Ryszard Iwon Terlecki (born 2 September 1949) is a Polish politician, the Parliamentary Caucus Head of the

Law and Justice Law and Justice ( , PiS) is a Right-wing populism, right-wing populist and National conservatism, national-conservative List of political parties in Poland, political party in Poland. The party is a member of European Conservatives and Refo ...

party between 2015–2023. Terlecki, a

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

and

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

of humanities, lectures at the

Pontifical University of John Paul II The Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow () is an academic institution located in Kraków, Poland, that offers graduate degrees in theology, philosophy, and church history. It derived from the theology faculty of Jagiellonian Unive ...

. He is 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' ...

, serving since 2007. He served as the Deputy Marshal of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland 2015–2023. In September 2021 Terlecki said that the PIS party wants to remain in the EU and have a cooperative relationship, but that the EU 'should be acceptable to us.'with him furthering said 'If things go the way they are likely to go, we will have to search for drastic solutions,' he warned. 'The British showed that the dictatorship of the Brussels bureaucracy did not suit them and turned around and left,'. This led to some people saying Terlecki called for a Polexit.

Personal life

He is the son of writer and journalist Olgierd Terlecki who was a secret collaborator of the Security Service in PRL for 35 years, and his wife Janina. In his youth, he was a participant in the

hippie movement The hippie subculture (also known as the flower people) began its development as a teenager and youth movement in the United States from the mid-1960s to early 1970s and then developed around the world. Its origins may be traced to European soc ...

and one of the precursors of this youth subculture in Poland. He was known in the environment under the pseudonym ''Pies'' (pol. ''Dog''). Then he took part in opposition movements - as a co-worker of Workers' Defence Committee, member of "Solidarity" independent trade union, and journalist in underground press. He was married twice, and has three children from his first marriage.

References

1949 births Living people Politicians from Kraków Law and Justice politicians Deputy Marshals of the Sejm of the Third Polish Republic Members of the Polish Sejm 2007–2011 Members of the Polish Sejm 2011–2015 Members of the Polish Sejm 2015–2019 Members of the Polish Sejm 2019–2023 People associated with the Institute of National Remembrance Jagiellonian University alumni 20th-century Polish historians Polish male non-fiction writers Members of the Polish Sejm 2023–2027 {{Poland-Sejm-politician-stub