Ewa Kopacz | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Kopacz in 2024 | |
| Prime Minister of Poland | |
| In office 22 September 2014 – 16 November 2015 | |
| President | Bronisław Komorowski Andrzej Duda |
| Deputy | Tomasz Siemoniak Janusz Piechociński |
| Preceded by | Donald Tusk |
| Succeeded by | Beata Szydło |
| Vice-President of the European Parliament | |
| Assumed office 3 July 2019 Serving with see list | |
| President | David Sassoli Roberta Metsola |
| Preceded by | Zdzisław Krasnodębski |
| Member of the European Parliament | |
| Assumed office 2 July 2019 | |
| Constituency | Greater Poland |
| Leader of theCivic Platform | |
| In office 8 November 2014 – 26 January 2016 | |
| Secretary General | Paweł Graś Andrzej Biernat |
| Preceded by | Donald Tusk |
| Succeeded by | Grzegorz Schetyna |
| Marshal of the Sejm | |
| In office 8 November 2011 – 22 September 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Grzegorz Schetyna |
| Succeeded by | Radosław Sikorski |
| Minister of Health | |
| In office 16 November 2007 – 8 November 2011 | |
| Prime Minister | Donald Tusk |
| Preceded by | Zbigniew Religa |
| Succeeded by | Bartosz Arłukowicz |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Ewa Bożena Lis (1956-12-03)3 December 1956 (age 68) Skaryszew,Poland |
| Political party | United People's Party(before 1989) Freedom Union(1994–2001) Civic Platform(2001–present) |
| Other political affiliations | European People's Party |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | Medical University of Lublin |
| Awards |    |
Ewa Bożena Kopacz (IPA:[ˈɛvaˈkɔpat͡ʂ]ⓘ;néeLis; born 3 December 1956) is a Polish politician who has served as aVice-President of the European Parliament since 2019. She previously wasMarshal of the Sejm from 2011 to 2014, the first woman to hold the office, as well asPrime Minister of Poland from 2014 to 2015. In addition, Kopacz wasMinister of Health from 2007 until 2011. Since 2001, she has been a member ofCivic Platform, which she chaired from 2014 to 2016.[1] Kopacz succeededDonald Tusk as prime minister, becoming the second woman to hold the office afterHanna Suchocka (1992–1993). Her term as prime minister ended on 16 November 2015, when she was succeeded byBeata Szydło.
Prior to entering politics, Kopacz was apediatrician andgeneral practitioner.[2] She was described as one of the leaders of theEuropean Union during her tenure as prime minister. She wasranked as the world's 40th most powerful woman byForbes magazine in 2015, placing her ahead of QueenElizabeth II of the United Kingdom and American television personalityEllen DeGeneres.[3]
Ewa Kopacz was born inSkaryszew. She is the daughter of Mieczysław and Krystyna Lis. Her father was employed as a mechanic and her mother worked as a tailor. She was raised in the city ofRadom, where she graduated from high school. In 1981 she graduated from theMedical University of Lublin. She did a residency in family medicine ("second-degree specialisation") with a focus on pediatrics ("first degree"). She worked at the clinics in the villages ofOrońsko andChlewiska, then town ofSzydłowiec, where until 2001 she headed the local health care facility.[citation needed]
In the 1980s, Kopacz joined theUnited People's Party.[citation needed] She entered active politics after her late husband, Marek Kopacz, a prosecutor, stood unsuccessfully for parliament.[4]
In the 1990s, Kopacz joined the Freedom Union and chaired the party's structures in the province of Radom. In the local elections in 1998, the regional council elected her as the councilor for theMasovian Voivodship.[citation needed]
In 2001, Kopacz left the Freedom Union to join the newly establishedCivic Platform political party. She was then elected to the Parliament in 2005, where she became head of the Health Committee. She worked as the chairperson of the Civic Platform structures of Masovia.[citation needed]
Kopacz was first elected as a deputy to the Sejm in 2001.[1] She was subsequently re-elected in 2005, 2007 and 2011. In November 2011 she was elected the Marshal of the Sejm.[5]
In 2009 Kopacz gained some degree of international fame by requesting pharmaceutical companies to present the advantages ofswine fluvaccines, and demanding they take full responsibility for the side effects. She advised the Polish government to wait until proper testing had been done on the vaccine before investing in it, citing the fact that seasonal flu exceeds the current WHO criteria for pandemic every year but there has been no declaration of a pandemic of this much more dangerous seasonal flu. The Polish government refused to purchase the vaccine in question.[citation needed]
On 22 September 2014 Ewa Kopacz was sworn in as prime minister, afterDonald Tusk resigned to take office asPresident of the European Council, and formed a cabinet.[6][7] On 8 November 2014 she was sworn in as leader of theCivic Platform.[citation needed]
.jpg)
In her first major policy speech as prime minister, Kopacz promised more continuity in Poland's foreign policy. She said her government would not stand for a break-up of neighboring Ukraine and would push for a greater U.S. military presence in Poland as a deterrent to possible Russian aggression.[8] For domestic political reasons she decided to replace Foreign MinisterRadosław Sikorski with her party rivalGrzegorz Schetyna.[9] Instead, Sikorski was elected Marshal of the Sejm.
At her first EU summit in October 2014, Kopacz managed to persuade the other Member States that Poland deserved lucrative concessions as part of a deal to cut European carbon emissions.[10] After theEuropean Commission opened infringement proceedings against Poland for violating particle pollution levels and was investigating reports that it has also exceeded limits on nitrogen oxides, Kopacz's government declared 2015 to be the Year of Improving Air Quality and backed a proposal to empower regional authorities to clamp down on pollution from vehicles and from the burning of coal and wood in homes.[11]
Poland's2014 local elections, a ballot expected to provide a solid show of support for Kopacz, saw her party instead attract fewer votes than the opposition for the first time in almost a decade.[10]
As part of a cabinet reshuffle in June 2015, Kopacz purged three ministers from her government after the surprise defeat of PresidentBronislaw Komorowski, a party ally of Kopacz, in thepresidential elections. She also demoted the official who oversees Poland's intelligence services.[12] Instead, she appointed a group of relative political unknowns to her government in an effort to regain voters' trust and avoid defeat in the upcoming elections. The appointments included a former Olympic rower,Adam Korol, who was named sports and tourism minister, andMarian Zembala, a celebrated heart surgeon, who became the new minister for health.[13]
In thenational elections, Kopacz received 230 894 votes, which was the highest individual score in the country, and she received a mandate deputy of parliament VIII term.[14] However, her party lost the elections. In accordance with the constitution, she resigned along with all other members of her cabinet at the first sitting of the newly elected Sejm. She remained in office until her successorBeata Szydło was sworn in on 16 November 2015.
Since becoming aMember of the European Parliament following the2019 European elections, Kopacz has been serving as one of itsVice-Presidents; in this capacity, she has been part of the Parliament's leadership under PresidentsDavid Sassoli (2019–2022) andRoberta Metsola (since 2022).[15] Within the centre-rightEuropean People's Party Group (EPP), she is part of the leadership team around chairmanManfred Weber.[16] She later also joined the Special Committee on Beating Cancer (2020)[17] and the Special Committee on theCOVID-19 pandemic (2022).[18][19]
In addition to her committee assignments, Kopacz is a member of theMEPs Against Cancer group.[20]
When Tusk's sister Sonia suffered a stroke in 2005, Kopacz became involved in her treatment, travelling to hospitals around Poland with her.[4]
She was married to Marek Kopacz until 2008.[21][22] and has a daughter, Katarzyna from her marriage.[23]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minister of Health 2007–2011 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Marshal of the Sejm 2011–2014 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Poland 2014–2015 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Leader of theCivic Platform 2014–2016 | Succeeded by |
| Health and social welfare |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Health | ||
  CurrentMembers of the European Parliament fromPoland (2019–2024) | |
|---|---|
|
| List of members of theEuropean People's Party group (2019–2024) | |
|---|---|
| Austria | |
| Belgium | |
| Bulgaria | |
| Croatia | |
| Cyprus | |
| Czech Republic | |
| Denmark | |
| Estonia | |
| Finland | |
| France | |
| Germany | |
| Greece | |
| Hungary | |
| Ireland | |
| Italy | |
| Latvia | |
| Lithuania | |
| Luxembourg | |
| Malta | |
| Netherlands | |
| Poland | |
| Portugal | |
| Romania | |
| Slovakia | |
| Slovenia | |
| Spain | |
| Sweden | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
