Jerzy Buzek
His Excellency Jerzy Buzek | |||||||||
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President of the European Parliament | |||||||||
In office 14 July 2009 – 17 January 2012 | |||||||||
Deputy | |||||||||
Preceded by | Hans-Gert Pöttering | ||||||||
Succeeded by | Martin Schulz | ||||||||
Prime Minister of Poland | |||||||||
In office 31 October 1997 – 19 October 2001 | |||||||||
President | Aleksander Kwaśniewski | ||||||||
Deputy | See list
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Preceded by | Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz | ||||||||
Succeeded by | Leszek Miller | ||||||||
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Personal details | |||||||||
Born | Jerzy Karol Buzek 3 July 1940 Smilowitz, Nazi Germany (now Czech Republic) | ||||||||
Political party | Civic Platform | ||||||||
Other political affiliations | European People's Party | ||||||||
Spouse | Ludgarda Buzek | ||||||||
Children | Agata | ||||||||
Education | Silesian University of Technology | ||||||||
Awards | |||||||||
Signature | |||||||||
Jerzy Karol Buzek (
Early years
Jerzy Karol Buzek was born to a
Professional career
In 1963 Jerzy Buzek graduated from the Mechanics-and-Energy Division of the Silesian University of Technology, specialising in chemical engineering. He became a scientist in the Chemical Engineering Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Since 1997 he has been a professor of technical science. He is also an honorary doctor of the universities in Seoul and Dortmund among others.[4]
From 1997 to 2001, Buzek was a coalition Prime Minister of Poland.
In 1998 he became the first laureate of the Grzegorz Palka Award[5] and was nominated European of the Year by the European Union Business Chambers Forum.
In 1998 he was named 'Person of the Year' by the influential Polish political weekly Wprost. He won the award for the second time in 2009. On receiving the award again, as President of the European Parliament, he stressed that he was the first winner to be honoured for his work beyond the borders of Poland.[6]
He was the first Prime Minister of the 3rd Republic of Poland to serve a full term.Jerzy Buzek was the first Lutheran Prime Minister in the history of Poland.
After losing the parliamentary elections in 2001, he stepped back from political life and focused more on his scientific work, becoming the prorector of Akademia Polonijna in Częstochowa and professor in the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the Opole University of Technology in Opole.
His return to political life in 2004 saw him gain the largest popular vote in Poland as the member for Katowice to the European Parliament standing for the Civic Platform.
Whilst President of the European Parliament, on 30 March 2011, he was awarded an honorary fellowship of the Institution of Chemical Engineers at a meeting of the European Federation of Chemical Engineering (EFCE) in Brussels, Belgium.[7]
Political career
In the 1980s, Buzek was an activist of the
Jerzy Buzek was a member of the Solidarity Electoral Action (AWS) and co-author of the AWS's economic program. After the 1997 elections he was elected to the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish Parliament, and was soon appointed Prime Minister of Poland. In 1999 he became the chairman of the AWS Social Movement (Ruch Społeczny AWS) and in 2001 he became the Chairman of the Solidarity Electoral Action coalition.[8]
Jerzy Buzek's government
Between the years 1997–2001 he was the Prime Minister of Poland, first of the right-centrist AWS–Freedom Union coalition government until 2001, and then of the rightist AWS minority government. His cabinet's major achievements were four significant political and economic reforms: a new local government and administration division of Poland, reform of the pension system, reform of the educational system, and reform of the medical care system.[9] AWS was defeated in the 2001 Polish parliamentary election. Buzek resigned as the chairman of AWS Social Movement and was replaced by Mieczysław Janowski.
Polish Member of the European Parliament
On 13 June 2004, in the European Parliament election, 2004, Jerzy Buzek was elected a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from the Silesian Voivodeship, basing his candidacy only on the popularity of his name and on direct contact with the voters. He received a record number of votes, 173,389 (22.14% of the total votes in the region). His current party affiliation is with the Civic Platform, which is a member of the European People's Party.
In the 2004–2009 European Parliament, he was a member of the
On 7 June 2009, in the European Parliament election, 2009, Buzek was re-elected as a Member of the European Parliament from the Silesian Voivodeship constituency. Just as in the previous election, Buzek received a record number of votes in Poland: 393,117 (over 42% of the total votes in the district). On 12 September 2018, he voted in favor of approving the controversial Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market.[10]
In the 2014–2019 European Parliament he was the Chair of the
President of the European Parliament
On 14 July 2009, Buzek was elected
In his inaugural address in Strasbourg, Buzek stated that among the greatest challenges faced by the European parliament were the economic crisis, European solidarity, human rights, and reform within the Parliament itself.
On 8 December 2009 Buzek was awarded by the Ministerpräsident of North Rhine-Westphalia, Dr. Jürgen Rüttgers, the annual "Staatspreis award". The prize was awarded in honor of his lifetime achievements and highlighted the European Parliament as a "motor of integration." Affirming his commitment to the Eastern Partnership and "those who do not have the possibility to participate in our European integration project", Buzek announced that the prize money would be donated to the European Humanities University (EHU), A Belarusian university in exile in Vilnius.[15]
The
In late 2011 Buzek's presidency also endorsed the '
One of Buzek's major challenges as EP president was dealing with the allegations of corruption, illegal lobbying and mismanagement of public funds of which several members of the European Parliament have been accused in the wake of a cash-for-amendments scandal. On 7 July 2011, the
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Jerzy Buzek with President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso and Polish President Bronisław Komorowski
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Jerzy Buzek andJose Manuel Barroso during an EPPSummit in 2009
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European Big Three; Jerzy Buzek, Herman Van Rompuy, José Manuel Barroso
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Jerzy Buzek with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
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Jerzy Buzek with President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili
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Jerzy Buzek with Nicos Anastasiades
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Jerzy Buzek with Polish journalist Paweł Rogaliński
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Jerzy Buzek with Jyrki Katainen
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Jerzy Buzek with Mariano Rajoy
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Jerzy Buzek with Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte
Career timeline
Education
- From 1997 to 2001: Professor of technical sciences, actively engaged in public work, Prime Minister of Poland;
- Honorary doctorates of the Universities of Dortmund, Seoul, Süleyman Demirel University (Isparta);
- University lecturer of long standing at Opole, Gliwice and Częstochowa, researcher at the Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Gliwice;
- 1972: Research stay, on a British Council scholarship, at the University of Cambridge.
Career
- 1992–1997: Representative of Poland at the International Energy Agency – Programme of Greenhouse Gas Effect;
- 1996: Organiser and chairman of an international network of 19 institutions working on energy and environmental protection;
- Author of some 200 research papers, over a dozen rationalisations and three patents in the fields of environmental protection, power and process engineering;
- 1981: Member of the independent, self-governing trade union 'NSZZ Solidarność', Chairman of the I National Congress of Delegates of 'Solidarność';
- 1981: Active in the Solidarność underground structure;
- 1997: Elected as a Member of the Polish Parliament;
- As Prime Minister, in 1999, took Poland into NATO and prepared the country for integration into the European Union (including decentralisation of the State – consolidation of the role of local self-government);
- In 1998, began accession negotiations;
- 1999: Represented the Social Movement of Solidarity Electoral Action (Akcja Wyborcza Solidarność) in the PPE–DE;
- 1999: Established the annual Pro Publico Bono prize for the best national civic initiatives;
- Set up the Family Foundation together with his wife (1998), having gained greater understanding of the meaning of help for the needy after their experiences with the battle for the life of their own child.
- 2012: Member of the International Honorary Council[23] of the European Academy of Diplomacy.
Personal life
He is a supporter of Ruch Chorzów.[24]
Honours and awards
- Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic (Kingdom of Spain, 11 May 2001).[25]
- In 2010, he received Collier award of the Fondation du Mérite européen from Jacques Santer on the occasion of 40th anniversary of the Fondation for his role as President of the European Parliament
- European Union:In 2020, he received the Outstanding Achievement Award at The Parliament Magazine's MEP Awards.[26]
Notes
- ^ a b c d "Euro parliament elects new leader". BBC News. 14 July 2009. Retrieved 14 July 2009.
- ^ Buzek, Ludgarda. "BIP (Biuletyn Informacji Publicznej)". Retrieved 2 December 2011.
- ^ Nowak, Włodzimierz (6 July 2009). "Nad Betlejem, nad Rolą kometa. Zaolziańska saga rodu Buzków". Gazeta Wyborcza. Retrieved 14 July 2009.
- ^ "JERZY BUZEK". EPP Group in the EP. Archived from the original on 15 June 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
- ^ "NAGRODA IM. G. PALKI". Archived from the original on 6 November 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
- ^ "Jerzy Buzek Człowiekiem Roku tygodnika "Wprost" – Wiadomości – WP.PL". Wiadomosci.wp.pl. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
- ^ "Sorry". Tcetoday.com. Retrieved 4 June 2011.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b "Biography of the President of the European Parliament". Retrieved 24 November 2019.
- ISBN 9780262025058. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
- ^ "Result of roll-call votes". europarl.europa.eu. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
- ^ cs. "Jerzy Buzek – Biography of the President of the European Parliament : Jerzy Buzek". Europa (web portal). Archived from the original on 27 May 2011. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
- ^ Henson, Carolyn (14 July 2009). "UPDATE: EU Parliament Elects Ex-Polish PM Buzek As President * Article". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 19 July 2009. Retrieved 14 July 2009.
- ^ Buzek, Jerzy: "Inaugural speech by Jerzy Buzek following his election as President of the European Parliament", EP Press Release, 14 July 2009: [1], Retrieved: 2011-12-06
- ^ Buzek, Jerzy. "Inaugural speech by Jerzy Buzek following his election as President of the European Parliament", 14 July 2009 [2]
- ^ Buzek, Jerzy: "President Buzek to receive prestigious prize from North Rhine-Westphalia – prize money to be donated to Belarusian University in exile", EP press release, 7 December 2009: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/president/de-en/press/press_release/2009/2009-November/press_release-2009-November-33.html;jsessionid=65C948AAA96808C44D5CB45A18E2F8C5, Retrieved: 2011-12-14
- ^ Buzek, Jerzy: "President Jerzy Buzek's speech at commemorative event marking the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon", 1 Dec 2009, http://www.europarl.europa.eu/president/en/press/speeches/sp-2009/sp-2009-November/speeches-2009-November-7.html, Retrieved: 2011-12-06
- ^ a b European Parliament & The Lisbon Treaty Retrieved: 2011-12-06.
- ^ eurotribune.eu, 2011-09-28: "The European Parliament adopts "six-pack" economic governance legislative package", http://www.eurotribune.eu/index.default.php/?p=20642, Retrieved: 2011-12-09
- ^ Buzek, Jerzy: "Six-pack on economic governance adopted" EP Press Release (Retrieved: 2011-12-09).
- ^ Pop, Valentina: "MEPs hope to restore public trust with ethics code", http://euobserver.com/18/114475, Retrieved 7 December 2011
- ^ Buzek, Jerzy: "Press Release – Buzek welcomes adoption of Code of Conduct for MEPs" Retrieved 7 December 2011.
- ^ "New code of conduct for MEPs approved" Retrieved 7 December 2011.
- ^ "Europejska Akademia Dyplomacji :: European Academy of Diplomacy :: Diplomats.pl :: DYPLOMACJA - Professor Jerzy Buzek". Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
- ^ "Wywiad z Jerzym Buzkiem. Kopanie piłki na podwórku w Chorzowie było moją specjalnością sportową" (in Polish). 8 March 2011. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
- ^ Boletín Oficial del Estado
- ^ Johnson, Brian (2 December 2020). "MEP Awards 2020: Reaction and comment from our winners". The Parliament Magazine. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
External links
- Personal profile of Jerzy Buzek in the European Parliament's database of members
- Jerzy Buzek on Facebook
- Jerzy Buzek on Twitter