Marek Maciej Siwiec (born 13 March 1955 in Piekary Slaskie) is a Polish politician and journalist.

Biography

Marek Maciej Siwiec studied physics at the

AGH University of Science and Technology AGH University of Krakow, (abbreviated as ''AGH University''; formerly: AGH University of Science and Technology or ''AGH UST'') is a public university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1913, its inauguration took place in 1919. The university foc ...

(1980) and completed Post-Diploma Study of Journalism in 1989 at the Academy of Social Sciences – Centre for Education of the Foreign Service. He is married to Ewa, with whom he has two children.

Journalism career

Between 1985 and 1987 he was Editor-in-chief of the bi-weekly 'Student', then weekly magazine 'ITD' (1987–1990) and the daily newspaper 'Trybuna'.

Political career

From 1991 until 1997 he was a member of Parliament of the Polish Republic (Sejm) for the Kalisz Constituency. In years 1993–1995 he was also Member of National Broadcasting Council. In 1996 he was appointed as a secretary of state in a Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland,

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 ...

. One year later (1997) he took over as a Chief of the

National Security Bureau (Poland) National Security Bureau ( , BBN) is a Polish government agency executing the tasks given by the President of the Republic of Poland regarding national security. The Bureau serves as the organizational support to the National Security Council (P ...

. He held that position until 2004, when he was elected Member of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

from

Greater Poland Voivodship Greater Poland Voivodeship ( ) is a voivodeship, or province, in west-central Poland. The province is named after the region called Greater Poland (''Wielkopolska'' ). The modern province includes most of this historic region, except for some we ...

. From January 2007 to June 2009 he served as Vice-President of the European Parliament. He also chaired the Delegation to the EU-Ukraine Parliamentary Cooperation Committee. He was an observer of several elections in

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

between 2004 and 2014. In December 2011-April 2012 he was vice-chairman of

Democratic Left Alliance Democratic Left Alliance may refer to: * Democratic Left Alliance (Poland) The Democratic Left Alliance () was a social democracy, social-democratic list of political parties in Poland, political party in Poland. It was formed on 9 July 1991 as ...

, polish social-democratic political party. During his tenure in European Parliament he also served as a coordinator of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats for the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly. He was member of the Board of Yalta European Strategy foundation, President of

European Friends of Israel European Friends of Israel (EFI) was a Brussels-based organization of European parliamentarians whose stated mission is "forging a stronger political relationship and a deeper understanding between Europe and Israel." History Established in Septemb ...

, and member of Global Leadership Council of Colorado State University. In 2016 he was appointed as a Chief Executive Officer of Babi Yar Holocaust Memorial Center, a non-governmental organization with its mission to respectfully commemorate the victims of the

Babi Yar Babi Yar () or Babyn Yar () is a ravine in the Ukraine, Ukrainian capital Kyiv and a site of massacres carried out by Nazi Germany's forces during Eastern Front (World War II), its campaign against the Soviet Union in World War II. The first and ...

and to promote the humanization of mankind through the memory preservation and study of the history of the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. Since 2019, he has served as a Senior Public Affairs Advisor for the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

Career timeline

* 1981–1982: Assistant at the Electronics Institute of AGH (1980–1982), traineeship with the

Gas and Fuel Corporation of Victoria The Gas and Fuel Corporation of Victoria (G&FC) was a government-owned monopoly supplier of household gas in Victoria, Australia. It was established in 1950 and took over two of the three main gas utilities in Melbourne – the Metropolitan Gas C ...

, Australia * 1985–1991: Editor-in-chief of the bi-monthly 'Student' (1985–1987), weekly 'ITD' (1987–1990) and the daily 'Trybuna' * 1991–1997: Member of Parliament of the Polish Republic (Sejm) * 1993: Spokesman for the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) Parliamentary Party * 1993–1996: Member of the National National Broadcasting Council * 1993–1996: Member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

* 1996–2004: Secretary of State at the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland * 1997–2004: Chief of the

* 1997–2004: Vice-Chairman of the Consultative Committee of the presidents of Poland and

* Secretary of the National Security Council (2000–2004) head of the Polish Association of Friends of the

Peres Center for Peace The Peres Center for Peace and Innovation, located in Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Jaffa, Israel, is an independent non-profit, non-governmental, and non-political organization founded in 1996 by Nobel Peace Laureate and former President of Israel Shimon Pe ...

* Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Foundation to Counter Terrorism and Biological Threats * Member of the National Administration of the SLD * Head of the national delegation to the

Party of European Socialists The Party of European Socialists (PES) is a Social democracy, social democratic European political party. The PES comprises national-level political parties from all the European Economic Area, European economic area states (EEA) plus the Unit ...

in the EP

Awards and recognition

* Order of Gedymin (1997, LT), Cavaliere di Gran Croce (1997, I), Ordem do Merito (1997, P), Ordre de Leopold (1999, B) * National Order of Merit (2000, F) * Ubique Patriae Memor (2002, BR) * Grand Cross of the Order of Merit (2003, LT) * Virtutea Militară (2003, RO) * Royal Victorian Order (2004, GB) * Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 4th and 3rd Class (1997, 2004, UA)

Controversy

During presidency campaign in 2000 a film was published revealing Marek Siwiec, then the chief of National Security Bureau, allegedly parodying a gesture of then pope John Paul II (making a cross sign in the air on arrival). In November 2007 Institute of National Remembrance (Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation), revealed that in 1986 he was registered as a Secret Collaborator until January 1990. Marek Siwiec denied those claims. On 26 March 2009 Institute of National Remembrance, after its own investigation, decided about discontinuance of the proceedings due to lack of evidence about collaboration.Cezary Gmyz: Koniec lustracji Siwca

Rzeczpospolita (newspaper) ''Rzeczpospolita'' () is a Polish nationwide daily economic and legal newspaper, published by Gremi Media. Established in 1920, ''Rzeczpospolita'' was originally founded as a daily newspaper of the conservative Christian National Party during i ...

(9 May 2009)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Siwiec, Marek People from Piekary Śląskie 1955 births Living people Members of the Polish Sejm 1991–1993 Members of the Polish Sejm 1993–1997 Democratic Left Alliance MEPs MEPs for Poland 2004–2009 MEPs for Poland 2009–2014 Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 2nd Class Your Movement politicians