Mariusz Błaszczak [ˈmarjuʂ ˈbwaʂt͡ʂak] ⓘ (born 19 September 1969, in Legionowo) is a Polish politician, historian, and local government representative. Błaszczak has served as Minister of National Defence of Poland from 2018 to 2023.
Mariusz Błaszczak | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2015 | |
| Minister of National Defence | |
| In office 9 January 2018 – 13 December 2023 | |
| Prime Minister | Mateusz Morawiecki |
| Preceded by | Antoni Macierewicz |
| Succeeded by | Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz |
| Deputy Prime Minister of Poland | |
| In office 22 June 2022 – 21 June 2023 | |
| Prime Minister | Mateusz Morawiecki |
| Preceded by | Jarosław Kaczyński |
| Succeeded by | Jarosław Kaczyński |
| Minister of the Interior and Administration | |
| In office 16 November 2015 – 9 January 2018 | |
| Prime Minister | Beata Szydło Mateusz Morawiecki |
| Preceded by | Teresa Piotrowska (Interior) Andrzej Halicki (Administration) |
| Succeeded by | Joachim Brudziński |
| Minister of the Council of Ministers | |
| In office 27 March 2007 – 16 November 2007 | |
| Prime Minister | Jarosław Kaczyński |
| Preceded by | Sławomir Cytrycki |
| Succeeded by | Zbigniew Derdziuk |
| Chief of the Chancellery | |
| In office 27 March 2007 – 16 November 2007 | |
| Prime Minister | Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz Jarosław Kaczyński |
| Deputy | Piotr Tutak |
| Succeeded by | Tomasz Arabski |
| Member of the Sejm | |
| Assumed office 5 November 2007 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 19 September 1969 Legionowo, Poland |
| Citizenship | Poland |
| Political party | Law and Justice |
| Alma mater | University of Warsaw |
| Signature |  |
| Website | http://mariuszblaszczak.pl/ |
On 22 June 2022, President Andrzej Duda nominated Błaszczak to succeed Jarosław Kaczyński as the Deputy Prime Minister of Poland.[1]
Early life
Błaszczak was born in Legionowo to Lucjan and Danuta Błaszczak;[2] his father worked at the FSO factory in Żerań.[3]
Political career
In the 2002 Polish local elections, Błaszczak was the candidate of the Electoral Committee of Justice, Law and Self-Government Voters for the position of president of Legionowo.[4] He obtained 11.02% of the votes and did not advance to second round.[5]
In the 2005 Polish parliamentary election, Błaszczak failed to run for the Sejm from the Warsaw PiS list.[6] He became the spokesman of KP PiS in March 2009, then the chairman of the party's parliamentary club on 3 August 2010.[7]
Błaszczak was re-elected with 44,319 votes in the 2011 Polish parliamentary election.[8] In the 2015 Polish parliamentary election, he was elected to the Sejm once again, this time receiving 73,139 votes.[9] The same year on 16 November, Błaszczak was appointed Minister of Interior and Administration in the Cabinet of Beata Szydło.[10]
In the 2017 interview with Polskie Radio about the European refugee crisis, Błaszczak stated that thanks to Christianity, there were leaders like "Charles the Hammer who stopped the Muslim invasion of Europe in the eighth century".[11]
Minister of Interior
On 11 December 2017, Błaszczak became Minister of Interior of Poland in the First Cabinet of Mateusz Morawiecki.[12] He resigned from the position on 9 January 2018, later replacing Antoni Macierewicz as Minister of National Defence.[13]
Minister of Defence
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In the 2019 Polish parliamentary election, Błaszczak successfully ran for parliamentary re-election, receiving 135,189 votes.[14] The same year on 15 November, he became Polish Minister of Defence again, becoming part of the Second Cabinet of Mateusz Morawiecki.[15] On 22 June 2022, Błaszczak was appointed to the position of deputy prime minister,[16] replacing Jarosław Kaczyński.[17]
Błaszczak served as Vice-President of the Council of Ministers until 21 June 2023, but resigned together with other deputy prime ministers due to Jarosław Kaczyński's re-entry into the government.[18]
In the 2023 Polish parliamentary election, Błaszczak won a parliamentary seat for the fifth time in a row (with the result of 127,578 votes).[19] Later that November, he became chairman of his party's parliamentary club again.[20] Błaszczak left the office on 13 December 2023.[21]
Controversy
In August 2018, Błaszczak's public statements on TV Trwam regarding the equality parade in Poznań were described by some media and commentators as homophobic and constituted hate speech.[22]
Honours
- 2016
- 2017: Golden Badge of Merit for Fire Protection[25]
- 2018: Ministry of National Defense[26]
- 2019: Grand Commander's Cross, Order for Merits to Lithuania[27]
- 2022
- Order of Merit of Ukraine, 1st class[28]
- Man of Freedom[29]
- 2023: Politician of the Year by Wprost[30]