Jan Maria Rokita
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Jan Władysław Maria Rokita (, born 18 June 1959) is a Polish liberal conservative politician, a member of the
Sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...
, the lower chamber of the
Polish parliament The parliament of Poland is the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Poland. It is composed of an upper house (the Senate of Poland, Senate) and a lower house (the Sejm). Both houses are accommodated in the Sejm and Senate Complex of Poland, S ...
. He was chairman of the parliamentary club of the
Civic Platform The Civic Platform (, PO)The party is officially the Civic Platform of the Republic of Poland (''Platforma Obywatelska Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''). is a Centre-right politics, centre-right liberal conservative political party in Poland. Since ...
party from 2003 to 2005. He was a Member of the
Sejm of Poland The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the transition of government i ...
in X, I, II, III, IV I V convocations, co-founder of the Conservative People's Party and its president in 2000–2002.


Biography

Jan Rokita was born in
Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
as a son of Tadeusz Rokita and Adela Wajdowicz. His maternal grandmother, Maria Meder, was
Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...
. Rokita graduated from the
Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (, UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by Casimir III the Great, King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and one of the List of oldest universities in con ...
in Kraków with a degree in law. He joined the dissident organisation " Freedom and Peace". He also took part in the
Independent Students Union Independent Students' Association (, NZS) is a Polish student society, created in October 1980, in the aftermath of the Gdańsk Agreement and the anti-government strike actions (see: History of Solidarity). It was a student arm, or suborganization ...
and was active as a member of the academic branch of
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 ...
. For his activity in the opposition, he was banned from becoming an apprentice attorney, despite his excellent examination record. In 1989, he was elected an MP as a Solidarity candidate. He was appointed the president of a special parliamentary
commission In-Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anot ...
for the investigation of the Security Service (
Służba Bezpieczeństwa The Security Service (; ), in full Security Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and commonly known as SB, was a secret police force established in the Polish People's Republic in 1956 as a successor to the Ministry of Public Security (P ...
). In 1991, he joined Democratic Union (UD) party. He was a member of the party's right wing. In
Hanna Suchocka Hanna Stanisława Suchocka (; born 3 April 1946) is a Polish political figure, lawyer, professor at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań and Chair of the Constitutional Law Department, former First Vice-President and Honorary President of the V ...
's government, he was the chief of the
Council of Ministers Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...
office. In 1995, he was the co-founder of the "3/4 initiative" – a movement created in order to prevent
Aleksander Kwaśniewski Aleksander Kwaśniewski (; born 15 November 1954) is a Polish politician and journalist. He served the maximum two terms as the president of Poland from 1995 to 2005. His tenure as President was marked by modernization of Poland, rapid economi ...
from winning the presidential elections and refused to support his party's candidate
Jacek Kuroń Jacek Jan Kuroń (; 3 March 1934 – 17 June 2004) was one of the democratic leaders of opposition in the People's Republic of Poland. He was widely known as the "godfather of the Polish opposition," not unlike Václav Havel in Czechoslovakia. Kur ...
. In 1997, he left
Freedom Union Freedom Union can refer to: *Freedom Union – Democratic Union, Czech republic * (''Frælsisfylkingin'') *Freedom Union (Poland) The Freedom Union (, UW) was a liberal democratic political party in Poland that was active from 1994 to 2005, whe ...
(successor of the UD) and joined another political party – Conservative People's Party. He was elected to the Sejm for the fourth time from
Solidarity Electoral Action Solidarity Electoral Action (, AWS) was a coalition of political parties in Poland, active from 1996 to 2001. AWS was the political arm of the Solidarity (Polish trade union), Solidarity trade union, whose leader Lech Wałęsa (also an AWS member ...
coalition list, becoming chairman of the parliamentary Interior Affairs Committee. In 2000 he was elected leader of the SKL. When the Civic Platform was formed in January 2000, Rokita was reluctant to ally SKL with it, but a steady trickle of members to the new center right party forced him to. In 2001, Rokita was elected to the Sejm for the fifth time, as a PO candidate. In 2002, he ran for office to be Mayor of Kraków, but without success. In 2003, he was elected to Sejm's special investigative committee for the
Lew Rywin Lew Rywin (born 10 November 1945 in a Nizhnyeye Alkeyevo, USSR) is a Polish film producer associated with Heritage Films (est. 1991). He has also been a member of the State Council of Radio and Television and worked in an agency, Poltel, and p ...
affair. His participation in the committee has given him a tough inquisitor image and made him very popular, effectively resurrecting him as an active politician. In consequence, PO's opinion polls ratings skyrocketed. When the negotiations for the future
European constitution The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (TCE; commonly referred to as the European Constitution or as the Constitutional Treaty) was an unratified international treaty intended to create a consolidated constitution for the European ...
started in the end of 2003, he coined the slogan: "Nicea o muerte – Nicea albo śmierć" ( (Treaty of) Nice or death), which was more or less the official position of the Polish delegation. He later softened his position on the constitution. His first wife was Katarzyna Zimmerer, Polish-Jewish journalist. Now Rokita is married to his second wife Nelly Rokita, an
ethnic German Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The constitution of Germany, implemented in 1949 following the end of World War ...
from
Chelyabinsk Chelyabinsk; , is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. It is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, seventh-largest city in Russia, with a population ...
, Russia. Nelly has a daughter from her first marriage. In July 2007, he was sentenced to pay a fine for calling
Grzegorz Wieczerzak Grzegorz (Polish pronunciation: ) is a Polish given name, equivalent to English '' Gregory''. Its diminutive forms include Grześ, Grzesiek, and Grzesio; augmentative – Grzechu. Individuals named Grzegorz may choose to celebrate their name day ...
"a very famous criminal". In 2006, Jan Rokita became the coordinator of the so-called shadow office. In 2007, he gave up further political activity. On 14 September 2007, Rokita announced he would not be seeking re-election in the 2007 Polish elections. Officially, he claimed it was because of his wife Nelly's decision to enter Polish politics as an advisor to President
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 in an air crash. The aircraft carrying ...
(affiliated with the right-wing Law and Justice Party). However, it was well documented that in the run up to the elections he and his supporters within the Civic Platform had become increasingly marginalised, and he claimed he could not communicate with section of Civic Platform in Kraków. Despite this, he did not leave Civic Platform and went on record that he would cast his vote for the party.


Awards

* Kisel Prize (2003); * "Man of the Year" according to the Wprost weekly (2003); * Commander Cross the Order of the Renaissance of Poland (2008); * The medal is "Invincible in the word" (11 December 2011). *
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 ...
(2018);


References


External links

*
POLAND'S ELECTIONS: Jan Rokita: The Triumph of the Politician – Intellectual
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rokita, Jan 1959 births Lawyers from Kraków Living people Jagiellonian University alumni Politicians from Kraków Polish Roman Catholics Polish people of Austrian descent Solidarity (Polish trade union) activists Members of the Polish Sejm 1991–1993 Members of the Polish Sejm 1993–1997 Members of the Polish Sejm 1997–2001 Civic Platform politicians Members of the Polish Sejm 2001–2005 Members of the Polish Sejm 2005–2007 Polish Round Table Talks participants