On 10 April 2020, on the anniversary of theSmolensk air disaster, Kaczyński and nine other people, standing close together, visited the grave of Kaczynski's mother and the symbolic grave of twin-brother Lech atPowązki Military Cemetery, though they were closed to the public due toCOVID-19 pandemic restrictions.[32] ThePolish Police stated that the gathering in Powązki did not constitute a gathering in the sense of big gatherings forbidden in relation to the pandemic, this caused controversy and criticism. The former prime minister of PolandLeszek Miller described the gathering as showing contempt for ordinary people respecting the restrictions.[33]
In May, a Polish radio stationTrójka (run by state-owned broadcasterPolskie Radio) was accused of censoring "Twój ból jest lepszy niż mój" ("Your Pain is Better Than Mine"), a song byKazik Staszewski that is critical of Law and Justice. The song was inspired by Kaczyński's actions and does not reference the party or Kaczyński by name. When "Twój ból jest lepszy niż mój" charted at number one on Trójka's weekly countdown on 15 May, the station subsequently suppressed the chart and all references to the song from its website. Station director Tomasz Kowalczewski accused the programme's hostMarek Niedźwiecki of having rigged the chart in favour of Kazik's song. Bartosz Gil — who also works on the chart show — alleged that Kaczyński's claim was false, and accused him of specifically targeting the song. The following Sunday, Niedźwiecki announced his immediate resignation from the station, and also threatened legal action against the broadcaster for false claims of fraud. On 16 May, Polskie Radio music head Piotr Metz revealed that, after the chart show aired, Kowalczewski had ordered him via text message to remove "Twój ból jest lepszy niż mój" from the station's music library. Metz also resigned from the station. The station also faced threats of boycotts from members of the Polish music industry.[34][35]
Jarosław Kaczyński speaking during the inauguration of a monument to his brotherLech Kaczyński (November 2018, Warsaw)
Kaczyński's project is said to consist of a "moral revolution" culminating in the creation of a "fourth republic" drawing a radical break fromthe compromises surrounding thefall of Communism in Poland,[36] as well as reverting Poland back to its conservative,Roman Catholic roots and away from a multi-cultural styled Western European mainstream. In April 2016, he stated that he is not going to run for the office of President or Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland in the upcoming elections.
Drawing from his strong, uncompromising views (especially regarding parts of the political, cultural and media environment, which he sees as remnants or heirs of the former communist networks), Kaczyński is often labelled as "polarizing".[37]
In recent years, he was also known as an activist foranimal rights, and, among other things, undertook activities aimed at banning the breeding offur animals.[38]
A pejorative term for ideology of Jarosław Kaczyński used by some of his political opponents is "Kaczyzm".[39]
On 21 September 2005, Kaczyński said that "homosexuals should not be isolated, however, they should not be school teachers for example. Active homosexuals surely not, in any case", but that they "should not be discriminated otherwise". He has also stated, "The affirmation of homosexuality will lead to the downfall of civilization. We can't agree to it".[43] On 30 August 2006, during a visit to the European Commission, Kaczyński, as the Prime Minister, stated that "people with such preferences have full rights in Poland, there is no tradition in Poland of persecuting such people". He also asked the President of the European Commission,Jose Manuel Barroso "not to believe in the myth of Poland as an anti-Semitic, homophobic and xenophobic country".[44]
In 2019, Kaczyński characterized the LGBT rights movement as a foreign import that threatens the Polish nation.[45][46] He also stated that everyone must recognize Christianity and questioning the Roman Catholic Church in Poland as unpatriotic: "We are dealing with a direct attack on the family and children — the sexualization of children, that entire LGBT movement, gender. This is imported, but they today actually threaten our identity, our nation, its continuation and therefore the Polish state."
Kaczyński is a practicingRoman Catholic. He is a lifelong bachelor and has no partner or children. He lived with his ailing mother until her hospitalization.[20] He owns no computer and is said to have opened his first bank account only in 2009.[27] On December 7, 2024 Kaczyński joined thesocial networking serviceX (formerly known as Twitter).[58][59][60] In 2024, he owned two[61] cats and has been described as a "feline enthusiast".
The communist-eraSecurity Service (SB) files described Kaczyński as "...very uncertain about his fate. His appearance is careless. He claimed that he was not interested in material matters, women, e.g. he does not care about having a family in the future. He has a phlegmatic disposition, the appearance of a bookworm." The files also noted that he was not willing to cooperate with the SB in any capacity.[62]
^abcdŁątkowska, Mirosława; Borowski, Adam."Jarosław Kaczyński".Encyklopedia Solidarności (in Polish). Retrieved11 August 2023.
^Bogusław Kopka, Ryszard Żelichowski,Rodem z Solidarności. Sylwetki twórców NSZZ Solidarność, Niezależna Oficyna Wydawnicza, Warszawa 1997, s. 81–112,ISBN83-7054-099-6.
^Opozycja w PRL. Słownik biograficzny 1956–89 (red. nacz. Jan Skórzyński), tom 1, wyd. Ośrodek Karta, Warszawa 2000, s. 139–140 (Andrzej Talaga).ISBN83-88288-65-2
^"He's back".The Economist. 12 November 2015. Retrieved8 November 2016.
^Hoppe, Ralf; Puhl, Jan (8 December 2016). "Poland after a Year of Populist Rule".Spiegel Online International. Retrieved 25 September 2017. "The conservative party leader is considered highly intelligent and well educated, but he is also a polarizing figure."
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