Krzaklewski, Marian (1950- )

Polish politician and trade union leader, leader of the Solidarity trade union from 1991 and Solidarity Electoral Action (AWS) from 1996. A member of the anti‐communist Solidarity since its inception in 1980, he revived the body as a political force from the mid‐1990s. Its right‐of‐centre offshoot, the AWS, was able to form a coalition government after the September 1997 general election. However, expecting to put in a bid for the presidency in 2000, Krzaklewski chose not to become prime minister, preferring to exert behind‐the‐scenes influence over the new prime minister, Jerzy Buzek, his former economic adviser.

Krzaklewski was a scientific worker at the Polish Academy of Sciences and Silesian Polytechnic 1976–90. He formed the AWS as an electoral grouping of over 30 right‐of‐centre and Christian bodies. In 1997, it successfully fought on a platform of faster privatization, ‘Catholic values’, decentralization, reform of pensions, and early membership of the European Union.