Piotr Zgorzelski (born 17 September 1963) is a Polish politician and teacher, who served as the

starosta Starosta or starost (Cyrillic: ''старост/а'', Latin: ''capitaneus'', ) is a community elder in some Slavic lands. The Slavic root of "starost" translates as "senior". Since the Middle Ages, it has designated an official in a leadersh ...

Płock County __NOTOC__ Płock County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Masovian Voivodeship, east-central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. ...

from 2010 to 2011. He was elected to serve as an MP in 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' ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, re-elected in

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, and

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

. He has been serving as a Deputy Marshal of the Sejm since 12 November 2019.

Life and career

Zgorzelski earned degrees in history from the University of Łódź (1990), economics from the

Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń or NCU (, UMK) is located in Toruń, Poland. It is named after Nicolaus Copernicus, who was born in Toruń in 1473. History The beginnings of higher education in Toruń The first institution of higher ...

(2002),

European integration European integration is the process of political, legal, social, regional and economic integration of states wholly or partially in Europe, or nearby. European integration has primarily but not exclusively come about through the European Union ...

studies from the Paweł Włodkowic College in Płock (2007), and management 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 ...

(2010). Beginning his career in education in 1983, Zgorzelski worked as a teacher at primary schools in Ciachcin and Leszczyn Szlachecki, later becoming the headmaster of the latter from 1992 to 1998. Transitioning into politics, he served as the deputy wójt of Bielsk commune for four years and was elected to the Płock district council in successive local government elections. In 2003, he became director of the Płock delegation of the Marshal's Office of the Mazovian Voivodeship and, in 2010, ascended to the position of

of Płock County, succeeding Michał Boszka. Politically, Zgorzelski has been actively involved since the 1980s, initially with the Confederation of Independent Poland and later with the

Polish People's Party The Polish People's Party (, PSL) is a conservative political party in Poland. It is currently led by Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz. Its history traces back to 1895, when it held the name People's Party, although its name was changed to the pre ...

(PSL), where he served as vice-president of the

voivodeship A voivodeship ( ) or voivodate is the area administered by a voivode (governor) in several countries of central and eastern Europe. Voivodeships have existed since medieval times and the area of extent of voivodeship resembles that of a duchy in ...

structures and president of the party's powiat structures. In 2015, he was appointed Secretary of the PSL Supreme Executive Committee. His parliamentary endeavours began with unsuccessful runs for the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

in 2005 and the

in 2007. However, in the 2011 elections, he secured a seat in the Sejm, a success he replicated in subsequent elections in 2015, 2019, and 2023, demonstrating increasing voter support. On 12 November 2019, Zgorzelski was elected Deputy Marshal of the 9th Sejm, a role he was re-elected to on 13 November 2023 for the 10th Sejm. The décor of Deputy Marshal Zgorzelski's office includes, in his own words, 'signs of agrarian identity' that represent his political group. These include the green colour of the walls and upholstery (PSL colours), the bust of

Wincenty Witos Wincenty Witos (; 21 or 22 January 1874 – 31 October 1945) was a Polish statesman, prominent member and leader of the Polish People's Party (PSL), who served three times as the Prime Minister of Poland in the 1920s. He was a member of the Pol ...

, the historic banner of the Polish People's Party organisation in Łomianki, and the painting 'Forest Landscape' by Maurice Monier from 1887.

Honours

He was awarded the Bronze Cross of Merit in 2004 and the Decoration of Honour for Contributions to Local Government in 2015.

Private life

He has four children from three previous relationships. Zgorzelski is interested in history and agriculture.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zgorzelski, Piotr Living people 1963 births Members of the Polish Sejm 2011–2015 Members of the Polish Sejm 2015–2019 Members of the Polish Sejm 2019–2023 Deputy Marshals of the Sejm of the Third Polish Republic Members of the Polish Sejm 2023–2027