Talk:Aleksander Kwaśniewski

Language needs to be corrected
There's a lot of bad English in the text, especially in the section titled "Controversies", e.g. "Kwaśniewski declared that he has graduated university studies"; "President explained, that Ukrainians are simply hospitable and he didn't refuse them"; "Another case is Kwaśniewski's highly controversial grant of pardon was the Vogel case"; etc. Perhaps a job for the contributors. The Gnome 13:19, 21 August 2007 (UTC)

Kwasniewski and the Pope
Thinking aloud - Given that Catholicism is an integral part of the Polish Society: -Would it be relevant to include more on his stance with the Church? -What was the Church’s response? -The public’s response? -How did this affect his term? -Did the Pope ever accept a visit from him?

I’m sure there is someone out there that has insight into this.--Patpecz 20:57, 5 June 2006 (UTC)


 * If the question is about en event, when Kwaśniewski laughing encouraged Marek Siwiec to kiss the soil after landing, what is described by some as "a parody of Pope", in short: there was no official Church response, only some bishops criticized it. The public's response was, that Marian Krzaklewski, who used this clip in his promo materials in presidental elections, lost anyway, and Kwaśniewski was elected in the first round. And yes, Kwaśniewski visited the Pope several times after that and their relations were quite cordial (the Pope indeed had a sense of humor...). Pibwl &larr;&laquo; 11:36, 9 April 2008 (UTC)

Official Kwasniewski biography from the President site http://www.president.pl/pre/en_index.php3

Aleksander Kwasniewski - President of the Republic of Poland
Aleksander Kwasniewski was born on November 15th, 1954, in Bialogard, (formerly Koszalin Voivodship, presently West-Pomeranian Province). Wife Jolanta, maiden name Konty, daughter Aleksandra (born 1981).

In the years 1973-1977, Aleksander Kwasniewski read for transport economics (foreign trade) at the Gdansk University. An activist of the student movement up to 1982, having held, among other functions, chairmanship of the University Council of the Socialist Union of Polish Students (SZSP) from 1976 to 1977, vice-chairmanship of the Gdansk Voivodship Union from 1977 to 1979. A member of the SZSP supreme authorities from 1977 to 1982. From November 1981 to February 1984 - editor in chief of student weekly "ITD," next editor in chief of daily "Sztandar Mlodych" from 1984 to 1985. A co-founder of the first computer-science periodical in Poland "Bajtek" in 1985.

From 1985 to 1987, Minister for Youth Affairs in the Zbigniew Messner government, and then Chairman of the Committee for Youth and Physical Culture till June 1990. A member of the Mieczyslaw Rakowski government, then a cabinet minister and Chairman of the government Social-Political Committee from October 1988 to September 1989. A participant at the Round-Table negotiations, co-chairing with Tadeusz Mazowiecki and Romuald Sosnowski the task group for trade union pluralism. A member of the Polish United Workers' Party from 1977 to 1990. A co-founding member of the Social Democratic Party of the Republic of Poland from January to February 1990, and its first chairman till December 1995. One of the founding members of the Democratic Left Alliance in 1991. A sports activist in the Student Sports Union from 1975 to 1979 and the Polish Olympic Committee (PKOL). PKOL president from 1988 to 1991. Distinguished with the Golden Olympic Order of the International Olympic Committee in 1998 and the Golden Order of Merit of the International Amateur Athletic Federation in 1999, and in 2000 Order of Merit EOC (European Olympic Committee).

Running for the Sejm (lower house of Parliament) from the Warsaw constituency, he won the largest number of votes, 148,533 to be exact. Leader of the parliamentary caucus of the Democratic Left Alliance in the first and second term (1991-1995). A member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and chairman of the Constitutional Committee of the National Assembly from November 1993 to November 1995.

Aleksander Kwasniewski won the presidential elections for the first time in 1995 on the election campaign slogans: "Let's choose the future" and "Common Poland," collecting 51.7 percent of votes, against 48.3 percent cast on Lech Walesa. In a year 2000 he won again collecting 53,9% of votes in the first run. His election campaign slogan was: "The home of all - Poland". Sworn into office on December 23rd, 1995, as President of the Republic of Poland. On the same day, President Kwasniewski took an oath as Superior of the Armed Forces at the First Fighter Wing, "Warszawa", in Minsk Mazowiecki. On December 23rd, 2000 he took his office for the second term.

A co-author of the Constitution draft and a mover of the referendum campaign in favour of passing the Constitution of the Third Republic of Poland, which he signed into law on July 16th, 1997. In 1996, President Kwasniewski submitted the draft of a convention on fighting organised crime to the UN. Took an active part in the efforts to see Poland in NATO. Head of Poland's delegation at the Madrid and Washington summits in 1997 and 1999 respectively. On February 26th, 1999, he signed the instruments ratifying Poland's membership of NATO (during a joint ceremony with the President of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Havel). He also took active part in further enlargement of an Alliance supporting invitation for seven new states (NATO Summit 2002 in Prague) and the 'open door' policy. Following the September 11th 2001 events upon his initiative and within antiterrorist coalition there was an international conference organized in Warsaw with participation of leaders from Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe to strengthen regional activities in combating international terrorism. An advocate of regional cooperation in Central and Eastern Europe. Host of the meeting of the Presidents from the region at Lancut in 1996. An active participant at such meetings in Portoroz in 1997, Levoczy in 1998, Lvov in 1999. Jointly with Lithuania's President, the driving force behind the meeting "Coexistence of Nations and Good-Neighbourly Relations: the Guarantee of Security and Stability in Europe," held in Vilnius in 1997 and the follow-up conference "Baltic-Black Sea Cooperation: Towards the Integrated Europe of the 21st Century Free of Dividing Lines," held in Yalta in 1999. Author of the 'Riga Initiative' (2002) - a forum for cooperation of Central Europe states towards further enlargement of NATO and the European Union.

Aleksander Kwasniewski also launched the following initiatives aimed at reapprochement:

between Poland and Germany by co-creating, among other things, a programme of exchange for Polish and German youths "Jugendwerk" in 1986 (in the capacity of Minister for Youth Affairs), patronage over the construction of Collegium Polonicum at the Viadrina University in Slubice-Frankfurt on the Odra (inaugurated in October 1996), putting forth the problem of mutual return of works of national culture in December 1998, joint commemoration with the President of the Federal Republic of Germany of the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II in September 1999 beetween Poland and Ukraine - Polish-Ukrainian "Declaration on Reconciliation" in May 1997, Polish-Ukrainian Self-Government Forum in June 1999, proposal to erect a monument to the victims of Jaworzno concentration camp (May 1998) and patronage over the reconstruction of the Cemetery of Polish Eaglets in Lvov and Kharkov between Poles and Jews - launching and patronizing i.a. the Auschwitz Programme, help initial the Auschwitz Declaration by the Polish side and a coalition of Jewish Organisations, setting in motion the process of restoring Polish citizenship to persons deprived of it on the strength of political decisions taken in 1968, as well as active participation in the work to regulate the state's attitude towards Jewish religious communities. Knight of the Order of the White Eagle

Decorated with the following highest orders:

Lithuania's Order of Vytautas the Great, 1st grade (1996) and the Order of Grand Lithuanian Duke Gedyminas, 1st grade; Great Britain's Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (March 1996) and the Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (October 1996): Italy's Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (1996); France's Grand Cross of the Order of the Legion of Honour (1996); Norway's Royal Order of Saint Olaf (1996); Greece's Grand Cross of the Order of the Saviour (1996): Latvia's Order of Three Stars (1997); Finland's Grand Cross of the Order of the White Rose of Finland with Collar (1997); Malaysia's Royal Order of Merit (1997); Ukraine's Order of Yaroslav the Wise, 1st class (1997); Portugal's Order of Infant Henry with Grand Ribbon (1997); Estonia's Grand Cross with the Ribbon of Terra Mariana (1998); Romania's Order of the Star of Romania with Ribbon (1999); Chile's Grand Chain of the Order of Merit (1999); Belgium's Grand Ribbon of the Order of Leopold (1999); Turkey's Order of the Republic (2000); Croatia's Great Order of King Tomislav with the Ribbon and Great Star (2001); Spain's Order of Catholic Isabelle with Chain (2001) Federal Republic of Brasil's National Order of Southern Cross (2002) Republic of Peru's Special Grand Cross of the Order of Merit (2002) Federal Republic of Germany's Grand Cross of Merit (2002) Japan's Grand Ribbon of the Great Order of Chrysanthemum Also decorated with the highest distinction of the Orthodox Church in Poland: The Order of Saint Magdalena, first degree with decorations (1998). Also honoured with television personality "Wiktor" prizes on 1993, 1995 and 2000.

Rewrite, reorder
Folks, the rephrase of his official bio just wasn't very good, so I reordered it and improved the text, which wasn't up to native-English standard. I think the article could still use quite a bit of work, and I'll add more detail later, such as the important details of EU membership, advocacy for Ukraine, the Kosovo and Iraq wars, the controversy surrounding his first election, etc. It would be great to have the picture of him and Wałęsa shaking hands at John Paul II's funderal, if copyright allows. Likewise, I put in some improvements on the page about Jolanta Kwasniewska, but it's still far from perfect. --ProhibitOnions 10:59, 2005 May 22 (UTC)


 * The Kwasniewski/Walesa pic is copyrighted, i uploaded it under fair use.--Witkacy 20:51, 22 May 2005 (UTC)


 * I forgot that Mazowiecki was in the picture too, makes it even better! Thanks for that! --ProhibitOnions 23:47, 2005 May 22 (UTC)

Cut passage
I cut this passage, as he probably gives lots of lectures, until special notability can be established for this one:

Kwaśniewski spoke at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC in April of 2006. The title of his speech was "The U.N. and its Role in Making the 21st Century an Era of Peace and Progress."

Biruitorul 00:55, 13 October 2006 (UTC)

"controversies" section removed
There was a section introduced by an anonip full of negative unsourced information that I removed per WP:BLP guidelines. I will be happy to have that reintroduced if it is properly sourced, but any reintroduction without sourcing will result in blocks for that editor. Syrthiss 15:13, 14 December 2006 (UTC)


 * I included many links now, some are however in polish, but there is always at least one in english. - Anonip


 * Thanks very much for supplying the sources. I'm not familiar with several of those publications so I've asked some other experienced editors to take a look and determine if they meet the requirements of reliable sources.  I'm going to blank that section again and ask that you don't reintroduce it until I've had a chance to hear back.  If they are reliable sources I'll gladly reinstate the section, but for this kind of information per BLP we must be correct in our verification. Thanks for your understanding. Syrthiss 14:20, 16 December 2006 (UTC)


 * ok, i undestand, but how long does it take usually? - Anonip


 * I expect a day or two. The admin I asked said he is busy in real life at the moment, but I asked on the Poland-related topics message board. Syrthiss 21:16, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Ok, based on this information that another wikipedian was able to drop on my talk page:


 * I come upon your message at WP:PWNB. I scanned quickly the text. Generally, the sources are quite reliable and/or well-established. This includes


 * Warsaw Voice, a journal for diplomats (many links in the text)
 * Gazeta Wyborcza, a major newspaper, slightly left-wing POV)
 * wp.pl a major polish portal reporting here Polish Press Agency depeche
 * Gazeta Polska now important weekly magazine (right-wing POV in opinions, but quite careful at the level of facts)
 * ] Newsweek equivalent, say
 * money.pl established finance-oriented portal; IMHO quite well balanced.
 * IPN, government agency (for historic issues, of course)
 * TV puls well-known private TV station, right wing option
 * radio zet a major radio station, left-wing option

I'm going to go reinsert the section. Thanks very much for bearing with me on this. Syrthiss 14:59, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Kwasniewski and SLD
Kwasniewski was never a leader of the Democratic Left Alliance. He was only a leader of its Parliamentary Club, but it's something completely different. I'm editing that information. 85.219.130.242 (talk) 14:24, 23 March 2008 (UTC)

School of International Journalism
The information, that he allegedly was sent in 1979 by the communist party to School of International Journalism at Moscow State Institute of International Relations and get diploma nr 1792, is a bogus, repeated by some extreme rightist pages, with no reliable sources. This "diploma nr 1792" itself was published in post-communist NIE nr 13/1997 as a joke for All Fools Day ([http://www.nie.com.pl/art9618.htm article in NIE - in Polish). Pibwl &larr;&laquo; 12:18, 9 April 2008 (UTC)

Image copyright problem with Image:Walesa Kwas.jpg
The image Image:Walesa Kwas.jpg is used in this article under a claim of fair use, but it does not have an adequate explanation for why it meets the requirements for such images when used here. In particular, for each page the image is used on, it must have an explanation linking to that page which explains why it needs to be used on that page. Please check


 * That there is a non-free use rationale on the image's description page for the use in this article.
 * That this article is linked to from the image description page.

This is an automated notice by FairuseBot. For assistance on the image use policy, see Media copyright questions. --09:49, 4 November 2008 (UTC)

C-class
At present date, this article does not classify for a B-class. First obvious fail: not enough inline citations. Review for WP:POLAND, --Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus 05:07, 2 February 2011 (UTC)

Spiritual belief
Is it really that important to mention his personal spiritual belief (the fact that he's atheist) already in the introduction? It is already mentioned in the infobox and later, I think it's not that relevant to put it even in the intro. Then why not mentioning his favourite sport, his favourite color and his preferred sex position??--Desyman44 (talk) 12:55, 16 February 2011 (UTC)

Parents and early life
Mr. Kwasniewski is a public figure, a former president of Poland. Still, it is impossible to find well-sourced information about his background. We do not know anything about his parents, and his biography begins when he was 25 or so. Interesting. Tymek (talk) 04:45, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

Request for Comments
There is an RfC on the question of using "Religion: None" vs. "Religion: None (atheist)" in the infobox on this and other similar pages.

The RfC is at Template talk:Infobox person.

Please help us determine consensus on this issue. --Guy Macon (talk) 22:36, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

External links modified
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 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20060902091957/http://www.law.nyu.edu/eecr/vol6num4/constitutionwatch/poland.html to http://www1.law.nyu.edu/eecr/vol6num4/constitutionwatch/poland.html
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20070317171437/http://www.iwp.edu/news/newsID.315/news_detail.asp to http://www.iwp.edu/news/newsID.315/news_detail.asp
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20070317171437/http://www.iwp.edu/news/newsID.315/news_detail.asp to http://www.iwp.edu/news/newsID.315/news_detail.asp
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20140202143035/http://diplomats.pl/en/component/content/article/473.html to http://diplomats.pl/en/component/content/article/473.html
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20140514022640/http://burisma.com/board-of-directors/ to http://burisma.com/board-of-directors/
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20051029122834/http://www.prezydent.pl/x.node?id=3666 to http://www.prezydent.pl/x.node?id=3666

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Looks like he was the second president of Poland
Hi, It looks like he was the second president of Poland according to the polish Wikipedia article. You other Wikipedia contributors maybe want to check that and fix the english language article if the information is wrong. --Jamesjohnson354 (talk) 00:22, 14 August 2020 (UTC)