Jaroslaw Kaczynski Former Prime Minister of Poland, twin brother of Lech Kaczynski Date of Birth: 18.06.1949 Country: Poland

1. Early Life and Education
2. Academic Career and Dissident Activities
3. Solidarity Movement
4. Political Career
5. Law and Justice Party
6. Prime Ministership
7. Political Crisis and Resignation
8. Later Life

Early Life and Education

Jaroslaw Kaczynski was born in Warsaw, Poland, on June 18, 1949, 45 seconds before his identical twin brother, Lech. In 1962, the twins gained fame for starring in the children's film "The Two Who Stole the Moon." They attended school together and both graduated from the Faculty of Law and Administration at the University of Warsaw.

Academic Career and Dissident Activities

In 1971, Jaroslaw embarked on an academic career, earning a doctorate in law. He worked at the Institute of Science and Higher Education Policy and the Bialystok branch of the University of Warsaw. In the mid-1970s, the Kaczynski brothers joined the Polish dissident movement, participating in the Workers' Defense Committee. They attended the first Solidarity congress in 1980.

Solidarity Movement

In 1981, Lech was arrested during martial law, but Jaroslaw remained free due to a supposed typographical error in the arrest list. He later became a consultant and member of Solidarity's governing bodies. He also served on the Polish Helsinki Committee.

Political Career

From 1989 to 1990, Jaroslaw served as editor-in-chief of Solidarity's weekly newspaper. In 1989, he was elected to the Senate for the Citizens' Parliamentary Party. He headed the President's Office under Lech Walesa from 1990 to 1992. He founded and led the Center-Right Agreement party from 1990 to 1998.

Law and Justice Party

In 2001, the Kaczynski brothers formed the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, with Lech Kaczynski as chairman. Jaroslaw became party chairman in 2003. In 2005, PiS won the parliamentary elections, and Lech Kaczynski was elected president. Jaroslaw declined to become prime minister, allowing Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz to take the role.

Prime Ministership

In 2006, Jaroslaw was appointed prime minister by his brother. As leader, he took a hard-line stance, straining relations with the EU and improving ties with the US. He also worsened relations with Russia by vetoing negotiations for EU-Russia cooperation.

Political Crisis and Resignation

In 2007, a political crisis erupted when Jaroslaw forced the vice prime minister to resign for alleged corruption. This led to a loss of support for PiS and early parliamentary elections, which the party lost to Donald Tusk's Civic Platform. Jaroslaw resigned as prime minister on November 5, 2007.

Later Life

On April 10, 2010, Lech Kaczynski died in a plane crash. Jaroslaw became the PiS candidate for president in the subsequent elections but lost. He remains a prominent figure in Polish politics.