Józef Oleksy Explained

Józef Oleksy
Order:Prime Minister of Poland
Term Start:7 March 1995
Term End:7 February 1996
Deputy:Roman Jagieliński
Grzegorz Kołodko
Aleksander Łuczak
President:Lech Wałęsa
Aleksander Kwaśniewski
Predecessor:Waldemar Pawlak
Successor:Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz
Order1:Leader of Democratic Left Alliance
Term Start1:18 December 2004
Term End1:21 May 2005
Predecessor1:Krzysztof Janik
Successor1:Wojciech Olejniczak
Order2:Marshal of the Sejm
Term Start2:21 August 2004
Term End2:5 January 2005
Predecessor2:Marek Borowski
Successor2:Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz
Term Start3:14 October 1993
Term End3:3 March 1995
Predecessor3:Wiesław Chrzanowski
Successor3:Józef Zych
Order4:Deputy Prime Minister of Poland
Term Start4:21 January 2004
Term End4:21 April 2004
Primeminister4:Leszek Miller
Predecessor4:Grzegorz Kołodko
Successor4:Izabela Jaruga-Nowacka
Order5:Minister of Interior and Administration
Term Start5:21 January 2004
Term End5:21 April 2004
Primeminister5:Leszek Miller
Predecessor5:Krzysztof Janik
Successor5:Ryszard Kalisz
Order6:Leader of Social Democracy
Term Start6:23 December 1995
Term End6:21 September 1997
Predecessor6:Aleksander Kwaśniewski
Successor6:Leszek Miller
Birth Date:1946 6, df=yes
Birth Place:Nowy Sącz, Poland
Death Place:Warsaw, Poland
Party:Social Democracy of the Republic of Poland, Democratic Left Alliance
Spouse:Maria Oleksy
Profession:Economist

Józef Oleksy (pronounced as /pl/; 22 June 1946 – 9 January 2015) was a Polish left-wing politician who served as Prime Minister of Poland from 7 March 1995 to 7 February 1996, when he resigned due to espionage allegations. He was chairman of the Democratic Left Alliance (Sojusz Lewicy Demokratycznej, SLD).

Early life and education

In his youth he lived in Nowy Sącz, and was an altar boy at St. Margaret church.[1] He graduated from Kazimierz Brodziński High School in Tarnów. Later on, he graduated from the Faculty of Foreign Trade of the Warsaw School of Planning and Statistics (currently SGH Warsaw School of Economics). He obtained a doctoral degree in economics. He was a dean and lecturer at the Faculty of International Relations at the SGH Warsaw School of Economics and the Vistula University in Warsaw.[2]

Career

From 1968 to 1990 he was a member of the communist Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR).[3] He was a member of the board of the main Socialist Union of Polish Students. He chaired the National Council of Young Scientists. He was the secretary of the PZPR University Committee at the Warsaw School of Planning and Statistics. In 1977 he went to work in party apparatus at the Department of Ideological and Educational Work of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party. From 1981 to the X Congress of the Party, he headed the office of the Central Committee of the Party. In 1987-1989 he was the First Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee in Biala Podlaska. In 1989, he served as Minister-Council member for cooperation with trade unions. In the same year he took part in the round table talks on the government side. Oleksy represented the Communist leadership in round table talks with the opposition Solidarity movement in early 1989.[4]

In 1990 he was one of the founders of the Social Democracy of the Republic of Poland, he was the chairman of this party from 28 January 1996 to 6 December 1997, and co-founded the Democratic Left Alliance in 1999. In the years 1989–2005, he was the member of the Sejm.[5]

In the years 1993-1995 he was the Marshal of the Sejm. From 7 March 1995 to 7 February 1996, he served as Prime Minister of Poland. He resigned after being accused by Interior Minister Andrzej Milczanowski for spying for Russia under the pseudonym "Olin".[6] These allegations have never been confirmed.[7]

In the years 2001-2005 he was a chairman of the European Union Committee in the Sejm which was responsible for aligning all Polish laws and regulations before Poland joined European Union in 2004. In 2004 he was a member of the European Parliament and the Convention on the Future of Europe, which was responsible to produce a draft constitution for the European Union for the European Council to finalise and adopt.

In early 2004 he took the office of the Minister of Internal Affairs. Between 21 April 2004 and 5 January 2005 he was the Marshal of the Sejm.[8]

A record of a private conversation Jozef Oleksy had with one of Poland's richest businessmen Aleksander Gudzowaty "leaked" to the media on 22 March 2007. The tapes suggested corruption in the SLD party. Oleksy accused former president Aleksander Kwaśniewski of illegal financial procedures, and spoke very harshly of then SLD leader Wojciech Olejniczak and several other members of the party.[9] He soon left the SLD.[10] He re-joined the SLD on 1 February 2010 and on 12 May 2012 he became vice-president of this party.

Private life

Józef Oleksy was married to Maria Oleksy. He had two children.[11]

Since 2005 he had been struggling with cancer. He died on 9 January 2015. Funeral ceremonies with representatives of the state authorities, including President Bronisław Komorowski, Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz and Marshal of the Sejm Radosław Sikorski, took place on 16 January 2015 in the Field Cathedral of the Polish Army in Warsaw. Józef Oleksy was buried at the Powązki Military Cemetery.[12]

Honours and awards

See also

External links

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Notes and References

  1. Web site: Józef Oleksy . pl . tarnow.gosc.pl . 11 November 2023.
  2. Web site: dr Józef Oleksy . nauka-polska.pl . 11 November 2023.
  3. Web site: Byłem zwykłym chłopakiem . pl . magiel.waw.pl . https://web.archive.org/web/20131106000351/http://www.magiel.waw.pl/2011/12/temat-numeru/bylem-zwyklym-chlopakiem/ . 11 November 2023. 6 November 2013 .
  4. News: Polish post-Communist premier Oleksy dies aged 68. Reuters. 9 January 2015.
  5. Web site: Józef Oleksy - polityk wielowymiarowy . pl . dzieje.pl . 9 January 2015 . 11 November 2023.
  6. News: Polish Premier, Ex-Communist Accused of Spying, Resigns. The New York Times. 25 January 1996. Perlez. Jane.
  7. Web site: Archives. . 23 April 1996 .
  8. Web site: Jósef Oleksy 1946-2015 . politico.eu . Jeanette Minns . 15 January 2015 . 11 November 2023.
  9. Web site: Zapis rozmowy Oleksego z Gudzowatym. 12 October 2007.
  10. Web site: Wiadomości z kraju i ze świata – wszystko co ważne – WP.
  11. Web site: Józef Oleksy . pl . onet.pl . 12 November 2019 . 11 November 2023.
  12. Web site: Funeral held for former PM Józef Oleksy.