Jacek Kuroń
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Jacek Kuroń
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| In office 4 June 1989 – 18 October 2001 |
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Minister of Labour and Social Policy of the Republic of Poland
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| In office 12 September 1989 – 12 December 1990 |
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| President | Wojciech Jaruzelski |
| Prime Minister | Tadeusz Mazowiecki |
| Preceded by | Michał Czarski |
| Succeeded by | Michał Boni |
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Minister of Labour and Social Policy of the Republic of Poland
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| In office 11 July 1992 – 26 October 1993 |
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| President | Lech Wałęsa |
| Prime Minister | Hanna Suchocka |
| Preceded by | Jerzy Kropiwnicki |
| Succeeded by | Leszek Miller |
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| Born | 3 March 1934 Lwów, Second Polish Republic |
| Died | June 17, 2004 (aged 70) Warsaw, Poland |
| Religion | Atheist |
Jacek Jan Kuroń (pronounced [ˈjatsɛk ˈjan ˈkurɔɲ], born 3 March 1934 in Lwów, died 17 January 2004 in Warsaw) was one of the democratic leaders of opposition in the People's Republic of Poland. Kuroń was a Polish prominent social and political figure; educator and historian; an activist of the Polish Scouting Association; co-founder of the Workers' Defence Committee; twice a Minister of Labour and Social Policy. Privately, Kuroń was a father of Polish famous chef, Maciej Kuroń.
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[edit] Biography
Kuroń was born in 1934 in a family that advocated the Polish Socialist Party (PPS). In 1949, he became a member of the Association of the Polish Youth (ZMP). Since 1952, he had been working as a full-time employee in the capital scout section affiliated with the Association of the Polish Youth. The same year, he joined the Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR). Then, he engaged in social movements making attempts to introduce more rights for the workers. After the political transformation and introduction of democracy to Poland, Kuroń became a Minister of Labor and Social Policy. After a long illness, Kuroń died in 2004. His funeral was held on 26 June 2004. He was buried in the Avenue of the Meritious on the Powązki Cemetery in Warsaw. The ceremony was attended by close friends, supporters, Polish youth and children. Although Kuroń was an atheist, representatives of all major religious communities came to display their respect to the renown humanitarian.
[edit] Early social and political activities
In 1955 a Discussion Club Krzywe Koło (KK - Crooked Circle) was established. Jacek Kuroń and Karol Modzelewski were among the most prominent members of the club. In 1957 Kuroń graduated from the Faculty of History at the University of Warsaw. In 1964, together with Karol Modzelewski, he wrote The Open Letter to the Party. In this letter he criticized a new ruling and bureaucratic class. He suggested replacing the existing system with workers' democracy, including organizing a referendum according to which major decisions concerning a distribution of national income would be made. The immediate aim was to have a consent of all workers to make decisions on economic plans. Kuroń's critique was closely related to the ideas of Marxism and Trotskyism. In 1965, he was sentenced to three years in prison for writing The Open Letter to the Party. Released in 1967, he was arrested again. In 1968 Kuroń was sentenced to three and a half years in prison for organizing student strikes during March Events. In 1975, he helped to organize a protest against the passage of amendments to the Constitution of the People's Republic of Poland.
In July and August 1980, Kuroń was organizing an information network for the striking laborers. In September 1980, he became an advisor for the Founding Committee of the Solidarność Polish: Solidarity). On December 13, 1981 the Martial Law was introduced in Poland. Therefore, his activities were intervened. In 1982, accused of attempts to destroy the political system, Kuroń was arrested. Two years later he was pardoned and released from prison. As a member of the opposition Kuroń used a few pseudonyms – Maciej Gajka, Elżbieta Grażyna Borucka, EGB.
[edit] Transformation and politics in the 1990s
By 1988 the authorities began serious talks with the opposition. Polish Round Table Talks took place in Warsaw, Poland from 6 February to 4 April 1989. The opposition representation included Jacek Kuroń. The election of 4 June 1989 brought a landslide victory to Solidarność: 99% of the seats in the Senate and allowable maximum number of seats in Sejm (35% of the total). The 65-35 division was soon abolished as well, which allowed the first truly free Sejm elections.
- Further information: Polish Round Table Agreement
In 1989-1990 and 1992-1993 Kuroń was a Minister of Labor and Social Policy. From 1989 to 2001 he was a member of Polish Parliament. He belonged to the following parties: Citizen Parliamentary Club (OKP), Union of Democracy (UD), Union of Freedom (UW). In the 1995 elections Kuroń run for the office of the president of the Republic of Poland. With the support of 9.2 %, Kuroń came third.
[edit] Awards
Kuroń's work was recognized not only in Poland but also in a number of other European countries. In 1998 he was awarded a Polish Order of the White Eagle, French Legion of Honour, German Federal Cross of Merit, Ukrainian Order of Yaroslav the Wise, Lithuanian Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas. On the 4 April 2001 Kuroń became the 645th Knight of the Order of Smile. This award is given to honorable adults who made a considerable contribution to children's happiness and wellbeing. The same award was given to 14th Dalai Lama, a friend of Jacek Kuroń.
[edit] Social engagement
In 2000 Kuroń and his wife Danuta founded the Jan Józef Lipski Common University in Teremiski. He subsequently became the first dean of the informal university.
In the last years of his life Kuroń became very critical about the social and economical results of the 1989 transformation. Among other books and press articles, two of his papers are worth paying attention: “Action” and “Republic for my Grandchildren.” In the latter, Kuroń highly criticized neoliberalism, which deepens social divisions and alienation of the political class. Kuroń opted for social movements and education. His last public speech from April 2004 was addressed to alterglobalists, who were protesting against the World Economic Forum held in Warsaw. He said “It is you, my Dear Friends, who have to perform the actions which contemporary political elites cannot perform: who have to create new concepts of social cooperation, implement ideals of freedom, equality, and social justice.”
[edit] Anecdotes
The Polish unemployment benefit is colloquially referred to by Poles as the kuroniówka (literally "Kuroń's soup") in tribute to Jacek Kuroń's legacy as Minister for Social Policy.
Jacek Kuroń was a proud owner of a yellow thermos. Many people speculated about its content. Some claimed it was Whiskey Kuroń kept there. They reached this conclusion because Kuroń, unlike other politicians used to be very straightforward and sincere. His opponents claimed that he was “corrupted by the communists.” Having many dollars in his bank account, he could have afforded buying whiskey in the Pewex chain of hard currency stores. The riddle of the yellow thermos was uncovered in the book “Urban Legends” by Mark Barber and Wojciech Orliński. Orliński happened to have an opportunity to taste the content of the thermos. To his great surprise, the liquid which Kuroń was addicted to, was not an alcoholic beverage but an extremely strong tea. The yellow thermos accompanied Kuroń on his last journey.
[edit] Bibliography
- (Polish) Text of an Open Letter to Party
- (Polish) Recycling of Ideas, 2006-06-27.
- (Polish) Anna Bikont, Joanna Szczęsna. "Jacek Kuroń, 1934-2004", 2006-09-18 (accessed 2006-09-25).
[edit] External links
- (Polish) Official homepage
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