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Janusz Onyszkiewicz

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Janusz Onyszkiewicz
Minister of National Defence
In office
31 October 1997 – 16 June 2000
Prime MinisterJerzy Buzek
Preceded byStanisław Dobrzański
Succeeded byBronisław Komorowski
In office
11 July 1992 – 26 October 1993
Prime MinisterHanna Suchocka
Preceded byRomuald Szeremietiew
Succeeded byPiotr Kołodziejczyk
Personal details
Born(1937-12-18)18 December 1937(age 86)
Lwów,Poland
Political partyDemocratic Party – demokraci.pl

Janusz Adam Onyszkiewicz(Polish pronunciation:[ˈjanuʂɔnɨʂˈkʲɛvʲitʂ],born 18 December 1937) is a Polish mathematician, alpinist, politician[1]who served asMinister of Defencetwice, in the cabinets ofHanna Suchocka(1992–1993) andJerzy Buzek(1997–2000).[2]

Later in his career, Onyszkiewicz was aMember of the European Parliament.[3]

Early life and education[edit]

Onyszkiewicz was born inLwów(then Poland, now Lviv,Ukraine).[4]He graduated inmathematicsfromWarsaw University.He became amathematician,and was also known as analpinistin the 1970s along with his wifeAlison Chadwick-Onyszkiewicz.

Political career[edit]

In the 1980s, Onyszkiewicz became the spokesman for theanti-communistSolidaritymovement.[1]He became popular among foreign journalists because of his fluent English. After the introduction ofmartial law in Polandon 13 December 1981, he was arrested and interned.[5]In 1986, he was again detained by the police, preventing him from holding a news conference on behalf of political prisoners that was scheduled to coincide with the start of a conference of intellectuals.[6]

Member of the Polish Parliament[edit]

After the fall of communism in 1989, Onyszkiewicz became a member of the PolishSejm.He served all subsequent terms from May 1989 until 2001. In the spring of 1990, Onyszkiewicz andBronisław Komorowskibecame the first civilian vice-ministers of defence in the communist-dominated Ministry of Defence.[5]Later, Onyszkiewicz was Minister of Defence twice, in the cabinets ofHanna Suchocka(1992–1993) andJerzy Buzek(1997–2000).[2]

Initially, Onyszkiewicz was a member of theObywatelski Klub Parlamentarny,then theDemocratic Unionand theFreedom Union.Today, he is a member of theDemocratic Party,the continuation of Democratic Union.[4]

In 1999, Onyszkiewicz was awarded theManfred Wörner Medalby the German Minister of Defence.[1]

Member of the European Parliament[edit]

On 13 June 2004, Onyszkiewicz was elected to theEuropean Parliamentas a candidate of Democratic Union in the 10th constituency (Lesser Poland+Swietokrzyskie Voivodeships) receiving 50 155 votes (6,37%). On 20 July 2004 he was elected a vice-president of the European Parliament.

Other activities[edit]

Onyszkiewicz is Chairman of theICDT's International Board of Directors.[7]

References[edit]

  1. ^abcEuropa Publications, "The International Who's Who 2004", Routledge, 2003,pg. 1258
  2. ^abJeffrey Simon, "Poland and NATO: a study in civil-military relations", Rowman & Littlefield, 2004,pg. 19
  3. ^"A 5-member delegation representing the European Parliament pays a 4-day visit to Taiwan.","Archived copy".Archived fromthe originalon 7 June 2011.Retrieved29 January2010.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^abDziennik Polski, "Ankieta Eurokandyta – Janusz Onyszkiewicz", 20 May 2009,[1]
  5. ^abKrzysztof Ciesielski and Zdzislaw Pogoda, "Janusz Onyszkiewicz", The Mathematical Intelligencer, Volume 12, Number 4 / December, 1990,[2]
  6. ^2 Solidarity Activists Detained in PolandNew York Times,17 January 1986.
  7. ^"An Open Letter to the Obama Administration from Central and Eastern Europe", International Center for Democratic Transition,"The International Centre for Democratic Transition (ICDT)".Archived fromthe originalon 21 July 2011.Retrieved29 January2010.
  • Onuszkiewicz's page for elections to the European Parliament[3]

See also[edit]

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