Janusz Adam Onyszkiewicz (Polish pronunciation: [ˈjanuʂ ɔnɨʂˈkʲɛvʲitʂ], born 18 December 1937) is a Polish mathematician, alpinist, politician[1] who served as Minister of Defence twice, in the cabinets of Hanna Suchocka (1992–1993) and Jerzy Buzek (1997–2000).[2]
Later in his career, Onyszkiewicz was a Member of the European Parliament.[3]
Early life and education
Onyszkiewicz was born in Lwów (then Poland, now Lviv, Ukraine).[4] He graduated in mathematics from Warsaw University. He became a mathematician, and was also known as an alpinist in the 1970s along with his wife Alison Chadwick-Onyszkiewicz.
Political career
In the 1980s, Onyszkiewicz became the spokesman for the anti-communist Solidarity movement.[1] He became popular among foreign journalists because of his fluent English. After the introduction of martial law in Poland on 13 December 1981, he was arrested and interned.[5] In 1986, he was again detained by the police, preventing him from holding a news conference on behalf of political prisoners that was scheduled to coincide with the start of a conference of intellectuals.[6]
Member of the Polish Parliament
After the fall of communism in 1989, Onyszkiewicz became a member of the Polish Sejm. He served all subsequent terms from May 1989 until 2001. In the spring of 1990, Onyszkiewicz and Bronisław Komorowski became the first civilian vice-ministers of defence in the communist-dominated Ministry of Defence.[5] Later, Onyszkiewicz was Minister of Defence twice, in the cabinets of Hanna Suchocka (1992–1993) and Jerzy Buzek (1997–2000).[2]
Initially, Onyszkiewicz was a member of the Obywatelski Klub Parlamentarny, then the Democratic Union and the Freedom Union. Today, he is a member of the Democratic Party, the continuation of Democratic Union.[4]
In 1999, Onyszkiewicz was awarded the Manfred Wörner Medal by the German Minister of Defence.[1]
Member of the European Parliament
On 13 June 2004, Onyszkiewicz was elected to the European Parliament as a candidate of Democratic Union in the 10th constituency (Lesser Poland+Swietokrzyskie Voivodeships) receiving 50 155 votes (6,37%). On 20 July 2004 he was elected a vice-president of the European Parliament.
Other activities
Onyszkiewicz is Chairman of the ICDT's International Board of Directors.[7]
