Ewa Kopacz

Ewa Kopacz
15th Prime Minister of Poland
In office
22 September 2014 – 16 November 2015
President Bronisław Komorowski
Andrzej Duda
Deputy Tomasz Siemoniak
Janusz Piechociński
Preceded by Donald Tusk
Succeeded by Beata Szydło
Leader of the Civic Platform
In office
8 November 2014 – 26 January 2016
Preceded by Donald Tusk
Succeeded by Grzegorz Schetyna
Marshal of the Sejm
In office
8 November 2011 – 22 September 2014
President Bronisław Komorowski
Preceded by Grzegorz Schetyna
Succeeded by Radosław Sikorski
Minister of Health
In office
16 November 2007 – 8 November 2011
Prime Minister Donald Tusk
Preceded by Zbigniew Religa
Succeeded by Bartosz Arłukowicz
Personal details
Born Ewa Lis
(1956-12-03) 3 December 1956
Skaryszew, Poland
Political party United People's Party (Before 1989)
Freedom Union (1994–2001)
Civic Platform (2001–present)
Alma mater Medical University of Lublin
Religion Roman Catholicism
Awards

Ewa Kopacz [ˈɛva ˈkɔpatʃ] (born Ewa Lis; 3 December 1956) is a Polish politician and a former Prime Minister of Poland. Previously she was the Marshal of the Sejm, the first woman to have held the post. In addition, she was Minister of Health from November 2007 until November 2011. Kopacz has been a member of the Civic Platform since 2001.[1] Kopacz became Prime Minister on 22 September 2014, succeeding Donald Tusk; she is the second woman to hold the office after Hanna Suchocka.[2] Prior to entering politics, she was a pediatrician and a general practitioner.[3] Her term ended on 16 November 2015.

Kopacz has been described as one of the leaders of the European Union, and was ranked as the world's 40th most powerful woman by Forbes magazine in 2015, placing her ahead of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Ellen DeGeneres.[4]

Early life

Ewa Kopacz was born in Skaryszew. She is the daughter of Mieczysław and Krystyna Lis. Her father was employed as a mechanic and her mother worked as a tailor. She was raised in the city of Radom, where she graduated from high school. In 1981 she graduated from the Medical University of Lublin. She did a residency in family medicine ("second-degree specialisation") with a focus on pediatrics ("first degree"). She worked at the clinics in the villages of Orońsko and Chlewiska, then town of Szydłowiec, where until 2001 she headed the local health care facility.

Political career

In the 1980s, Kopacz joined the United People's Party. She entered active politics after her late husband, Marek Kopacz, a prosecutor, stood unsuccessfully for parliament.[5]

In the 1990s, Kopacz joined the Freedom Union and chaired the party's structures in the province of Radom. In the local elections in 1998, the regional council elected her as the councilor for the Masovian Voivodship.

In 2001, Kopacz left the Freedom Union to join the newly established Civic Platform political party. She was then elected to the Parliament in 2005, where she became head of the Health Committee. She worked as the chairperson of the Civic Platform structures of Masovia.

Sejm of the Republic of Poland

Kopacz was first elected as a deputy to the Sejm in 2001.[1] She was subsequently re-elected in 2005, 2007 and 2011. In November 2011 she was elected the Marshal of the Sejm.[6]

Minister of Health, 2007–2011

In 2009 Kopacz gained some degree of international fame by requesting pharmaceutical companies to present the advantages of swine flu vaccines, and demanding they take full responsibility for the side effects. She advised the Polish government to wait until proper testing had been done on the vaccine before investing in it, citing the fact that seasonal flu exceeds the current WHO criteria for pandemic every year but there has been no declaration of a pandemic of this much more dangerous seasonal flu.[7] The Polish government refused to purchase the vaccine in question.

Pro-life activists in Poland had called for her excommunication after she was involved in arranging, in accordance with Polish law, an abortion for a 14-year-old girl, citing Canon 1398, which automatically sanctions anyone who allows the procedure to occur.[8]

Prime Minister, 2014–2015

Kopacz posing with François Hollande during his visit to Poland, 2012
Ewa Kopacz with Jean-Claude Juncker

On 22 September 2014 Ewa Kopacz was sworn in as Prime Minister, after Donald Tusk resigned to take office as President of the European Council, and formed a cabinet.[9][10] On 8 November 2014 she was sworn in as leader of the Civic Platform.

In her first major policy speech as prime minister, Kopacz promised more continuity in Poland’s foreign policy. She said her government would not stand for a break-up of neighboring Ukraine and would push for a greater U.S. military presence in Poland as a deterrent to possible Russian aggression.[11] For domestic political reasons she decided to replace Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski with her party rival Grzegorz Schetyna.[12] Instead, she made Sikorski the speaker of the parliament.

At her first EU summit in October 2014, Kopacz managed to persuade the other Member States that Poland deserved lucrative concessions as part of a deal to cut European carbon emissions.[13] After the European Commission opened infringement proceedings against Poland for violating particle pollution levels and was investigating reports that it has also exceeded limits on nitrogen oxides, Kopacz’s government declared 2015 to be the Year of Improving Air Quality and backed a proposal to empower regional authorities to clamp down on pollution from vehicles and from the burning of coal and wood in homes.[14]

Poland’s 2014 local elections, a ballot expected to provide a solid show of support for Kopacz, saw her party instead attract fewer votes than the opposition for the first time in almost a decade.[15]

As part of a cabinet reshuffle in June 2015, Kopacz purged Sikorski and three ministers from her government after the surprise defeat of President Bronislaw Komorowski, a party ally of Kopacz, in the presidential elections. She also demoted the official who oversees Poland's intelligence services.[16] Instead, she appointed a group of relative political unknowns to her government in an effort to regain voters' trust and avoid defeat in the upcoming elections. The appointments included a former Olympic rower, Adam Korol, who was named sports and tourism minister, and Marian Zembala, a celebrated heart surgeon, who became the new minister for health.[17]

In the national elections, Kopacz received 230 894 votes, which was the highest individual score in the country, and she received a mandate deputy of parliament VIII term.[18] However, her party lost the elections. In accordance with the constitution, she resigned along with all other members of her cabinet at the first sitting of the newly elected Sejm. She remained in office until her successor Beata Szydło was sworn in on 16 November 2015.

Personal life

When Tusk’s sister Sonia suffered a stroke in 2005, Kopacz became involved in her treatment, travelling to hospitals around Poland with her.[19]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Kopacz, Ewa. "O mnie" [About me]. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
  2. ↑ "President confirms incoming PM Ewa Kopacz". Polskie Radio. September 12, 2014. Archived from the original on August 6, 2012. Retrieved September 15, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Życiorys Ewy Kopacz. Kopacz jako minister zdrowia - Polska - Newsweek.pl". Newsweek.pl. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  4. ↑ The World's 100 Most Powerful Women Forbes
  5. ↑ Annabelle Chapman (September 11, 2014), Poland’s PM in Waiting Newsweek.
  6. ↑ "Ewa Kopacz elected Polish Sejm Speaker". Voice of Russia. November 8, 2011. Archived from the original on September 26, 2014. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Polska bez szczepionki - Ewa Kopacz (03.11.2009)". Vimeo. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  8. ↑ "Poland Pro-Life Groups Call for Health Minister's Excommunication After Abortion Involvement". June 24, 2008. Archived from the original on August 6, 2012. Retrieved April 18, 2009.
  9. ↑ "Ewa Kopacz sworn-in as new Polish Prime Minister". The Hindu. Warsaw. September 22, 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  10. ↑ "New Polish PM Ewa Kopacz unveils new cabinet". Euronews. September 26, 2014. Archived from the original on September 20, 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  11. ↑ Marcin Goettig and Pawel Sobczak (October 1, 2014), New Polish PM signals cautious approach on euro accession Reuters.
  12. ↑ Pawel Sobczak and Christian Lowe (September 19, 2014), New Polish PM brings her rival into government Reuters.
  13. ↑ Henry Foy (November 27, 2014), Kopacz faces tough year as elections loom Financial Times.
  14. ↑ Beth Gardiner (June 7, 2015), Coal in Poland Lowering Life Spans New York Times.
  15. ↑ Henry Foy (November 27, 2014), Kopacz faces tough year as elections loom Financial Times.
  16. ↑ Pawel Sobczak and Christian Lowe (June 11, 2015), Polish government purge may be too late to avert election defeat Reuters.
  17. ↑ Marcin Goclowski (June 15, 2015), Polish PM appoints political novices to her struggling government Reuters.
  18. ↑ http://parlament2015.pkw.gov.pl/349_Wyniki_Sejm
  19. ↑ Annabelle Chapman (September 11, 2014), Poland’s PM in Waiting Newsweek.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ewa Kopacz.
Political offices
Preceded by
Zbigniew Religa		 Minister of Health
2007–2011 		Succeeded by
Bartosz Arłukowicz
Preceded by
Grzegorz Schetyna		 Marshal of the Sejm
2011–2014 		Succeeded by
Radosław Sikorski
Preceded by
Donald Tusk		 Prime Minister of Poland
2014–2015 		Succeeded by
Beata Szydło
Party political offices
Preceded by
Donald Tusk		 Leader of the Civic Platform
2014–2016 		Succeeded by
Grzegorz Schetyna
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