Maria Helena Kaczyńska (; ; 21 August 1942 – 10 April 2010) was the

First Lady of Poland First Lady of the Republic of Poland is an informal designation customarily applied to the wife of the president of the Republic of Poland (as so far all Polish presidents have been male). The First Lady does not hold a constitutional position and ...

from 2005 to 2010 as the wife of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Lech Kaczyński Lech Aleksander Kaczyński (; 18 June 194910 April 2010) was a Polish politician who served as the city mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 2005, and as President of Poland from 2005 until his death in 2010. Before his tenure as president, he prev ...

. She and her husband died in the

plane crash An aviation accident is defined by the Convention on International Civil Aviation Annex 13 as an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft, which takes place from the time any person boards the aircraft with the ''intention of fl ...

in the Russian city of

Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest c ...

Early and personal life

Kaczyńska was born in Machava (near Kabylnik, now

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

), the daughter of Lidia and Czesław Mackiewicz. Her father fought in the

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

Armia Krajowa The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) esta ...

(Home Army), while an uncle fought in the

Polish II Corps The Polish II Corps ( pl, Drugi Korpus Wojska Polskiego), 1943–1947, was a major tactical and operational unit of the Polish Armed Forces in the West during World War II. It was commanded by Lieutenant General Władysław Anders and fought wit ...

of Gen.

Władysław Anders ) , birth_name = Władysław Albert Anders , birth_date = , birth_place = Krośniewice-Błonie, Warsaw Governorate, Congress Poland, Russian Empire , death_date = , death_place = London, England, United Kingdom , serviceyears ...

at the

Battle of Monte Cassino The Battle of Monte Cassino, also known as the Battle for Rome and the Battle for Cassino, was a series of four assaults made by the Allies against German forces in Italy during the Italian Campaign of World War II. The ultimate objective was ...

; another uncle was murdered by the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...

(Soviet secret police) Fischer, Benjamin B.,
The Katyn Controversy: Stalin's Killing Field
. "Studies in Intelligence", Winter 1999–2000. Retrieved on 10 December 2005. at Katyń. Kaczyńska attended primary and secondary schools in Rabka Zdrój in southern

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. She studied transport economics and foreign trade in

Sopot Sopot is a seaside resort city in Pomerelia on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland, with a population of approximately 40,000. It is located in Pomeranian Voivodeship, and has the status of the county, being the smallest city ...

at what is now the

University of Gdańsk The University of Gdańsk ( pl, Uniwersytet Gdański) is a public research university located in Gdańsk, Poland. It is one of the top 10 universities in Poland and is also an important centre for the studies of the Kashubian language. History ...

. After graduating in 1966, she worked at the Maritime Institute in

Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...

, where she met

in 1976. They married in 1978, and had a daughter. In addition to her native Polish, Maria Kaczyńska spoke four languages such as English, French and some Spanish and Russian.

Death

On 10 April 2010, 10:41 MSD (06:41 UTC), Maria Kaczyńska, and her husband, Polish President

, both died when the Polish Air Force Tupolev Tu-154M they were aboard crashed while attempting to land at

Smolensk-North Smolensk North Airport (russian: военный аэродром "Смоленск-Северный", "Smolensk North Military Aerodrome") is a decommissioned military airbase in Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located 4 km north of the city of ...

Airport in the Russian city of

. All 89 passengers on board and the seven crew members were killed.Polish President, 95 Others Killed in Plane Crash
", ''

VOA News Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content ...

'', 10 April 2010, Retrieved 10 April 2010. The Kaczyńskis were traveling with several senior government figures on a trip to mark the 70-year anniversary of the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Katyn Massacre The Katyn massacre, "Katyń crime"; russian: link=yes, Катынская резня ''Katynskaya reznya'', "Katyn massacre", or russian: link=no, Катынский расстрел, ''Katynsky rasstrel'', "Katyn execution" was a series of m ...

, where thousands of Polish military officers were executed by the

. She was buried along with her husband on 18 April 2010 in the

Wawel Cathedral The Wawel Cathedral ( pl, Katedra Wawelska), formally titled the Royal Archcathedral Basilica of Saints Stanislaus and Wenceslaus, is a Roman Catholic cathedral situated on Wawel Hill in Kraków, Poland. Nearly 1000 years old, it is part of the ...

. Her

diary A diary is a written or audiovisual record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwritten but are now also often digital. A personal ...

was found by her daughter after her death, sparking an interest among many publishers who desired to buy it and release it. However, Marta Kaczyńska-Dubieniecka said the diary was too precious for her to sell and also explained that she was not likely to reveal its content.

Honours and awards

:Grand Cross of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on al ...

(16 April 2010, posthumously) :Grand Cross of the

Order of Vytautas the Great The Order of Vytautas the Great is the Lithuanian Presidential Award.''Lietuvos Respublikos Konstitucija. 84 straipsnis''. Priimta 1992 It may be conferred on the heads of Lithuania and foreign states, as well as their citizens, for distinguished ...

(15 April 2009, Lithuania) :Xirka Ġieħ ir-Repubblika (26 January 2009, Malta) :Grand Cross of the

Order of Prince Henry The Order of Prince Henry ( pt, Ordem do Infante Dom Henrique) is a Portuguese order of knighthood created on 2 June 1960, to commemorate the quincentenary of the death of the Portuguese prince Henry the Navigator, one of the main initiators of ...

(1 September 2008, Portugal) :Dame Grand Cross of the Order pro merito Melitensi (14 May 2007)

Notes

According to the list of passports of the Tu-154 flight. Some media gives her date of birth as 21 August 1943.

References

External links

Polish First Lady's official websiteMaria Kaczyńska official biography (in English)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaczynska, Maria 1942 births 2010 deaths People from Myadzyel District Burials at Wawel Cathedral First Ladies of Poland Polish Roman Catholics People from Opole Lubelskie County University of Gdańsk alumni Grand Crosses of the Order of Polonia Restituta Grand Crosses of the Order of Vytautas the Great Grand Crosses of the Order of Prince Henry Recipients of the Order pro Merito Melitensi Victims of the Smolensk air disaster