Wojciech Jaruzelski
Wojciech Witold Jaruzelski (6 July 1923 - 25 May 2014) was a Polish military officer and politician. He was the first President of Poland from July 1989 to December 1990.
Personal life
Jaruzelski came from a family of Polish gentry. He was a son of Władysław Jaruzelski.
Military and political career
Selected by the Soviets for officer training in 1943, he served in the military until 1989. He was the last commander-in-chief of the Polish People's Army (Ludowe Wojsko Polskie) and chairman of the Polish United Workers Party 1981-1989. Jaruzelski was the Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland from 1981-1985 and remained as head of state until 1990 as Poland's last communist leader. He resigned to allow for democratic elections.
In 1981, Jaruzelski ordered a brutal crackdown on people who did not agree with the Communist government of Poland. Jaruzelski imposed martial law in Poland on 13 December 1981 to stop pro-democracy movements including Solidarity, the first non-Communist trade union in the Warsaw Pact.
In 2005, Jaruzelski said he was happy that Poland joined NATO for reasons of security and the European Union for reasons of economic development.[1]
Death
Jaruzelski died on 25 May 2014, in a Warsaw hospital after having a stroke earlier that month.[2][3][4]
References
- ↑ https://news.yahoo.com/hundreds-jeer-polands-last-communist-leader-laid-rest-185941771.html
- ↑ "Nie żyje gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski". www.rmf24.pl.
- ↑ Poland's last Communist leader Wojciech Jaruzelski dies. 25 May 2014, BBC News.
- ↑ Poland's Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski dies at 90. Warsaw, Poland (AP), 25 May 2014.
Other websites
