| Paweł Zalewski | |
| Office: | Sejm member |
| Status: | Current |
| Term Start: | 2019 |
| Constituency: | 20 Warsaw |
| Term Start2: | 2005 |
| Term End2: | 2007 |
| Term Start3: | 1991 |
| Term End3: | 1993 |
| Birth Name: | Paweł Ksawery Zalewski |
| Birth Date: | 25 September 1964 |
| Citizenship: | Polish |
| Party: | Poland 2050 (2021—present) |
| Otherparty: | Forum of Democratic Right (1990-1991) Democratic Union (1991-1992) Party Conservative (1992-1993) Conservative Coalition (1994-1999) Conservative People's Party (1999-2001) Right Alliance (2001-2002) Law and Justice(2002—2007) Civic Platform (2009—2021) independent(2021) |
| Children: | 2 |
| Occupation: | Politician |
Paweł Ksawery Zalewski (born 25 September 1964 in Warsaw) is a Polish politician and unaffiliated member of the Sejm and the European Parliament.[1] [2] He has been a member of the Sejm from 1991—1993, 2005—2007, and 2019—2023[3] [4] Until May 2021, he was affiliated with Civic Platform (PO).[5]
Zalewski grew up in Żoliborz,[6] son of Jerzy Zalewski, an Operation Storm veteran. His grandfather fought as part of the Legions, his grandmother was involved in the Polish Socialist Party, and his paternal great-uncle was Major Antoni Jabłoński, commander of the 11th Legions Uhlan Regiment.[6] His family is from the Świętokrzyskie Province near Bodzentyn.[7]
During high school, he became a School Olympiad academic laureate in history and was admitted to University of Warsaw's School of History without taking entrance examinations.[6] [8] While at university, he joined the Forum of the Democratic Right, also known as the Democratic Union.[6] Zalewski completed his Master's degree, also at the University of Warsaw, in 1990;[9] his thesis was centered on Polish diplomats during the early days of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[6]
In 1991, Zalewski was elected to the Sejm as a Democratic Union party member in the 26 Siedlce electorical district.[3] He was elected again on 25 September 2005 as part of the Law and Justice platform with 14,068 votes in the 11 Sieradz district.[10] During his term, he served as the deputy chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee.[11] Despite being the party's vice president, he left Law and Justice in 2007 along with fellow member Kazimierz Ujazdowski after an argument with former Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński.[12] [13] He joined the Civic Platform (PO) in 2009[14] and was a member of the European People's Party Group by 2012.[2] [15] He was reelected to the Sejm in 2019 as a member of the PO with 12248 from the 20 Warsaw electoral district.[16]
Throughout his time as an MEP, he has served on a number of committees as well as on the European Parliament.[8] In 2009, he was a delegate for the Parliamentary Cooperation Committee; from 2009—2014, he was a delegate for Iran–Poland relations and the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly; and from 2010—2014, he was a delegate for CARIFORUM.[2] He served as a substitute delegate for Belarus–Poland relations[2] and was a rapporteur of the DCFTA Agreement with Ukraine.[17] He has also been the vice chairman of the European Parliament Committee on International Trade[18] twice.[2]
In 2020, he criticized Vladimir Putin for "destroying historical truth".[19] In August 2021, he voted as an independent MEP against a proposal for increasing the president's salary.[20] In September, still without a party, he voted in favor of aiding Afghan refugees.[21]
On 14 May 2021, Zalewski and Ireneusz Raś were removed from the Sejm at the request of the Civic Coalition (KO).[22] They were summarily removed from PO and relieved of all committee responsibilities.[23] [22] The ejection occurred after Zalewski and Raś signed a letter along with several senators and 49 other MEPs from PO and KO calling for a change in leadership within the coalition.[14] [24] [25] Both appealed their respective removal,[26] which the PO defended by criticizing Zalewski for sharing his contrary opinions with the media but refusing to speak up during diplomatic meetings during his years as a Sejm member.[27] The formal hearing has been postponed twice and is currently scheduled for 29 September 2021.[28]
| Award | Award Body | Year | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | [29] | ||
| 2007 | |||
| 2013 | [30] | ||
Zalewski and his ex-wife have two daughters.[6] In 2018, he married Kinga Sitarska[31] and lost his mother.[32] In December 2020, his father died of COVID-19, age 93.[33]