Polish Government Ministers

Prime Minister - Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz

Now already in his third term in parliament, Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz was one of the founding fathers of the Christian National Union (ZChN) party. By education a physicist. Under Hanna Suchocka's government of 1992-3, he was deputy education minister. He was the chief initiator of the Professional High School in Gorzow, and was also involved in working on behalf of the AZS PWSZ sport club. As a Law and Justice parliamentary deputy, he gained increasing influence on PiS’s economic policy, becoming chairman of the parliamentary State Treasury committee. He is regarded as being on the liberal economics wing of PiS.

Internal Affairs and Administration - Ludwik Dorn

One of the closest confidantes of Law and Justice leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski. A sociologist by education, he has been historically linked with the anti-communist opposition movement since the mid-1970s. His main policy priority will be eliminating corruption in the police and other special services, as well as reviewing tender procedures and decisions the ministry. Has a hard line on law and order issues.

Economy - Piotr Woźniak

Law and Justice’s key expert on energy issues. Key policy priority is to establish diversification of Polish energy supplies and resisting Russian attempts to penetrate the Polish energy market. A former deputy chairman of PGNiG, the Polish Oil and Natural Gas company

State Treasury (privatisation) - Andrzej Mikosz

Former member of Warsaw Stock Exchange Commission, director of Lovells' capital markets practice, formerly a member of the Weil Gotshal and Manges law firm. Respected by the capital markets as strongly pro-privatisation.

Social Affairs, Labour and Family - Krzysztof Michałkiewicz

Michalkiewicz is a graduate of the Catholic University of Lublin and a long-standing Solidarity activist. He spent several years in Australia in the late 1980s. He has a strong background in managing social aid as deputy President of Lublin.

Development - Grażyna Gęsicka

Gesicka was a negotiator for the Civic Platform side in the abortive coalition talks with Law and Justice before accepting Marcinkiewicz’s offer to be Minister in this new ministry, established to be better coordinate the inflow of EU funds. She was a deputy minister of labour and social policy in the Buzek government of 1997-2001, and is a sociologist from Warsaw University.

Finance - Teresa Lubińska

Lubinska is close to PM Marcinkiewicz, the latter having been her doctoral student at Szczecin University, where she is an economics professor in charge of the faculty of finance. From October 2004 she was an adviser to former Minister of Finance Miroslaw Gronicki.

Transport and Construction - Jerzy Polaczek

Jerzy Polaczek is the main expert of Law and Justice on infrastructure matters, and heads this ministry which takes over the functions of the former Ministry of Infrastructure. He is the former head of the parliamentary infrastructure committee and chairman of the Silesian chapter of PiS. He is known for critical attitude to the current motorways construction programme and has expressed reservations over the concept of PPP.

Foreign Affairs - Stefan Meller

Aged 63, Meller is currently Polish ambassador to Moscow, and previously Polish ambassador to France. He was born in France during the Second World War, and is a historian by training, specialising in the history of the French Revolution. He commenced a career in the Foreign Ministry after 1992.

Justice - Zbigniew Ziobro

Ziobro is regarded as close to PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski and is a former deputy minister of Justice. He rose to prominence on the Rywin parliamentary investigation committee. He agenda is rooting out corruption in the Polish judicial system, speeding up court procedures, and crusading against crime and corruption.

Coordinator, Special Services - Zbigniew Wassermann

Another close ally of Jaroslaw Kaczynski and a former prosecutor from Krakow. A former member of the parliamentary Special Services committee, his brief will be to coordinate the Polish intelligence services, rooting out former communist secret service operatives and clearing out those operatives suspected of having links with the criminal underworld.

Environment - Jan Szyszko

Szyszko was minister of Environment in the 1997-2001 government of Jerzy Buzek with a broad range of experience on environmental matters.

Health - Prof. Zbigniew Religa

The former head of the honorary election committee of Civic Platform leader Donald Tusk and a former candidate for the Presidency. Religa is a respected cardiologist with pro-reform ideas on health, proposing the transformation of the National Health Fund into competing funds, and allowing private health funds to operate.

Defence - Radek Sikorski

Aged 42, Sikorski was previously the executive director of the New Atlantic Initiative attached to the American Enterprise Institute in Washington. Previously he was deputy foreign minister in the Buzek government from 1998-2001, and still earlier a deputy minister of defence in 1992. He lived in the UK between 1981 and 1989 where he studied at Oxford University. He has British citizenship. He is a close friend of Donald Rumsfeld and Zbigniew Brzezinski, as well as Newt Gingrich and other leading conservatives in Washington.

Agriculture - Krzysztof Jurgiel

A long-standing member of Solidarity and close to the Kaczynski brothers, having operated with them in various parties throughout the 1990s. Chief agriculture expert of Law and Justice. Also a lay Catholic activist.

Education - Michał Seweryński

The separate Ministry of Science and IT has been abolished with its functions absorbed into the Ministry of Education under Minister Michal Sewerynski. Sewerynski is a former rector of Lodz University and remains linked to the University where he is a professor of Law, specialising in labour law. In favour of modest university fees.

Culture and National Inheritance - Kazimierz M. Ujazdowski

Ujazdowski is a former minister of culture on the Buzek government and a deputy speaker of parliament in the previous term. A committed conservative, he supports traditional culture against modernist forms. Speaks fluent French.

Sport - Tomasz Lipiec

A former three-times Polish walking champion and former European champion. Currently deputy chairman of the Polish Athletics Association. Closely linked to Law and Justice.