Wojciech Szczęsny Kaczmarek

Wojciech Szczęsny Kaczmarek
A sculpture of Wojciech Szczęsny Kaczmarek.
Consul-General of Poland in Paris, France
In office
2000–2003
Member of the Poznań City Council
In office
1998–2002
Mayor of Poznań
In office
6 June 1990 – 14 December 1998
Preceded byAndrzej Wituski
Succeeded byRyszard Grobelny
Personal details
Born(1942-03-24)24 March 1942
Luboń, Germany (now part of Poland)
Died26 May 2009(2009-05-26) (aged 67)
Poznań, Poland
Party
Alma materAdam Mickiewicz University

Wojciech Szczęsny Kaczmarek (24 March 1942 – 26 May 2009) was a physicist and politician. From 1990 to 1998, he was the mayor of Poznań, Poland.

Biography

Wojciech Szczęsny Kaczmarek was born on 24 March 1942 in Luboń, Reich District of Wartheland, Nazi Germany (now part of the Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland). His father, Telesfor Kaczmarek was of Polish descent, and his mother, Zyta Kaczmarek (née Omaszt), was of Hungarian descent. At the age of two, he got sick from polio.[1]

In 1966, Kaczmarek graduated from the Faculty of Physics of the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań.[2] He worked as a physicist until 1990, including at the ETH Zurich, the Sorbonne Paris North University, and the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań.[3]

In the 1980s, Kaczmarek was an activist in the Solidarity trade union. In 1990, he was elected by the city council as the mayor of Poznań, with a difference of one vote. He took office on 6 June 1990, and following his reelection in 1994, he remained in office until 14 December 1998.[4] He was a co-founder and a chairperson of the Association of Polish Cities. From 1990 to 2002, he was a member of the Poznań City Council. At the time, he belonged to the Freedom Union. In 2002, Kaczmarek unsuccessfully ran for office of the mayor of Poznań in a direct election. From 2000 to 2003, he was the consul-general of Poland in Paris.[3]

In 2004, Kaczmarek unsuccessfully run of office of a member of the European Parliament, as a candidate of the Initiative for Poland, and in 2005, he unsuccessfully run of office as a member of the Sejm of Poland, as a candidate of the Democratic Party.[5]

Kaczmarek died on 26 May 2009 in Poznań, and was buried at the Junikowo Cemetery in said city.[3][6] In 2011, a monument dedicated to him was unveiled at the Greater Poland Citizens Memorial Cemetery in Poznań.[7]

Awards and decorations

References

  1. ^ Eugenia R. Dabertowa: Wojciech Szczęsny Kaczmarek. Prezydent miasta Poznania czasów przełomu (1990–1998). In: Kronika Miasta Poznania, issue 2. Poznań: Wydawnictwo Miejskie Posnania, 2016, p. 63–4, ISSN 0137-3552. (in Polish)
  2. ^ "Dr hab. Wojciech Szczęsny Kaczmarek". nauka-polska.pl (in Polish).
  3. ^ a b c "Zmarł Wojciech Szczęsny Kaczmarek". rp.pl (in Polish). 27 May 2009. Archived from the original on 2013-05-04.
  4. ^ Andrzej Wituski, Dorota Ronge-Juszczyk: Przecież to mój Poznań. Andrzej Wituski w rozmowie z Dorotą Ronge-Juszczyk, Poznań: Dom Wydawniczy Rebis, 2014, p. 194–195, ISBN 978-83-7818-643-4, OCLC 903323433. (in Polish)
  5. ^ "75 lat temu urodził się Wojciech Szczęsny Kaczmarek". codziennypoznan.pl (in Polish). 24 March 2017.
  6. ^ Bogna Kisiel (2 June 2009). "Wojciech Szczęsny Kaczmarek został pochowany na Junikowie". gloswielkopolski.pl (in Polish).
  7. ^ "Odsłonięcie pomnika Wojciecha Szczęsnego Kaczmarka". poznan.pl (in Polish). 3 March 2011.
  8. ^ "Zmarł Wojciech Szczęsny Kaczmarek". poznan.pl (in Polish). 26 May 2009. Archived from the original on 2012-09-13.
  9. ^ "Postanowienie Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z dnia 5 listopada 1999 r. o nadaniu orderów". isap.sejm.gov.pl (in Polish).
  10. ^ "Postanowienie Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z dnia 25 maja 2009 r. o nadaniu orderów". isap.sejm.gov.pl (in Polish).