Danuta Wałęsa

Mirosława Danuta Wałęsa
First Lady of Poland
In role
22 December 1990 – 22 December 1995
President Lech Wałęsa
Preceded by Karolina Kaczorowska - in Exile
Barbara Jaruzelska
Succeeded by Jolanta Kwaśniewska
Personal details
Born Mirosława Danuta Gołoś
(1949-02-25) 25 February 1949
Węgrów, Poland
Nationality Polish
Spouse(s)
Lech Wałęsa (m. 1969)

Mirosława Danuta Wałęsa, maiden surname Gołoś (born 25 February 1949 near Węgrów[1]), is the wife of the former President of Poland Lech Wałęsa.[2] In 1983 she accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway on behalf of her husband,[2][3] who feared, at a time of great political upheaval in the country, that the Polish government might not allow him to return if he travelled to Oslo himself. Lech and Danuta have been married since 8 November 1969[4] and have eight children:

  • Bogdan - b. 1970
  • Sławomir - b. 1972
  • Przemysław (1974–2017[5][6])
  • Jarosław - b. 1976
  • Magdalena - b. 1979
  • Anna - b. 1980
  • Maria Wiktoria - b. 1982
  • Brygida - b. 1985.[2]

Danuta grew up the second of nine children[7] in Krypy village near Węgrów (Krypy, Gmina Wierzbno or Krypy, Gmina Liw[1]). She was working in a flower shop near the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk when she met Lech Wałęsa, then an electrician. After they married, she began using her middle name more than her first name, per Lech's request.[7] She was even more resolutely anti-Communist than her husband. During her husband's frequent interrogations by the SB in the 1980s, she was known to openly taunt officers who came to pick him up.[8]

Released in 2011, Danuta Wałęsa's autobiography Marzenia i tajemnice ("Dreams and Secrets", coauthored by Piotr Adamowicz) has sold over 400,000 copies.[9]

References

  1. 1 2 Wałęsa, Danuta; Piotr Adamowicz (oprac.) (2011). Danuta Wałęsa. Marzenia i tajemnice. Cracow: Wydawnictwo Literackie. p. 11. ISBN 978-83-08-04741-5.
  2. 1 2 3 "Pokojowa Nagroda Nobla Lecha Wałęsy" (Lech Wałęsa's Peace Prize)
  3. ↑ R. W. APPLE JR., "AWARD IS ACCEPTED BY DANUTA WALESA", New York Times, December 11, 1983,
  4. ↑ Wałęsa, Danuta; Piotr Adamowicz (oprac.) (2011). Danuta Wałęsa. Marzenia i tajemnice. Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie. p. 11. ISBN 978-83-08-04741-5.
  5. ↑ "Przemysław Wałęsa nie żyje" (in Polish). Newsweek. 8 January 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  6. ↑ Associated Press (January 13, 2017). "Lech Walesa buries son, 43, who had struggled with alcohol". Fox News. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  7. 1 2 Wagman-Geller,, Marlene (2015). Behind every great man : the forgotten women behind the world's famous and infamous. Naperville, Illinois: Sourcebooks. ISBN 9781492603054. OCLC 900665411.
  8. ↑ Sebetsyen, Victor (2009). Revolution 1989: The Fall of the Soviet Empire. New York City: Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-375-42532-2.
  9. ↑ Sowa, Agnieszka (31 January 2017). "Pierwsza rodzina" (in Polish). Polityka. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  • Fundacja "Sprawni inaczej" (Foundation Differently Able)
  • Dziennik
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