Zbigniew Tadeusz Ziobro (; born 18 August 1970) is a Polish politician. He served as the
Minister of Justice
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
of the
Republic of Poland in the
Cabinet of Mateusz Morawiecki until 27 November 2023. He previously served in the same role from October 2005 to November 2007, simultaneously serving as the
Public Prosecutor General. He was elected to 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' ...
on 25 September 2005 in the 13th Kraków district, running on 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 list. He received over 120,000 votes in the parliamentary election, the highest percentage constituency results in the election.
Ziobro graduated from the Faculty of Law and Administration of
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 ...
. He did not complete his PhD. He was a member of the
Lower House (Sejm) legislature from 2001 to 2005. Due to his proclaimed "battle against corruption", he became one of the more popular, but also polarizing, politicians in Poland. His uncompromising approach and publicized prosecutions earned him the title ''Man of the year 2006'', awarded by ''
Wprost'' magazine. However, some of his policies were repeatedly characterized as partisan and overzealous by local and international press, including ''
The Economist
''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...
''.
In 2007, the former
Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration Janusz Kaczmarek, allegedly linked to the
Andrzej Lepper bribery case, was forced to resign. He subsequently made a series of attacks on members of the government, especially Ziobro. In a media confrontation with the vice-PM Andrzej Lepper, Ziobro revealed that he had secretly recorded a conversation with Lepper. In
2009 European Parliament election in Poland, he was elected in the Kraków constituency as an MEP. He received 335,933 votes, representing the second highest score in the country.
On 31 January 2025, he was arrested over allegations that
under his authority Poland had used
Pegasus spyware to monitor journalists and rival politicians.
Justice Minister of Poland (2017–2023)
Since 16 November 2015 Ziobro has been the Justice Minister of Poland in the
cabinet of Beata Szydło. In February 2016 he became the Prosecutor General as well, which was the result of new law unifying both positions.
On 20 August 2019 Ziobro's deputy Łukasz Piebiak resigned following allegations of "arranging and controlling" an online and offline smear campaign against judges critical of the government's
efforts to put more political control over the judiciary. In private correspondence revealed by
Onet.pl Piebiak claimed to be reporting his actions to an unnamed "boss".
Ziobro was the architect of controversial reforms to the Polish judiciary, which were condemned by the
Court of Justice of the European Union
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ( or "''CJUE''"; Latin: Curia) is the Judiciary, judicial branch of the European Union (EU). Seated in the Kirchberg, Luxembourg, Kirchberg quarter of Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, this EU ins ...
. Ziobro has announced Poland can not comply with EU rulings. Ziobro has referred to EU rulings as "blackmail", saying Poland should not remain in the EU at all costs.
In November 2023 he was succeeded by
Marcin Warchoł.
Political views
Ziobro is a
Catholic Integralist, believing that Poland is a Catholic nation and should be guided by traditional Catholic morality.
Ziobro is opposed to the
Istanbul Convention against gender violence. In July 2020 Ziobro declared he will begin preparing the formal process to withdraw Poland from the treaty. He said that the treaty is harmful because it "requires that schools teach children about
gender in an ideological way and de-emphasizes biological sex."
In 2012, when in opposition, Ziobro had referred to the treaty as "an invention, a feminist creation aimed at justifying
gay ideology".
Ziobro is against same sex marriage, with him saying in 2020 that it would be unacceptable for EU institutions to "force Poland to legalize
gay marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 billion people (20% ...
so it can get EU financial aid."
In March 2021, Ziobro's justice ministry prepared a bill banning same-sex couples from adopting children, saying, “This solution corresponds to the views of the vast majority of Polish society”, favoring the
traditional family.
In August 2021, in the context of the years-long dispute between Poland and the EU over the Polish judicial reform, in particular over the
Polish judicial disciplinary panel law, Ziobro said Poland should stay in the EU, but ‘not at any cost’.
See also
*
Rywin affair
*
Church of Our Lady of the Scapular
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ziobro, Zbigniew
1970 births
Lawyers from Kraków
Living people
Jagiellonian University alumni
Politicians from Kraków
Justice ministers of Poland
Members of the Polish Sejm 2001–2005
Members of the Polish Sejm 2005–2007
Members of the Polish Sejm 2007–2011
Members of the Polish Sejm 2015–2019
Members of the Polish Sejm 2019–2023
United Poland politicians
United Poland MEPs
Polish Roman Catholics
Law and Justice MEPs
MEPs for Poland 2009–2014
Members of the Polish Sejm 2023–2027