Lech Walesa

Lech Wałęsa (Polish: Lech Wałęsa, pronunciation: [ˈlɛɣ vaˈwɛsa]; September 29, 1943 -), former Polish president, politician, human rights activist, former Solidarity leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner. Served as President of Poland from 1990 to 1995. After winning Poland's presidential election in 1990, Walesa became the first democratically elected Polish president since 1926 and the first Polish president elected by direct popular vote. Walesa was originally an electrician and later became the leader of the Solidarity trade union. While working at the Lenin Shipyard, Walesa, an electrician, became a trade union activist. As a result, he was persecuted by the Polish government, placed under surveillance, fired in 1976, and arrested many times. In August 1980, he played a key role in the negotiations between striking workers and the government, leading to the groundbreaking "Gdansk Agreement" between striking workers and the government. He was also a co-founder of the Solidarity trade union, which later grew to more than 10 million members. After Poland imposed martial law and declared Solidarity an illegal organization, Walesa was arrested again. After his release, he continued his political activities and promoted the establishment of the Polish Round Table, which led to the 1989 Polish parliamentary elections and the establishment of a government led by Solidarity. Since 1980, Walesa has received hundreds of awards, honors and commendations from various countries and organizations around the world. He was named Time Magazine's Person of the Year in 1981 and in 1999 was listed as one of the 100 most important people of the 20th century. He has received more than 40 honorary doctorates, including degrees from Harvard University, Fordham University, and Columbia University, and has received dozens of the nation's highest medals, including the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Knight's Grand Cross of the Order of Bath, and the French Legion of Honor. In 1989, Walesa became the first foreign non-head of state to address a joint session of the U.S. Congress. Since 2004, Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport has been named after him.