Andrzej Papierz (born 21 November 1966, in

Frampol Frampol is a town in Poland, in Biłgoraj County, Lublin Voivodeship. It has 1,431 inhabitants (December 2021), and lies in eastern Lesser Poland, near the Roztocze Upland. Frampol is surrounded by the Szczebrzeszyn Landscape Park and the Janów ...

) is a Polish journalist and diplomat. He has served as the Ambassador of Poland to

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

(2023–2024) and

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

(2007–2010), the Undersecretary of State at the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

(2018), and the Director General of the Foreign Service (2018–2021).

Life

Papierz holds an M.A. in history from the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw (, ) is a public university, public research university in Warsaw, Poland. Established on November 19, 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country, offering 37 different fields of study as well ...

; he defended his thesis in 1999. During his studies, he was a board member of the Independent Students’ Association. He was also active in underground

Solidarity Solidarity or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics ...

and was several times detained for political reasons. He was co-founder and one of the leaders of the Republican League. In 1990, Papierz became a journalist at the ''

Tygodnik Solidarność ''Tygodnik Solidarność'' (, "Solidarity Weekly") is the main organ of the Independent Self-Governed Trade Union "Solidarity." As an anti-Communist union paper, it is also a Polish right-wing weekly magazine. Started and published by the Solidari ...

'' weekly. Between 1991 and 1993, he was working for the Office for State Protection, being responsible for analysing the political situation in the states of the then collapsing

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. In 1993, he returned to journalism. Following work for the

Polish Radio The Polish Radio (PR; Polish: ''Polskie Radio'', PR) is a national public-service radio broadcasting organization of Poland, founded in 1925. It is owned by the State Treasury of Poland. On 27 December 2023, the Minister of Culture and Nationa ...

, he worked for

Polsat Polsat is a Polish free-to-air television channel that was launched on 5 December 1992 by Zygmunt Solorz-Żak. , it is the most watched television channel in Poland with a market share of 11.30% Polsat belongs to Grupa Polsat Plus ( WSE: CP ...

TV,

Telewizja Polska Telewizja Polska S.A. (; TVP), also known in English as Polish Television, is a Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster in Poland, founded in 1952. It is the oldest and largest Polish television network. After 2015, when the right-wing po ...

Życie ''Życie'' (, "Life") was an illustrated weekly established in 1897 and published in Kraków and Lwów in the Austrian partition of Poland. Founded by Ludwik Szczepański, with time it became one of the most popular Polish literary and artistic ...

daily,

RTL 7 RTL 7 is a Dutch free-to-air, free-to-cable television channel that was launched as ''Veronica'' on 1 September 1995. RTL 7 is RTL Nederland's "men's channel" with action films, reality television about crime and professions, Association footbal ...

TV. He was foreign correspondent in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

region. In 1998, he joined the Chancellery of the Prime Minister, becoming the Deputy Director, and then Director of Government Information Centre. From 2001 to 2006, he held the position of the Director of the Polish Institute in

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

. Afterwards, he was the Director of the Human Resources and Training Department at the MFA. In 2007, he was nominated ambassador to Bulgaria, ending his term in 2010. Later, he was serving at the Embassy in

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

, and as a Senior Advisor to commanders of the

ISAF The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a multinational military mission in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. It was established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386 according to the Bonn Agreement, which outlined t ...

’s Polish Military Contingent in

Ghazni Province Ghazni (; ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in southeastern Afghanistan. The province contains 19 Districts of Afghanistan, districts, encompassing over a thousand villages and roughly 1.3 million people, making it the 5th most ...

. Next, for a couple of months he was posted to

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

. From 2013 to 2016, he was

Consul-General A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...

Almaty Almaty, formerly Alma-Ata, is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population exceeding two million residents within its metropolitan area. Located in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains ...

, being in charge of majority of

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

and whole

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...

. For the next two years, he was on the same position in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

(2017–2018). From April to October 2018 he was the Undersecretary of State at the MFA covering Polish Community Abroad, and Public Diplomacy issues. From 22 October 2018 to 13 April 2021 Papierz was the Director General of the Foreign Service. Afterwards, he worked at the European Policy Department, MFA. In June 2023, Papierz was nominated ambassador to Montenegro. He ended his term in 2024. Married to Krystyna, with five children. Beside

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

, he speaks Bulgarian,

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

, and English languages. He has also passive knowledge of

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular **Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans ** Serbian language ** Serbian culture **Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...

and

Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North Macedonia * Mac ...

Honours

* Decoration of Honor Meritorious for Polish Culture (2000) *

Medal of Merit for National Defence The Medal of Merit for National Defence () is a military decoration, decoration of the Ministry of National Defence (Poland), Ministry of National Defence of Poland. Established 21 April 1966 and revised in 1991, the medal recognizes meritorious s ...

(2011) * Afghanistan Star Medal (2012) *

Afghanistan Campaign Medal The Afghanistan Campaign Medal (ACM) was a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was created by Executive Order 13363 of President George W. Bush on November 29, 2004, and became available for general distribution in June 2005. ...

(2012) *

Cross of Freedom and Solidarity The Cross of Freedom and Solidarity (''Krzyż Wolności i Solidarności'') was established on 5 August 2010, to honor members of the democratic opposition in Poland who between the years 1956 and 1989 were killed, seriously wounded or injured, arr ...

(2015) * Pro Patria Medal (2016) *Officer's Cross of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) 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 alien (law), foreigners for outstanding achievements in ...

(2019) * Medal of the Centenary of Regained Independence (2021)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Papierz, Andrzej 1966 births Ambassadors of Poland to Bulgaria Ambassadors of Poland to Montenegro Consuls-general for Poland Living people Officers of the Order of Polonia Restituta Polish dissidents Polish journalists Recipients of the Medal of Merit for National Defence Solidarity (Polish trade union) activists University of Warsaw alumni Recipients of the Pro Patria Medal