Lech Walesa Is Elected President of Poland
Lech Walesa, a prominent figure in Poland's transition to democracy, was elected president on December 9, 1990. His election marked a significant milestone in Poland's shift away from communist rule, a process that began in the 1980s with the rise of the Solidarity movement, which he co-founded. Born on September 29, 1943, in Popowo, Walesa emerged from a working-class background as an electrician and became a leader of a labor union that garnered millions of members. His activism and leadership during a time of political oppression led to his arrest and the imposition of martial law in 1981, yet he continued to inspire reform and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983. Following a legally recognized election process initiated in 1989, Walesa campaigned for the presidency, taking office shortly after his election. However, his presidency was marked by internal conflicts and challenges, earning him a reputation for being more adept at opposing government than governing effectively. This contentious leadership style ultimately led to his defeat in the 1995 presidential election. Despite setbacks, Walesa remained active in Polish politics, signaling his enduring influence on the nation's democratic journey.
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Lech Walesa Is Elected President of Poland
Lech Walesa Is Elected President of Poland
On December 9, 1990, Lech Walesa was elected president of Poland, completing the transition to a democratic form of government for that nation which had begun in the 1980s.
During the Cold War, which began in the late 1940s and lasted until the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, the Eastern European nation of Poland was an important Soviet ally. The communist puppet regime installed by the Soviets after World War II, subservient to their interests, began to face increasing opposition in the 1970s thanks to a rising labor union conglomerate known as Solidarity. Lech Walesa, a working-class man born on September 29, 1943, in the town of Popowo, was the founder of Solidarity and its leader. He was an electrician who worked at a shipyard in Gdansk but, despite this humble background, came to lead a trade union movement with millions of members. Polish leader General Wojciech Jaruzelski declared martial law in 1981 and arrested Walesa but was unable to withstand the tidal wave of reform that swept across Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union in the 1980s. Walesa won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983, adding to the pressure to reform, and his freedom was eventually restored after a lengthy period of confinement in prison and his home. The government was forced to legalize Solidarity on April 5, 1989, and permit free elections which resulted in an end to the communists' and Jaruzelski's grip on power.
Walesa began his run for the presidency of Poland beginning in October of 1990, and was elected on December 9 of that year. He was sworn in for a five-year term on December 22. However, like many revolutionaries, Walesa proved to be better at fighting a government than actually leading one. He was a contentious president, constantly reorganizing his administration in a process he termed “war at the top,” a metaphor for the constant struggle against embedded reactionary elements that he felt was necessary to truly liberate Polish society. The constant turmoil alienated most Poles, and Walesa lost his bid for reelection in 1995 when Aleksander Kwasniewski narrowly defeated him. Walesa briefly retired but returned to politics fairly quickly, working with various opposition political organizations. He ran for the presidency once again in 2000 but was soundly defeated when he received less than one percent of the vote.