Donald Tusk: Biography and Political Career

Overview of Donald Tusk

• Donald Franciszek Tusk was born on April 22, 1957, in Gdańsk, Poland.
• He has been the Prime Minister of Poland since December 13, 2023, also holding the position from 2007 to 2014.
• Tusk served as President of the European Council from 2014 to 2019.
• He led the European People's Party from 2019 to 2022.
• He co-founded Civic Platform, a major Polish political party, leading it from 2003 to 2014 and again from 2021.
• Tusk is the longest-serving prime minister of the Third Polish Republic.

Early Political Career

• Tusk has been involved in Polish politics since 1989.
• He co-founded the Liberal Democratic Congress (KLD), advocating for a free market.
• He entered the Sejm in 1991 but lost his seat in 1993.
• In 1994, the KLD merged to become the Freedom Union.
• Tusk was elected to the Senate in 1997, becoming its deputy marshal.
• In 2001, he co-founded Civic Platform (PO) and was elected to the Sejm, becoming its deputy marshal.
• Tusk unsuccessfully ran for President of Poland in 2005 and also lost the 2005 Polish parliamentary election.

First Premiership (2007-2014)

• Civic Platform won the 2007 parliamentary election, leading to Tusk's appointment as Prime Minister on November 16.
• In 2011, Civic Platform retained its majority, marking the first time a Polish prime minister had been re-elected since the end of communism in 1989.
• He resigned in 2014 to become President of the European Council, succeeded by Ewa Kopacz.

Domestic Policy (2007-2014)

• Tusk initially promised to continue free market policies, streamline bureaucracy, ensure stable governance, cut taxes, encourage the return of Polish citizens from overseas, and privatize state-owned companies.
• Tusk's government later raised the VAT from 22% to 23% in 2011, increased taxes on diesel oil, alcohol, and tobacco, and eliminated tax exemptions.
• The number of public administration employees grew, and foreign investments did not reach pre-2007 levels by 2012.
• During his term, Tusk implemented austerity measures.
• His government prioritized construction of a national road network for the UEFA 2012 football championships.
• Tusk partially banned gambling in October 2009.
• During the 2009 swine flu pandemic, Tusk defended the decision not to purchase vaccines due to lack of testing and free-market availability, criticizing other nations' responses.
• He held moderately conservative views on social issues, opposing legalizing abortion on demand and euthanasia.
• In June 2022, Tusk changed his stance on abortion, supporting legalization up to 12 weeks.

Foreign Policy (2007-2014)

• Tusk aimed to improve relations with Germany and Russia.
• He stressed the need for warm relations with Berlin and a realistic relationship with Moscow, especially on energy policy.
• Under his leadership, Russian bans on Polish meat and agricultural products were lifted.
• Poland reversed its disagreement on an EU-Russian partnership agreement.
• Tusk proposed withdrawing military units from Iraq, completing the withdrawal by October 2008.
• Initially skeptical about U.S. missile defense shield bases in Poland, he later supported the project in August 2008.
• He supported the 2011 military intervention in Libya with logistical support.
• Tusk supported Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's controversial constitution, stating the democratic controversies were "exaggerated".
• In early 2012, Tusk supported Poland signing ACTA, leading to web attacks and mass protests.

European Policy (2007-2014)

• Tusk strongly advocated for greater EU integration and backed the Lisbon Treaty.
• He aimed to introduce the Euro in Poland, initially by 2012, then targeting 2015, but the European debt crisis led to less optimism.
• Poland, under Tusk, held the Presidency of the Council of the European Union between July and December 2011, supporting Croatia's EU entry.
• Tusk expressed displeasure over Germany and France's dominating roles in eurozone negotiations in January 2012.

Constitutional Reform (2007-2014)

• Relations between Tusk and President Lech Kaczyński were strained due to differing ideologies.
• Kaczyński vetoed legislation drafted by Tusk's government.
• Tusk proposed abolishing the presidential veto, reducing the Sejm's membership from 460 to 300, and reducing or abolishing the Senate.
• He also suggested stripping parliamentary immunity.
• Tusk proposed expanding the prime minister's role in foreign policy decisions.
• In January 2010, Tusk decided not to run for president, preferring to remain as prime minister.

President of the European Council (2014-2019)

• Tusk succeeded Herman Van Rompuy on December 1, 2014.
• He promoted a unified European response to Russia's intervention in Ukraine.
• Tusk worked to coordinate the EU's response to the European migrant crisis, warning economic migrants against coming to Europe.
• Ahead of the UK's EU referendum, he warned of dire consequences if the UK voted to leave.
• After the UK voted to leave, he pursued a hard line on Brexit.
• In 2018, Tusk opposed the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany.
• In January 2017, he stated that the Trump administration presented a threat to the EU.
• On March 9, 2017, Tusk was re-elected for a second term, with Poland voting against him.
• In February 2018, Tusk urged Turkey to avoid threats against EU members.
• He expressed concern over the 2018 Turkish invasion of northern Syria.
• Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker expressed sadness over the death of Liu Xiaobo.
• In February 2019, Tusk said there was a "special place in Hell for those who promoted Brexit without even a sketch of a plan".
• In August 2019, he stated "one thing I will not cooperate on is no deal" regarding Brexit.
• In September 2019, Tusk said that the EU should open accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia.
• He condemned the 2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria.

Second Premiership (2023-Present)

• In July 2021, Tusk returned to Polish politics as leader of Civic Platform.
• As of May 2022, his net approval among the general population was reported as 24.4%.
• In 2023, Tusk organized anti-government protests in Warsaw, one of which attracted 300,000-500,000 people on June 4.
• "March of a Million Hearts" took place on October 1 to support the opposition ahead of the parliamentary elections.
• During his campaign, Tusk advocated for enhanced LGBT rights.

2023 Polish Parliamentary Election and Aftermath

• Civic Coalition finished as the second-largest bloc in the Sejm in the 2023 Polish parliamentary election.
• Civic Coalition, Third Way, and New Left won enough seats to take power.
• On November 10, Civic Coalition, New Left, the Polish People's Party and Poland 2050 signed an agreement to support Tusk as prime minister.
• Morawiecki's cabinet lost a vote of confidence on December 11.
• The Sejm nominated Tusk as its candidate for prime minister, and his cabinet was sworn in on December 13.

Domestic Policy (2023-Present)

• Tusk dismissed top executives from Telewizja Polska, the public service broadcaster that was considered a propaganda machine for the PiS government.
• In February 2024, Tusk said he would push for changes to the European Green Deal.
• In March 2024, he insisted that Poland would go its own way "without European coercion".
• Tusk’s administration oversaw the arrests of MPs Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik, who had been tried for exceeding authority since 2015.
• In April 2024, Tusk opposed the EU Migration Pact, stating "we will protect Poland from the relocation mechanism".
• In October 2024, Tusk announced plans to temporarily suspend the right of migrants to seek asylum in Poland.
• In January 2025, Tusk supported proposals to reduce benefits paid by Poland to Ukrainian refugees.
• In February 2025, Tusk unveiled plans for economic deregulation to spur growth, appointing InPost CEO Rafał Brzoska to lead the advisory team.

Foreign Policy (2023-Present)

• On January 22 2024, Tusk met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv.
• He stated that those who chose neutrality in the Russo-Ukrainian War deserved "the darkest place in political hell".
• Tusk has supported efforts to strengthen European strength in the face of Russia.
• In May 2024, Tusk criticized the International Criminal Court's arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
• In August 2024, Tusk stated that Ukraine's membership in the European Union would not be possible without resolving the question of Polish victims of the Volhynian Genocide.
• In January 2025, Tusk guaranteed safe passage for senior Israeli officials to travel to an event marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp.
• In February 2025, Poland was Europe's leading defence spender, allocating 4.7% of its GDP to military expenditure.
• In March 2025, Tusk emphasized the need for a united and well-armed Europe, proposing the creation of a European “Defense Bank”.

Personal Life

• Donald Tusk married Małgorzata Sochacka in 1978.
• They have two children.
• Tusk belongs to the Kashubian minority in Poland.
• He speaks Polish, Kashubian, German, and English.
• In 2014, he was criticized for his poor English but rapidly mastered it.
• He requested a Catholic marriage ceremony with his wife in 2005, after having been civilly married for 27 years.
• On December 12, 2019, Tusk published his memoir "Szczerze" (Honestly).

Honours and Awards

• Charlemagne Prize of the city of Aachen (2010)
• Walther-Rathenau-Preis (2012)
• European Prize for Political Culture (2012)
• Honorary doctorate at the University of Pécs, Hungary (2017)
• Honorary doctorate at the TU Dortmund University, Germany (2018)
• Honorary doctorate at the University of Lviv, Ukraine (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)