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Andzelika BorysPublic figure of the Polish minority in Belarus
Date of Birth: 14.10.1973
Country:  Poland |
Content:
Biography of Angelika Boris
Angelika Boris is a public figure of the Polish minority in Belarus. She has been the leader of the Union of Poles in Belarus since 2005, an organization recognized by Poland but not by the Belarusian authorities.
Early Life and Education
Angelika Boris was born in the Grodno district and graduated from the pedagogical college in Zamosc and the University of Bialystok. She worked as a Polish language teacher in Odelsk and Grodno.
Political Career
In 1995, Boris joined the Union of Poles in Belarus and became the head of the education department in 1998. On March 12-13, 2005, she was elected as the chairperson of the Union at its VI Congress. However, several members of the Union filed a complaint with the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus, claiming that the election was illegitimate. On May 12, 2005, the Ministry of Justice invalidated the election results. Boris and the new leadership of the Union refused to hold a repeat congress, as demanded by the Ministry of Justice. According to Stanislav Buko, the chairman of the Committee on Religious and Nationality Affairs, the new leadership "escalated relations between members of the Union and state management authorities." A decision was made to hold a new congress in August. Simultaneously, on July 27, Angelika Boris and eight of her associates were expelled from the Union by the decision of the Grodno city organization of the Union.
At the subsequent VI Congress held in Volkovysk on August 27, a retired person and former school director, Jozef Luchnik, was elected as the new chairperson of the organization. However, there were reports in the media about the falsification of election results and the use of administrative resources. Angelika Boris and some representatives of the Polish diaspora expressed their disagreement with the results of the congress. The Polish authorities also opposed the results of the new congress and refused to recognize the new leadership of the Union of Poles. As a result, a split occurred within the organization, which continues to exist today.
On March 15, 2009, Angelika Boris was re-elected as the head of the unrecognized Union of Poles in Belarus at its VII Congress. On June 12, 2010, she announced her intention to step down from the position of chairperson of the Union.
