Donald Tusk: Polish Politician and Prime Minister

• Donald Franciszek Tusk, born on April 22, 1957, is a Polish politician serving as Prime Minister of Poland since December 13, 2023, and previously from 2007 to 2014.
• He was also the President of the European Council (2014-2019) and leader of the European People's Party (2019-2022).
• Tusk co-founded Civic Platform (PO), a dominant Polish political party, leading it from 2003 to 2014 and again from 2021.
• He is the longest-serving prime minister of the Third Polish Republic.

Early Political Career

• Tusk has been involved in Polish politics since 1989, co-founding parties such as the Liberal Democratic Congress (KLD).
• He entered the Sejm in 1991 but lost his seat in 1993.
• The KLD merged to form the Freedom Union in 1994.
• In 1997, Tusk was elected to the Senate and became 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.

First Premiership (2007-2014)

• Tusk led Civic Platform to victory in the 2007 parliamentary election, becoming Prime Minister on November 16.
• Civic Platform won the 2011 election, making Tusk the first Polish PM re-elected since the end of communism in 1989.
• In 2014, he resigned to become President of the European Council, succeeded by Ewa Kopacz.

Domestic Policy (First Term)

• Tusk initially promised free market policies, streamlined bureaucracy, stable governance, tax cuts, and privatization.
• Later, his government raised VAT from 22% to 23% in 2011 and increased taxes on various goods; the number of public administration employees grew.
• Foreign investments in Poland did not reach pre-2007 levels, and the number of Poles living abroad remained high.
• His government oversaw an austerity program.
• His government focused on constructing a larger national road network for the UEFA 2012 football championships, expanding the highway network at the cost of the rail sector.
• In 2009, Tusk wanted to partially ban gambling and defended not purchasing swine flu vaccine.
• Tusk was moderately conservative on social issues, opposing abortion on demand and euthanasia.
• In June 2022, Tusk changed his stance on abortion, supporting a bill that would legalize abortion up to 12 weeks.

Foreign Policy (First Term)

• Tusk aimed to improve relations with Germany and Russia.
• He advocated a realistic relationship with Moscow, especially regarding energy policy.
• Russian bans on Polish meat and agricultural products were lifted.
• Poland withdrew military units from Iraq in October 2008.
• Tusk initially showed skepticism toward hosting U.S. missile defense shield bases but later supported the project.
• Polish soldiers did not take military action in Libya but offered logistical support for the 2011 intervention.
• He supported Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's controversial constitution.
• Tusk supported signing the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), leading to mass protests.

European Policy

• Tusk supported greater political and economic integration within the EU, backing the Lisbon Treaty.
• He wanted to introduce the euro in Poland, initially by 2012, later targeting 2015, but the European sovereign debt crisis made it "unthinkable."
• Poland, under Tusk, held the Presidency of the Council of the European Union from July to December 2011.
• Poland supported Croatia's entry into the EU through the Treaty of Accession 2011.
• Tusk expressed displeasure over the dominating roles of Germany and France in eurozone negotiations.

Constitutional Reform

• Relations between Tusk and President Lech Kaczyński were strained, with Kaczyński blocking Tusk's legislation.
• Tusk proposed abolishing the presidential veto, reducing the Sejm from 460 to 300 members, and potentially abolishing the Senate.
• He suggested stripping parliamentary immunity and expanding the prime minister's role in foreign policy.
• Tusk preferred to remain as prime minister rather than run for president in 2010.

President of the European Council (2014-2019)

• Tusk succeeded Herman Van Rompuy as President on December 1, 2014.
• He promoted a unified European response to Russia's intervention in Ukraine.
• Tusk coordinated the EU's response to the European migrant crisis and warned against illegal economic migration.
• He warned of dire consequences if the UK voted to leave the EU.
• Tusk pursued a tough stance on Brexit, stating the alternative to a "hard Brexit" was "no Brexit”.
• In 2018, Tusk opposed the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and wrote an open letter outlining threats to the EU, including the Trump administration.
• He was re-elected for a second term in March 2017, with Poland voting against him; Donald Tusk maintained there would be no winners from Brexit and the two years following the triggering of Article 50 will be a time of damage limitation.
• Tusk urged Turkey to avoid threats against EU members and expressed concern over the Turkish invasion of northern Syria.
• He expressed sadness over the death of Chinese Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo.
• In February 2019, Tusk said there was "a special place in Hell" for Brexiteers without a plan and said there was no political force and no effective leadership for Remain.
• Tusk stated that "one thing I will not cooperate on is no deal” regarding Brexit.
• He supported opening EU accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia.
• Tusk condemned the 2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's refugee threats.

Return to Polish Politics (2021) and Anti-Government Protests

• Tusk returned to Warsaw in July 2021, becoming leader of Civic Platform.
• He organized anti-government protests in Warsaw, including a large demonstration on June 4, 2023, opposing democratic backsliding; the "March of a Million Hearts" was on October 1.
• During his campaign for Prime Minister, Tusk advocated for enhanced LGBT rights, including same-sex civil unions.

2023 Polish Parliamentary Election and Third Premiership (2023-Present)

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

Domestic Policy (Third Term)

• Tusk dismissed top executives from Telewizja Polska, considered a pro-PiS propaganda outlet, promising reliable state media.
• Responding to protests by European farmers 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" and in January 2025, he blamed the European Green Deal for high energy prices in the EU.
• Tusk’s administration oversaw the arrests of MPs Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik, both tried for exceeding authority since 2015, leading to tensions with President Duda.
• Tusk opposed the EU Migration Pact in April 2024, vowing to protect Poland from the relocation mechanism.
• Tusk announced plans in October 2024 to temporarily suspend the right of asylum for migrants.
• In January 2025, Tusk supported proposals to reduce benefits paid by Poland to Ukrainian refugees, limiting eligibility to those actually living in the country
• In February 2025, Tusk unveiled plans for economic deregulation to spur growth, appointing InPost CEO Rafał Brzoska to lead the advisory team.

Foreign Policy (Third Term)

• Tusk met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on January 22, 2024, calling for the mobilisation of the West and condemned neutrality in the Russo-Ukrainian War.
• In May 2024, Tusk criticized the International Criminal Court's arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alongside Hamas leaders.
• In August 2024, Tusk stated that Ukraine's EU membership would not be possible without settling the issue of Polish victims of the Volhynian Genocide.
• In January 2025, Tusk guaranteed safe passage for senior Israeli officials to an event marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, despite an arrest warrant for PM Netanyahu.
• 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” to finance military investments.

Personal Life

• Donald Tusk married Małgorzata Sochacka in 1978; they have two children and five grandchildren, living primarily in Sopot.
• His son Michał worked for the OLT Express airline linked to a Ponzi scheme.
• Tusk identifies with the Kashubian minority and speaks Kashubian, Polish, German, and English.
• Amid criticism of his English, Tusk rapidly mastered the language.
• He and his wife had a Catholic marriage ceremony after 27 years of civil marriage.
• Tusk is the author of the 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 (Peru, 2008).
• Grand Cross of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit (2012).
• Presidential Order of Excellence (Georgia, 2013).
• Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana (Estonia, 2014).
• The First Class of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise (Ukraine, 2019).
• Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (Japan, 2021).