Andrzej Bohdan Celiński (; born 26 February 1950 in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

) is a Polish

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

. Until 1989 activist of the democratic opposition in Poland. Former Member of Senate and

Sejm The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland ( Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of ...

. Minister of Culture in the government of Prime Minister Leszek Miller (2001-2002). He was a member of

Social Democracy of Poland The Social Democracy of Poland ( pl, Socjaldemokracja Polska, SDPL) is a social-democratic political party in Poland. Foundation The party was founded in April 2004 as a splinter group from the post-communist Democratic Left Alliance (SLD). Th ...

(SdPl), and previously

Democratic Left Alliance The Democratic Left Alliance () was a social-democratic political party in Poland. It was formed in 9 July 1991 as an electoral alliance of centre-left parties, and became a single party on 15 April 1999. It was the major coalition party in Pol ...

and Freedom Union. As Sejm Member he was a member of

Left and Democrats Left and Democrats ( pl, Lewica i Demokraci, LiD) was a centre-left electoral alliance of political parties in Poland which was created on 3 September 2006, before the Warsaw municipal election of 2006. The coalition's aim was to provide an ...

caucus. He is a graduate of

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields o ...

(social sciences). After this he became prominent member of independent scouting movement,

Workers' Defence Committee The Workers' Defense Committee ( pl, Komitet Obrony Robotników , KOR) was a Polish civil society group that was established to give aid to prisoners and their families after the June 1976 protests and ensuing government crackdown. KOR was an exam ...

and later Solidarity. He was one of the leaders of independence movement during the communist time in Poland. From September 1980 he was a secretary of the

Inter-Enterprise Strike Committee Inter-Enterprise Strike Committee (or ''Inter-Factory Strike Committee'', pl, Międzyzakładowy Komitet Strajkowy, MKS) was an action strike committee formed in Gdańsk Shipyard, People's Republic of Poland on 16 August 1980. It was led by Lech ...

in Gdansk, and then head of the cabinet for the Chairman of Solidarity

Lech Wałęsa Lech Wałęsa (; ; born 29 September 1943) is a Polish statesman, dissident, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who served as the President of Poland between 1990 and 1995. After winning the 1990 election, Wałęsa became the first democrati ...

. Arrested after declaration of martial law in Poland on 13 Debcember 1981; he was incarcerated for 12 months until 7 December 1982. In years 1983-1989 he was a close advisor to Lech Wałęsa. He took part in the Round Table Negotiations that lasted from February to April 1989. Elected Senator from Solidarity he served from 1989 to 1993 (two terms). He later became Sejm member (1993-2005). Originally a member of the Democratic Union and Freedom Union, where he was a member of left-wing, be joined Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) in 1999. He was one of the party vice chairmen. After SLD electoral victory he was named Minister of Culture in

Leszek Miller Leszek Cezary Miller (Polish pronunciation: ; born 3 July 1946) is a Polish politician. He has served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since July 2019. From 1989 to 1990 was a member of the Politburo of the Polish United Workers' P ...

's cabinet. He served in the government from 19 October 2001 until 6 July 2002. He left SLD with a group of fellow MP's, led by

Sejm Marshal The Marshal of the Sejm , also known as Sejm Marshal, Chairman of the Sejm or Speaker of the Sejm ( pl, Marszałek Sejmu, ) is the speaker (chair) of the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish Parliament. The office traces its origins to the 15th ...

Marek Borowski Marek Stefan Borowski (; born 4 January 1946 in Warsaw, Poland) is a Polish left-wing politician. He led the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) for a time and was Speaker of the Sejm (the lower, more powerful, house of Poland's parliament) from 200 ...

and created new party - SdPl. He lost re-election to Sejm in 2005 and SdPl lost all seat as well. However, after SLD, SdPl, Labor Union and Democratic Party created coalition Lewica i Demokraci, he returned to the Sejm. Celiński is a nephew of Jan Józef Lipski, socialist and opposition leader.

References

External links

Official Website of Andrzej Celiński

''Andrzej Celiński''
Freedom Collection interview {{DEFAULTSORT:Celinski, Andrzej 1950 births Living people Politicians from Warsaw Culture ministers of Poland Democratic Left Alliance politicians Members of the Senate of Poland 1989–1991 Members of the Senate of Poland 1991–1993 Members of the Polish Sejm 1993–1997 Members of the Polish Sejm 1997–2001 Members of the Polish Sejm 2001–2005 Members of the Polish Sejm 2007–2011 University of Warsaw alumni Polish Round Table Talks participants Members of the Workers' Defence Committee