Donald Tusk

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Donald Tusk (2018) Signature of Donald Tusk

Donald Franciszek Tusk [ dɔnalt franʨiʃɛk tusk ] listen ? / i (born April 22, 1957 in Danzig ) is a Polish politician and chairman of the European People's Party since 2019 . He was President of the European Council from 2014 to 2019 and Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland from 2007 to 2014 . From 2003 to 2014 he was chairman of the liberal- conservative party Platforma Obywatelska (PO for short, German Citizens' PlatformAudio file / audio sample ). In July 2021, the party convention re-elected him as acting chairman of the PO.

Life

family

Tusk's grandparents belonged on both his father's and his mother's side to the Kashubian ethnic minority in what was then the Free City of Gdansk . The family language was Danzig German . They survived the Second World War despite forced labor and imprisonment in the Stutthof and Neuengamme concentration camps . On August 2, 1944, Tusk's grandfather Józef Tusk (1907–1987) was drafted into the Wehrmacht because of his German citizenship . He probably deserted because three months later, on November 24, 1944, he joined the Polish army in exile on the Western Front . Tusk's father was a carpenter and died in 1972.

In the presidential election in Poland in 2005 , Tusk's political opponent, the Prawo i Sprawiedliwość party (PiS for short, German Law and Justice ), tried to use his grandfather's brief membership of the Wehrmacht and thereby defame him as unpatriotic.

Opposition engagement against the communist regime

The suppression of the workers' uprising in 1970 shaped Tusk politically. He was involved in the opposition to the rule of the Communist Party in Poland. As a student of history at the University of Gdansk , he co-founded the local Student Committee of Solidarity (Polish: Studencki Komitet Solidarności , SKS for short) in the late 1970s . The establishment was a reaction to the death of the Cracow student Stanisław Pyjas (1953-1977), who was involved in the Committee for the Defense of Workers (Polish Komitet Obrony Robotników , or KOR for short ), for whom the opposition blamed the Polish State Security Service . Furthermore, Tusk was also active for the opposition free trade unions of the coastal region (Polish Wolne Związki Zawodowe Wybrzeża , short WZZW). In 1980 he was also one of the co-initiators of the Independent Students' Union ( Niezależne Zrzeszenie Studentów in Polish , or NZS for short). Tusk finished his studies in 1980 with a thesis on the myth and legend of Józef Piłsudski .

A few months after the August strike in 1980 , Tusk began working as a journalist for the weekly magazine Samorządność and was elected chairman of the Solidarność operating committee at the publishing house in Gdansk. After martial law was proclaimed in 1981 , he was dismissed from this state-owned publishing company for his opposition activities and banned from his profession. From 1984 to 1989 he worked as a simple worker for the Świetlik cooperative founded by the Gdańsk opposition under the direction of Maciej Płażyński , which carried out risky work at height.

Party politics

After the collapse of the communist regime , Tusk founded the Liberalno-Demokratyczny (KLD for short, German Liberal-Democratic Congress ) together with Jan Krzysztof Bielecki and Janusz Lewandowski in 1989 . In 1991 he was elected party chairman and was elected to the Sejm , the Polish parliament, for the first time . In 1992 he and his party supported the vote of no confidence in the then Prime Minister Jan Olszewski and then the minority government under his successor Hanna Suchocka . In 1993 the Sejm was dissolved prematurely and the KLD could no longer jump the five percent hurdle in the subsequent early elections . After the lost elections, the KLD merged with the liberal party Unia Demokratyczna (UD for short, German Democratic Union ) of former Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki to form Unia Wolności (UW for short, German Freedom Union ). After a lost dispute with Bronisław Geremek in 2000 about the party chairmanship, Tusk left the UW and founded the Platforma Obywatelska (short: PO, German: Citizens' Platform ) at the beginning of 2001 together with Andrzej Olechowski and Maciej Płażyński .

In 1997 Tusk was elected to the Polish Senate with over 230,000 votes in Gdansk . As a member of the Sejm, he was Deputy Chairman of the Sejm from 2001 to 2005, and before that, Deputy Chairman of the Senate from 1997 to 2001. He represented the PO in the Sejm as group leader from 2003 to 2006. From 2003 to 2014 he was also its party leader. In July 2021, the party convention of the citizens' platform unanimously elected him as vice-party leader, who also takes over the role of chairman on a provisional basis. In order for Tusk to become a regular party leader, he still has to be confirmed by party members through an election. The date for this has not yet been set.

2005 presidential election

In the presidential elections on October 9, 2005 , Tusk achieved 36.3 percent of the votes in the first ballot and thus the best result of the running candidates, but he missed the necessary majority of 50 percent. He had to run for the runoff election on October 23, 2005 against the then mayor of Warsaw Lech Kaczyński , who had previously won 33.1 percent, and lost with 46.5 percent to 53.5 percent.

Parliamentary elections 2007

Cabinet Tusk I (2007)

In the parliamentary elections on October 21, 2007 , which became necessary after the collapse of the then ruling coalition led by the PiS , Tusk and the PO prevailed with 41.51 percent of the votes against Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński's PiS , with around 32 percent of the votes. The PO now had a majority of 240 of the 460 seats in the Sejm together with the moderately conservative Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe (PSL for short, German Polish People's Party ), which primarily represents the interests of farmers. After the election victory, both parties agreed on a coalition .

Tusk at the EPP Congress in Warsaw 2009

Since November 16, 2007, Tusk has led the Polish government as Prime Minister . In his first government declaration on November 23, 2007, he announced the imminent ratification of the Lisbon Treaty and the introduction of the euro in Poland. He also advocated an improvement in relations with Germany , which were sometimes tense during the tenure of his predecessor Kaczyński. In this context, Tusk promoted the revival of the Weimar Triangle , a close cooperation between Warsaw , Paris and Berlin . Tusk had already backed international cooperation during the parliamentary election campaign.

After the 2011 general election

Tusk with Barack Obama (2011)

In the parliamentary elections on October 9, 2011 , the PO received 39.2 percent of the vote. With 206 members, it was by far the strongest parliamentary group in the Sejm. Together with the PSL and the German minority , which traditionally joined the government camp and received a seat, it came to 235 of 460 seats. For the first time since the beginning of the so-called Third Polish Republic , a government was confirmed in office. He was re-elected on November 19, 2011.

President of the European Council from 2014 to 2019

On September 9, 2014, Tusk announced his early resignation from the post of Prime Minister after he had been appointed to succeed Herman Van Rompuy as President of the European Council . Tusk served as provisional prime minister until September 22, 2014, when the previous speaker of the Polish parliament, Ewa Kopacz, was elected as his successor. Tusk took up his new post in Brussels on December 1, 2014. On March 9, 2017, he was re-elected as President of the European Council against the opposition of the Polish ruling party PiS . It was the first vote since the office was created in 2009 in which the later-elected incumbent was unable to unite the votes of all countries. It was particularly emphasized in the media that the home country of Tusks had voted against him and thus, for the first time in the history of the EU, party-political considerations were rated higher than the “own” country representative. On November 20, 2019, Tusk was elected as the new chairman of the European People's Party. He took up this post on December 1, 2019. At the same time, his term of office as EU Council President ended.

Wiretapping affair 2014

After explosive revelations from illegally tapped conversations between various cabinet members, Polish President Bronisław Komorowski suggested that the Polish government resign. Tusk also did not rule out new elections after initially rejecting calls for resignation from the opposition. On June 25, 2014, he put the vote of confidence in the Sejm in accordance with Article 158 of the Polish Constitution . 237 of a total of 440 MPs expressed their confidence in the government, 203 voted against it.

Private

Tusk lives in the spa town of Sopot , part of the Tricity of Gdańsk . He has been married since 1978 and has a son and a daughter with his wife Małgorzata. The son Michał worked, among other things, as a journalist for the daily newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza and was in charge of public relations for the low-cost airline OLT Express Poland . When their parent company Amber Gold went bankrupt in an economic affair in 2012, Michał Tusk hit the headlines and had to testify to the Sejm committee of inquiry in spring 2017. Donald Tusk's daughter Katarzyna Tusk appears occasionally on Polish television, participated in the Polish edition of Dancing Stars in 2007 and is co-author of a fashion blog. Death threats were issued against them.

Tusk is fluent in German and English.

Honors

  • 2011: Walther Rathenau Prize ; “For his services to European integration and to German-Polish reconciliation” (the laudation was given by the German Chancellor Angela Merkel).

Fonts

  • Idea gdańskiego liberalizmu ( Eng . Ideas of Gdansk Liberalism ), Gdańsk 1998, ISBN 83-906004-0-4 .
  • with Grzegorz Fortuna and Krzysztof Grynder: Wrzeszcz. Gdańsk 2002, ISBN 83-912807-2-1 .
  • Solidarność i duma (German Solidarity and Pride ), Gdańsk 2005, ISBN 83-7453-640-3 .
  • with Grzegorz Fortuna: Od Oruni po Siedlce ( Eng . From Orunia to Siedlce ), Gdańsk 2005, ISBN 83-912807-7-2 .
  • with Grzegorz Fortuna: Był sobie Gdańsk (German : Once upon a time Gdańsk ), Gdańsk 2006, ISBN 83-906018-0-X .

References

literature

  • Adam Holesch, Axel Birkenkämper: From Kaczyński to Tusk. A German-Polish tragedy? Bouvier, Bonn 2008, ISBN 978-3-416-03235-3 .
  • Olaf Müller, Bernd Vincken (ed.): Deepening integration - using Europe's strengths: ... to Donald Tusk (= award of the International Charlemagne Prize in Aachen , 2010), Einhard, Aachen 2010, ISBN 978-3-936342-82- 6 (partly in German and partly in English).
  • Sławomir Grabias: Donald Tusk. Pierwsza niezależna biografia (German: Donald Tusk. The first independent biography ), Łodź 2011, ISBN 978-83-932958-0-7 .

Web links

Commons : Donald Tusk  - album with pictures, videos and audio files
 Wikinews: Donald Tusk  - on the news

Footnotes

  1. ↑ tagesschau.de: Tusk becomes the new chairman of the EPP. Retrieved December 5, 2019 .
  2. ^ Westdeutsche Zeitung: Ex-EU Council President: Tusk takes over leadership of Poland's largest opposition party. July 3, 2021, accessed July 3, 2021 .
  3. ↑ Reinhold Vetter: Where is Poland heading ?: The difficult legacy of the Kaczyńskis . Christian Links Verlag,.
  4. ↑ Who is Donald Tusk? ( Memento from October 21, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Der Tagesspiegel , October 21, 2007.
  5. ↑ a b c d Donald Tusk. Kancelaria Prezesa Rady Ministrów, archived from the original on October 4, 2011 ; Retrieved October 9, 2011 .
  6. ↑ wiadomosci.onet.pl
  7. ↑ Kaczynski's fearsome opponent is back , Tagesschau, July 3, 2021.
  8. ↑ Tusk wants to improve its proximity to Germany. ( Memento from July 24, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Tagesschau , November 24, 2007.
  9. ↑ Clear victory, big problems for Donald Tusk. In: Der Tagesspiegel , October 10, 2011.
  10. ↑ Poland's Prime Minister Tusk resigns. In: The time . September 9, 2014.
  11. ↑ Mogherini becomes chief diplomat, Tusk council president. In: The world . August 30, 2014.
  12. ↑ Merkel's husband is a Pole in Brussels. In: Rheinische Post , December 1, 2014, p. A5.
  13. ^ SPIEGEL ONLINE, Hamburg Germany: European Union: Donald Tusk re-elected as EU Council President - SPIEGEL ONLINE - Politics. Retrieved March 9, 2017 .
  14. ↑ James Kanter: Donald Tusk Gets 2nd Term as President of European Council. New York Times, March 9, 2017, accessed March 12, 2017 .
  15. ^ Press review: "Juicy slap in the face" for Poland , Süddeutsche Zeitung, March 10, 2017
  16. ↑ Gabriele Lesser: Donald Tusk takes over the presidency of the European People's Party. Der Standard , November 20, 2019, accessed the same day.
  17. ↑ Elena Eggert: EU Council President Tusk hands over to Michel. Phoenix, November 29, 2019, accessed December 29, 2019 .
  18. ↑ handelsblatt.com
  19. ↑ faz.net
  20. ↑ Polityka, September 22, 2012 (accessed November 3, 2018)
  21. ↑ Marcin Soboczyk: Poland: Dubious financial company damages 50,000 investors. In: Die Welt , August 16, 2012.
  22. ↑ Michał Tusk stanie przed komisją. In: Wiadonosci TVP , March 8, 2017 (Polish).
  23. ↑ Julia Szyndzielorz: Poland: Death threats against the daughter of Prime Minister Tusk. In: Die Welt , April 16, 2014.
  24. ↑ Interview: Will A Tusk Presidency Help EU Look East? Radio Free Europe , August 30, 2014, accessed July 28, 2015 .
  25. ↑ premier.gov.pl ( Memento from August 5, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
  26. ^ Framework program 2010 ( Memento from June 2, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 1.9 MB), aachen.de
  27. ^ Aachen Charlemagne Prize for Donald Tusk. at: dw-world.de, May 13, 2010 (accessed on May 13, 2010)
  28. ↑ Prime Minister Donald Tusk honored with the Walther Rathenau Prize at: thenews.pl. Retrieved July 16, 2014.
  29. ^ Walther Rathenau Prize Website of the Walther Rathenau Institute . Retrieved July 16, 2014.
  30. ↑ Årsberetning 2012. Det kongelige hoff. kongehuset.no, March 1, 2013, accessed December 5, 2013 .
  31. ↑ Bearers of decorations - Donald Franciszek Tusk - Maarjamaa Risti I klassi teenetemärk. president.ee, March 14, 2014, accessed July 2, 2014 .
  32. ^ Honorary Doctor Donald Tusk, President of the European Council | Pécsi Tudományegyetem. Retrieved December 17, 2018 .
  33. ↑ TU DORTMUND AWARDS HONORARY DOCTOR TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL, HE DONALD TUSK. December 16, 2018, accessed January 3, 2019 .
  34. ^ Weekly schedule of President Donald Tusk - Consilium. Retrieved February 20, 2019 .
  35. ↑ Award ceremony December 1, 2019. Accessed December 1, 2019 .


personal data
SURNAME Tusk, Donald
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Tusk, Donald Franciszek (full name)
SHORT DESCRIPTION Polish politician, (Platforma Obywatelska), member of the Sejm
DATE OF BIRTH April 22, 1957
PLACE OF BIRTH Danzig