Andrzej Duda

Andrzej Duda
6th President of Poland
Assumed office
6 August 2015
Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz
Beata Szydło
Mateusz Morawiecki
Preceded by Bronisław Komorowski
Member of the European Parliament
In office
1 July 2014 – 25 May 2015
Constituency Warsaw
Member of the Sejm
In office
8 November 2011 – 27 May 2014
Constituency Kraków
Personal details
Born Andrzej Sebastian Duda
(1972-05-16) 16 May 1972
Kraków, Poland
Political party Independent (2015–present)
Other political
affiliations		 Freedom Union (2000–2001)
Law and Justice (2005–2015)
Spouse(s) Agata Kornhauser (m. 1994)
Children Kinga (b. 1995)
Residence Presidential Palace
Alma mater Jagiellonian University
Salary ~€68,000, annual [1][2]
Awards
Signature

Andrzej Sebastian Duda (Polish pronunciation: [ˈandʐɛj ˈduda] ( listen); born 16 May 1972) is a Polish politician as well as the sixth and current President of Poland, holding the office since 6 August 2015.[3] Before his tenure as President, Duda was a member of Polish Lower House (Sejm) from 2011 to 2014 and the European Parliament from 2014 to 2015.[4]

Duda was the presidential candidate for the right wing Law and Justice party, during the 2015 presidential election in May 2015. In the first round of voting, Duda received 5,179,092 votes – 34.76% of valid votes. In the second round of voting, Duda received 51.55% of the vote, beating the incumbent president Bronisław Komorowski, who received 48.45% of the vote. On 26 May 2015, Duda resigned his party membership as the president-elect.

Early life

Duda was born in Kraków, to Janina Milewska and Jan Tadeusz Duda, professors at the AGH University of Science and Technology. His grandfather fought in the Polish–Soviet War and later as a member of the Home Army during the Second World War.[5]

Duda attended Jan III Sobieski High School, Kraków.[6]He subsequently studied law at the Jagiellonian University. In October 2001 he was appointed as an assistant (holding M.A.) in the Administrative Law Department of Jagiellonian University. In January 2005, Duda also obtained a PhD degree in law at the Jagiellonian University Due to his political career, he has been mostly on unpaid leave (from the university) since September 2006, except for a 13-month interval beginning in September 2010, when he returned to the university.[7]

Political career

Former President Lech Kaczyński appointing Duda as undersecretary of state in the Chancellery of the President, 16 January 2008

Duda began his political career with the now-defunct Freedom Union Party in the early 2000s. After the parliamentary elections in 2005, he began his collaboration with the Law and Justice Party (PiS).[8] From 2006 to 2007, Andrzej Duda was an undersecretary of state in the Ministry of Justice. Then, from 2007 to 2008, Duda was a member of the Polish State Tribunal.

From 2008 to 2010, during the presidency of Lech Kaczyński, Duda was an undersecretary of state in the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland.[9] In 2010, he was an unsuccessful candidate to become the Mayor of Kraków as a PiS candidate,[10] but was more successful in the 2011 parliamentary election, where he received 79,981 votes for the Kraków area, and thus became member of the Sejm.[11]

In September 2013, the news magazine Polityka commended Duda for being one of the most active members of parliament, at the time, describing him as being open to opposition arguments and as refraining from personal attacks, as part of his role at the Commission for Constitutional Responsibility.[12] Duda remained a member of the Sejm until he was elected to the European Parliament in 2014.[13]

2015 Presidential Campaign

In the shade of the upcoming expiration of president Bronisław Komorowski's first term, Komorowski was able to seek re-election in a scheduled presidential election. Duda was Komorowski's Law and Justice rival in the election.

In the first round of the 2015 presidential election, Duda came first, receiving 5,179,092 votes and thus 34.76% of valid votes.[14]

In the second round Duda took 51.55% of the vote against the 48.45% share of his rival, then-incumbent president Bronisław Komorowski.[15] On 26 May 2015, he officially resigned from party membership.[16]

Presidency

Andrzej Duda taking the oath of office, 6 August 2015
Duda with U.S. President Donald Trump and Melania Trump in Warsaw

The five-year term of Andrzej Duda began on August 6, 2015 with taking an oath of office during a National Assembly session.[17]

Duda rejected the European Union's proposal of migrant quotas to redistribute asylum seekers, saying: "I won’t agree to a dictate of the strong. I won’t back a Europe where the economic advantage of the size of a population will be a reason to force solutions on other countries regardless of their national interests".[18]

Eventually former Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz declared that Poland, as an expression of “European solidarity”, would take in 2,000 people over the next two years, mainly from Syria and Eritrea (out of 3,700 originally requested).[19]

Duda and Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović were the originators of the Three Seas Initiative.[20]

His approval ratings are high – In September 2017, his approval rating stood at 71% and in February 2018, at 72%. A record surpassed only by Aleksander Kwaśniewski from 1995 to 2005, whose approval ratings surpassed 75%.[21] [22]

Criticism and controversies

On November 16, 2015, basing on Art. 139 of the Constitution of Poland, Duda pardoned former Central Anticorruption Bureau (CBA) head Mariusz Kamiński and three CBA officers convicted by a court of 1st instance in the so-called "Land Affair,[23] marking the first pardon granted by a president before reaching a final verdict.[24] According to some lawyers (including professors Jan Zimmermann – Andrzej Duda's doctorate promoter, Leszek Kubicki – former Minister of Justice and Andrzej Zoll – former president of the Constitutional Tribunal) Duda breached the Constitution of Poland.[25][26][27]

Andrzej Duda has denied swearing in any of the five Constitutional Tribunal judge candidates selected by the Sejm of the VII cadence and the three of those mentioned that were selected since 7 November 2015 whose election was declared constitutional.[28]

On 3 and 9 December 2015 the President swore in five other candidates for the same office selected by the Sejm of the VIII cadence.[29][30]

On 28 December 2015, Duda signed the Constitutional Tribunal bill (passed on 22 December 2015 by the Sejm), which unequivocally breaches the Constitution of Poland according to the National Council of the Judiciary of Poland,[31] the Public Prosecutor General[32] and the Polish Ombudsman.[33]

In June 2016, Duda rejected appointing 10 judges selected by the National Council of the Judiciary of Poland.[34]

In July 2017, about 50,000 people demonstrated in Warsaw against changes in the justice system. On July 24, Duda informed the public he had decided to veto two controversial judicial bills backed by the government and passed by both houses of the Polish parliament. The President's spokesman subsequently said that the third act – the common courts bill – would be signed.[35] The veto was just one example of Duda opposing the policies of PiS.[36]

On February 6, 2018, Duda said that he would sign into law the "Holocaust bill", making it illegal to accuse 'the Polish nation' of complicity in the Holocaust and other Nazi atrocities, a measure that has roiled relations with Israel and the United States, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu going as far as accusing the Polish government of Holocaust denial.[37][38][39]

Personal life

Duda is married to Agata Kornhauser Duda, a well-known writer, translator, literary critic , and a teacher of German language at Jan III Sobieski High School in Kraków.[40] They had met at a party while still attending rival schools[5] and have been married since 21 December 1994.[41] Together they have one daughter, Kinga, born in 1995, now also studying law.[42] His father-in-law is Julian Kornhauser, a well-known writer, translator and literary critic.[43]

He is a keen skier and while studying participated in the Polish Academic Championships in the Alpine skiing category.[5]

Duda is a devout Catholic, and the Church is very important to him. He took part in religious ceremonies on many occasions, including Midnight Mass, the blessing of food on Holy Saturday, or the Corpus Christi procession in Kraków.[44][45][46]

Honours

References

  1. ↑ https://zarobki.pracuj.pl/raporty-i-trendy-placowe/ile-zarabia-prezydent-polski
  2. ↑ https://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/convert/?Amount=294000&From=PLN&To=EUR
  3. ↑ "Andrzej Duda Elected Poland's New President, Incumbent Bronislaw Komorowski Concedes Defeat". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  4. ↑ Mularczyk, Arkadiusz. "Lista kandydatów na zastępców przewodniczącego i członków Trybunału Stanu" (PDF). Sejm of the Republic of Poland (in Polish). Retrieved 31 January 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 "Duda story – historia miłości, podboju gór i niespodziewanego wejścia w politykę". 14 February 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  6. ↑ "Rodzina Dudów: nowy prezydent jest zapalonym narciarzem i molem książkowym. Jego żona to wymagająca nauczycielka". TVP. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  7. ↑ "Andrzej Duda od blisko 9 lat jest na urlopie bezpłatnym z UJ". RMF FM. 18 May 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  8. ↑ Michał Krzymowski, Anna Szulc (14 March 2015). "Andrzej Duda był działaczem Unii Wolności". newsweek.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2015-03-14.
  9. ↑ "Andrzej Duda". andrzejduda.pl. Archived from the original on 2015-05-26.
  10. ↑ "Serwis PKW – Wybory 2010" (in Polish). Retrieved 2010-11-24.
  11. ↑ "Serwis PKW – Wybory 2011" (in Polish). Retrieved 2011-10-28.
  12. ↑ Paradowska, Janina; Dąbrowska, Anna (26 September 2013). "Posłowie na medal i posłowie z naganą". Polityka. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  13. ↑ "Serwis PKW – Wybory 2014" (in Polish). Retrieved 2014-05-27.
  14. ↑ "Obwieszczenie Państwowej Komisji Wyborczej z dnia 11 maja 2015 r. o wynikach głosowania i wyniku wyborów Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, zarządzonych na dzień 10 maja 2015 r." (PDF). pkw.gov.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2015-05-12.
  15. ↑ "PKW – www.prezydent.2015.pkw.gov.pl". pkw.gov.pl.
  16. ↑ "Andrzej Duda już poza PiS. Zrzekł się członkostwa". Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  17. ↑ "". Prezydent.pl 6 August 2015.
  18. ↑ "Poland's Duda Blasts EU `Dictate of the Strong' on Migrants". Bloomberg. 8 September 2015.
  19. ↑ Gebert, Konstanty (9 September 2015). "Opinion - Poland Shouldn't Shut Out Refugees". Retrieved 6 February 2018 – via NYTimes.com.
  20. ↑ "Wielki plan małych państw. Jak Trójmorze wzmocni lub podzieli Unię". TVN24.pl. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
  21. ↑ {{cite web|url=https://dorzeczy.pl/kraj/40293/Sondaz-CBOS-Wielki-wzrost-poparcia-dla-prezydenta-Dudy.html|tile=Sondaż CBOS: Wielki wzrost poparcia dla prezydenta Dudy|website=dorzeczy.pl|accessdate=2 March 2018}}
  22. ↑ {{cite web|url=http://www.fakt.pl/wydarzenia/polityka/cbos-prezydent-duda-z-najwiekszym-poparciem-premier-morawiecki-na-drugim-miejscu/lr073kx|title: Prezydent Duda z największym poparciem|website=fakt.pl|accessdate: 2 March 2018}}
  23. ↑ "". Polska Agencja Prasowa, 17 November 2015.
  24. ↑ Marek Domagalski. Prezydencka łaska dzieli prawników. Rzeczpospolita, p. C2, 19 November 2015.
  25. ↑ "". dziennik.pl, 3 December 2015
  26. ↑ "". Ewa Siedlecka, Wyborcza.pl, 18 November 2015
  27. ↑ "". polskatimes.pl, 19 November 2015
  28. ↑ "". Dziennik Ustaw from 2015, pos. 2129
  29. ↑ "". prezydent.pl, 3 December 2015
  30. ↑ "", prezydent.pl, 9 December 2015
  31. ↑ "", krs.pl, 23 December 2015
  32. ↑ "", dziennik.pl, 23 December 2015
  33. ↑ "", rp.pl, 24 December 2015
  34. ↑ Ewa Siedlecka, "Prezydent sądzi sędziów", Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 1, 29 June 2016
  35. ↑ "President of the Republic of Poland / News / President to veto two judicial bills, says will sign bill on common courts". www.president.pl. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
  36. ↑ "Poland's president turns on his former boss". The Economist. 12 October 2017.
  37. ↑ Selk, Avi (2018-01-27). "Analysis | It could soon be a crime to blame Poland for Nazi atrocities, and Israel is appalled". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2018-01-28.
  38. ↑ Santora, Marc (6 February 2018). "Poland's President Supports Making Some Holocaust Statements a Crime". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  39. ↑ Sobczak, Pawel (6 February 2018). "Polish president signs Holocaust bill, triggers Israeli, U.S. criticism". Reuters. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  40. ↑ "Teachers".
  41. ↑ Wantuch, Dominika (25 May 2015). "Agata Kornhauser-Duda. Pierwsza Dama w stylu zachodnim". Gazeta Wyborcza. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  42. ↑ ""Pierwsza córka" Kinga. W kampanii u boku ojca, chwaliła "energię, uczciwość i dobre serce"". TVN 24. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  43. ↑ Marek Bartosik, Andrzej Duda: spóźniony pociąg do polityki Gazeta Krakowska 2010-11-19 (in Polish)
  44. ↑ "Prezydent Andrzej Duda z rodziną na pasterce [ZDJĘCIA]". katk (in Polish). Super Express. 27 December 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
  45. ↑ "Andrzej Duda z córką święci jajeczko". js (in Polish). Fakt. 26 March 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
  46. ↑ Sikora, Kamil (17 August 2015). "Prezydent i kościoły. Od wyborów Andrzej Duda ma więcej zdjęć ze mszy niż z państwowych uroczystości". natemat.pl. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
  47. ↑ "Chancelaria das Ordens Honoríficas Portuguesas" (PDF). dre.pt (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2010-09-12.
  48. ↑ "Указ № 99 от 14.04.2016 г. За награждаване на г-н Анджей Дуда – президент на Република Полша, с орден "Стара планина" с лента". lex.bg (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 2016-05-03.
Political offices
Preceded by
Bronisław Komorowski		 President of Poland
2015–present		 Incumbent
Order of precedence
First Order of precedence of Poland
as President		 Succeeded by
Marek Kuchciński
as Marshal of the Sejm
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