Antoni Macierewicz

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Antoni Macierewicz : biography

3 August 1948 –

Antoni Macierewicz (born 3 August 1948 in Warsaw) is a Polish politician, anti-communist activist, member of Sejm, journalist and a former internal affairs minister, former vice-minister of national defence in Jarosław Kaczyński’s government, and current parliamentary representative.

III Republic of Poland 1990 to present

He has been and still is a representative at the Sejm, and chairman of the Catholic-National Movement party, lately merged with PiS. He was Minister of Internal Affairs in the Jan Olszewski’s government (1991–1992). As a minister responsible for the police and security services, he was afforded full access to the former communist documentary archives including records of communist intelligence and secret service agents.On May 28, 1992 Polish Parliament passed law requiring the minister of Internal Affairs to provide Sejm with the list of then senators, representatives, ministers, voivodes, judges and prosecutors who had been secret communist agents between 1945-1990 (the military secret agents were excluded). On 4 June 1992, Macierewicz provided the list of 64 members of the government and parliament (but not voivodes) that had been listed as secret agents in the archives of the communist secret police to the Convent of Senior Parliamentarians(Konwent Seniorów), and also he provided the second list containing just 2 names of highest importance, of the president Lech Wałęsa and then Marshall of Sejm Wiesław Chrzanowski. As the crisis had been unfolding, prior to the lists presentation, on May 29, 1992 the opposition parties submitted Motion of no confidence asking for the vote on the fate of Olszewski’s government. On the night of June 4/5 1992 after the presentation of the lists, the motion of no confidence was granted and Olszewski’s government was dismissed – the situation well depicted in the documentary Nocna zmiana (Night Shift). Olszewski defending his minister named the actions of Macierewicz ‘itself a concerted conspiracy perpetrated by circles of former high ranking communist secret police officers’ aimed at dismembering his government and thwart plans to purge off former communists from public offices and services.official speeches made by Olszewski in his televised address to the nation relayed in prime time after main edition of the news in TVP1 and TVP2 – both channels of national television 4/5 June 1992

In 1992 Macierewicz founded his own party (Polish Action) which soon ceased to exist. Then he repaired his relations with Olszewski and joined his party (Movement for Reconstruction of Poland) and became his deputy in 1996. He ran to parliament on the Olszewski ‘s party ticket. Later he left Olszewski again in 1997 to set up his own National Catholic Movement. In 2001 he joined a different party of League of Polish Families and was on their ticket re-elected to parliament in 2001 but left them due to differences. In 2002 he tried to run for the mayor of Warsaw coming 8th on the ballot with 1.09% of popular vote.

Following successful campaign of Lech Kaczyński and his twin brother in 2005 (presidential and parliamentary election) Macierewicz was called upon by prime minister Jarosław Kaczyński to the post of deputy defense minister.

In July 2006, he was appointed to lead the liquidation of the Military Information Services, and upon finishing his task from October 2006 he was the chief of the newly restructured military counter-intelligence service until the fall of Kaczyński government. On 16 February 2007 the liquidation report was published in Polish Monitor and it is known as Raport Macierewicza. Also in 2007 he run for a seat of Sejm representative and was elected to the parliament.

Since July 20, 2010 Macierewicz, member of Sejm, is the head of the parliamentary committee ( "Zespół Parlamentarny Ds. Zbadania Przyczyn Katastrofy TU-154M z 10 kwietnia 2010 r.") established to investigate and to determine the causes of the 2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash. On June 29–30, 2011 the committee published "Biała Księga Smoleńskiej Tragedii" (White Book of Smolensk Tragedy), where some 170 thousands of documents were published on their websites and 19 causes of the crash presented, pointing to Polish and Russian causes of the crash. Also in 2011 "Gazeta Polska" awarded Macierewicz a title of Man of the Year 2010." Macierewicz makes public speeches and regularly appears in Radio Maryja and Telewizja Trwam, as well as he writes for various publications.

Early years and activity during the Communist Poland

Youngest son of Zdzisław and Maria Macierewicz, one of their three children. His father, a scientist and noted researcher in chemistry, was a soldier of Home Army during World War II and a member of Labour Party (Poland), committed suicide under the pressure from the communist Secret Police soon after his youngest son had been born. After getting his master degree in history from Warsaw University Macierewicz had begun doctoral studies in history of South America at the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw, but due to his involvement in the 1968 Polish political crisis he was arrested and his studies terminated. In the years 1968-1989 he was a prominent member of the democratic opposition to communist rule and one of the founders of the Workers’ Defence Committee (KOR), working together with Jacek Kuroń and Adam Michnik, and together they started publishing monthly Głos in 1977. He was one of the organizers of Solidarity (Polish trade union) in Warsaw. He was arrested and interned after the Wojciech Jaruzelski’s junta had imposed the martial law in Poland on December 13, 1981. He escaped from the prison in Nowy Łupków and was in hiding until 1984. In 1988 he was a member of Solidarity Citizens’ Committee.

Footnotes