Donald Tusk: Biography and Political Career

Overview of Donald Tusk

• Born on April 22, 1957, in Gdańsk, Poland as Donald Franciszek Tusk.
• Current Prime Minister of Poland since December 13, 2023, also served as PM from 2007 to 2014.
• Served as President of the European Council from 2014 to 2019.
• Served as Leader of the European People's Party from 2019 to 2022.
• Co-founded Civic Platform, a prominent Polish political party, and has led it for many years.
• Holds the distinction of being the longest-serving prime minister of the Third Polish Republic.

Early Political Involvement

• Been involved in Polish politics since 1989.
• Co-founded parties like the Liberal Democratic Congress (KLD).
• Entered the Sejm in 1991, lost his seat in 1993.
• In 1994, KLD merged into the Freedom Union.
• Elected to the Senate in 1997, became its deputy marshal.
• In 2001, co-founded Civic Platform (PO), became deputy speaker in parliament.
• Unsuccessful presidential run in 2005.

Premierships

• Led Civic Platform to victory in the 2007 parliamentary election, becoming prime minister.
• Won a second term in 2011, marking the first time a prime minister was re-elected since the end of communism in 1989.
• Left Polish politics in 2014 to become President of the European Council.
• Returned to Polish politics in 2021 as leader of Civic Platform.
• In the 2023 election, Civic Coalition won 157 seats, becoming the second-largest bloc.
• Elected prime minister for a third time after Mateusz Morawiecki failed to gain confidence on December 11.
• Sworn in on December 13, ending eight years of Law and Justice (PiS) government.

First Premiership (2007-2014)

• Oversaw reduction and digitization of the public sector.
• Presented himself as a pragmatic liberal realist and technocrat.
• Invested in infrastructure for Euro 2012, expanding highways but impacting the rail sector.
• Second term saw scandals, unfulfilled promises, and economic cooling from 2012-2014.

Opposition to PiS

• Opposed what he viewed as democratic backsliding after PiS electoral victories.
• Focused on improving the rule of law and relations with the EU upon returning to power in 2023.

Current Premiership (2023-Present)

• Continued aid to Ukraine following the Russian invasion.
• Adopted right-wing themes like opposition to illegal migration and prioritized border security in 2024.
• Suspended the right of asylum for those illegally crossing the Belarus-Poland border.

Early Life and Background

• Born and raised in Gdańsk, Northern Poland.
• Has Polish, German, and Kashubian heritage.
• Self-identifies as Polish, Kashubian, and European.
• Father was a carpenter, mother was a nurse.
• Grandfather was imprisoned in Neuengamme concentration camp, later conscripted into the Wehrmacht, and defected to the Polish Armed Forces in the West.
• Described Gdańsk as a "frontier town" with diverse ethnicities.
• Kashubian ancestry and multilingual background shaped his political perspective.

Youth and Education

• Recalled his youth under communism as "hopeless."
• Considered himself a "typical hooligan," often in fights.
• Interest in politics sparked by clashes between workers and riot police.
• Studied history at the University of Gdańsk, graduating in 1980.
• Active in the Student Committee of Solidarity, opposing the communist regime.

Liberal Democratic Congress (KLD)

• Co-founded the Liberal Democratic Congress (KLD).
• Won 37 seats in the 1991 elections.
• The KLD later merged with the Democratic Union (UD) to become the Freedom Union (UW).
• Became deputy chairman of the new party.
• Elected to the Senate in 1997.
• In 2001, he co-founded Civic Platform.

2005 Presidential Election

• Leading candidates were Tusk and Lech Kaczyński.
• Tusk favored the separation of church and state, rapid European integration, and a free-market economy.
• Kaczyński was socially conservative, a soft Eurosceptic, and supported state intervention.
• Tusk's campaign motto: "President Tusk – A man with principles; We will be proud of Poland."
• Received 36.6% of votes in the first round.
• Lost to Kaczyński in the second round.
• Controversy arose regarding his grandfather's alleged service in the German Wehrmacht.

Domestic Policy (First Premiership)

• Promised to continue free market policies, streamline bureaucracy, enact stable governance, cut taxes, encourage Polish citizens abroad to return, and privatize state-owned companies.
• Later raised VAT from 22% to 23% in 2011 and increased taxes on various goods.
• The number of people employed in public administration also grew considerably.
• Value of foreign investments did not match pre-2008 levels.
• Austerity program was implemented.
• Road network construction was prioritized for the UEFA 2012 championships.
• Wanted to partially ban gambling.
• Defended the decision not to purchase swine flu vaccine during the 2009 pandemic.
• Moderately conservative on social issues; opposed to legalizing abortion on demand and euthanasia.
• Stance on abortion changed in June 2022, supported legalizing abortion up to 12 weeks.

Foreign Policy (First Premiership)

• Improved relations with Germany and Russia, which had been damaged during the Kaczyński government.
• Advocated a realistic relationship with Moscow, especially in energy policy.
• Russian bans on Polish meat and agricultural products were lifted.
• Poland reversed its disagreement on an EU-Russian partnership agreement.
• Proposed withdrawing military units from Iraq.
• Withdrew from Iraq in October 2008.
• Initially skeptical about U.S. missile defense shield bases but later supported the project.
• Supported the 2011 military intervention in Libya logistically.
• Supported Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's controversial constitution.
• Supported signing the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA); faced internet protests and web attacks.

European Policy

• Supported political and economic integration within the EU.
• Supported the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty.
• Intended to bring Poland into the Eurozone, but optimism waned during the European sovereign debt crisis.
• Poland presided over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union from July to December 2011.
• Supported Croatia's entry into the EU.
• Showed displeasure over the dominating roles of Germany and France in eurozone negotiations.

Constitutional Reform

• Relations with President Lech Kaczyński were often acrimonious.
• Kaczyński blocked legislation drafted by the Tusk government.
• Proposed abolishing the presidential veto.
• Proposed constitutional reforms, including reducing the Sejm from 460 to 300 members.
• Proposed radical changes to the Senate, possibly abolishing it.
• Proposed stripping parliamentary immunity for members of the Sejm and Senate.

2010 Presidential Election

• Decided to remain as prime minister instead of running for president, allowing Bronisław Komorowski to win.

President of the European Council (2014-2019)

• Succeeded Herman Van Rompuy on December 1, 2014.
• Promoted a unified European response to Russia's military intervention in Ukraine.
• Coordinated the EU's response to the European migrant crisis.
• Warned illegal economic migrants not to come to Europe.
• Warned of dire consequences should the UK vote to leave the EU.
• Pursued a hard line on the UK's withdrawal from the EU after the Brexit vote.
• Opposed the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany.
• Stated the Trump administration presented a threat to the EU.
• Re-elected for a second term on March 9, 2017, with Poland voting against him.
• Maintained there would be no winners from Brexit.
• Urged Turkey to avoid threats against any EU member.
• Expressed concern over the Turkish invasion of northern Syria in 2018.
• Condemned the 2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria.

Return to Polish Politics and Anti-Government Protests

• Returned to Polish politics in July 2021 as leader of Civic Platform.
• Organized anti-government protests in Warsaw.
• A demonstration occurred on June 4, marking the 34th anniversary of Poland’s semi-free elections in 1989, with an estimated turnout of 300,000-500,000.
• A protest, dubbed the “March of a Million Hearts,” took place on October 1.
• Advocated for enhanced LGBT rights, including same-sex civil unions.

2023 Polish Parliamentary Election

• Civic Coalition finished as the second-largest bloc in the Sejm.
• Signed an agreement with New Left, the Polish People's Party, and Poland 2050 to support Tusk as prime minister.
• Nominated as prime minister after Mateusz Morawiecki failed to secure a vote of confidence, his cabinet was sworn in on December 13.

Domestic Policy (Second Premiership)

• Dismissed top executives from Telewizja Polska, promising to turn Polish state media into a source of reliable information.
• Sit-in protest of PiS supporters occurred at the premises of the national broadcaster, also created a spat with President Duda.
• Responded to protests by European farmers in February 2024.
• Insisted that Poland would go its own way "without European coercion" in March 2024.
• Blamed the European Green Deal for high energy prices in the EU in January 2025.
• His administration oversaw the arrests of MPs Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik, both tried for exceeding authority since 2015.

EU Migration Pact Opposition

• Opposed the EU Migration Pact, stating "we will protect Poland from the relocation mechanism" in April 2024.

Temporary Suspension of Asylum Rights

• Announced plans to temporarily suspend the right of migrants to seek asylum in Poland in October 2024.

Economic Deregulation

• Unveiled plans for economic deregulation to spur growth in February 2025.

Foreign Policy (Second Premiership)

• Met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on January 22, 2024.
• Guaranteed safe passage for senior Israeli officials to an event marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp in January 2025, despite an arrest warrant issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by the International Criminal Court.
• Emphasized maintaining strong U.S.-European relations while advocating for increased European defence capabilities.
• In March 2025, he emphasized the need for a united and well-armed Europe, proposing the creation of a European “Defense Bank” to finance military investments.

Personal Life

• Married Małgorzata Sochacka in 1978.
• Has two children, Michał and Katarzyna, and five grandchildren.
• Belongs to the Kashubian minority in Poland.
• Speaks Polish, Kashubian, German, and English.
• Requested a Catholic marriage ceremony with his wife Małgorzata shortly before the 2005 election.
• Published his memoir Szczerze (Honestly) on 12 December 2019.

Honours and Awards

• Awarded the Charlemagne Prize of the city of Aachen on 13 May 2010.
• Received the Walther-Rathenau-Preis in May 2012.
• Received the European Prize for Political Culture in the same year.
• Awarded an honorary doctorate at the University of Pécs, Hungary, in December 2017.
• Awarded an honorary doctorate at the TU Dortmund University, Germany, on 16 December 2018.
• Awarded an honorary doctorate at the University of Lviv, Ukraine, in 2019.
• Grand Cross Order of the Sun (2008, Peru).
• Grand Cross of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit (2012, Norway).
• Presidential Order of Excellence (Georgia, 2013).
• Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana (2014, Estonia).
• The First Class of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise (2019, Ukraine).
• Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (2021, Japan).