COMMUNISM'S NEGOTIATED COLLAPSE:
THE POLISH ROUND TABLE TALKS OF 1989,
TEN YEARS LATER
A Conference at the University of Michigan, April 7-10, 1999

President of Poland since 1995, Aleksander Kwasniewski (b. 1954) helped to initiate the Round Table negotiations. Along with Tadeusz Mazowiecki, he co-chaired the union pluralism sub-table. Kwasniewski studied international business at the University of Gdansk. A member of the Polish United Workers' Party from 1977 to 1990, he was active in youth movements, serving as a leader of the Union of Polish Socialist Students and editor of the student weekly Itd and daily Sztandar Mlodych. He was Minister for Youth Affairs from 1985 to 1987 and Chair of the Committee for Youth and Physical Fitness from 1987 to 1990. Kwasniewski was a Deputy to the Sejm for the Democratic Left Alliance and leader of Social Democracy of the Polish Republic until his election as President in 1995.

Next participant | Back to participant list