Donald Tusk: Polish Politician and Prime Minister

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

Early Political Career

• Tusk officially entered Polish politics in 1989.
• He co-founded the Liberal Democratic Congress (KLD).
• He entered the Sejm in 1991.
• In 1994, the KLD merged with the Democratic Union to form the Freedom Union.
• Tusk was elected to the Senate in 1997 and became its deputy marshal.
• In 2001, he co-founded Civic Platform (PO) and was elected to the Sejm, becoming its deputy marshal.

2005 Presidential Election

• Tusk unsuccessfully ran for President of Poland in 2005, losing to Lech Kaczyński in the second round.
• A controversy arose during the election regarding Tusk's grandfather, Józef Tusk, who was accused of being a Nazi collaborator, which impacted voters.

First Premiership (2007–2014)

• Civic Platform won the 2007 Polish parliamentary election, leading to Tusk's appointment as Prime Minister on November 16, 2007.
• In the 2011 election, Civic Platform retained its majority, and Tusk became the first Polish PM re-elected since 1989.
• Tusk resigned in 2014 to become President of the European Council, being succeeded by Ewa Kopacz.

Domestic Policy (2007-2014)

• Tusk initially promised to continue free-market policies, streamline bureaucracy, cut taxes, encourage Polish citizens to return, and privatize state-owned companies.
• His government later raised VAT from 22% to 23% in 2011.
• He oversaw the construction of a larger road network for the UEFA 2012 football championships.
• Tusk's government decided not to purchase swine flu vaccine during the 2009 pandemic due to a lack of testing and free market availability.
• Tusk was moderately conservative on social issues, opposing legalizing abortion on demand and euthanasia.
• Tusk changed his stance on abortion in June 2022, supporting legalizing it up to 12 weeks.

Foreign Policy (2007-2014)

• Tusk sought to improve relations with Germany and Russia.
• He withdrew military units from Iraq, completing the withdrawal in October 2008.
• He was initially skeptical of U.S. missile defense shield bases in Poland but later supported the project.
• Tusk supported Viktor Orbán's controversial constitution in Hungary, stating that democratic controversies were exaggerated.
• In early 2012, Tusk supported signing the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), leading to mass internet protests and web attacks.

European Policy (2007-2014)

• Tusk supported greater political and economic integration within the EU and backed the Lisbon Treaty.
• He aimed to introduce the euro in Poland, initially by 2012, later envisaging 2015, but the European debt crisis led to less optimism.
• Poland, under Tusk's government, held the Presidency of the Council of the European Union from July to December 2011 and supported Croatia's EU entry.

Constitutional Reform

• Relations between Tusk and President Lech Kaczyński were strained due to differing ideologies, with Kaczyński blocking Tusk's legislation using presidential veto powers.
• Tusk proposed abolishing the presidential veto and reducing the Sejm membership from 460 to 300.
• He also proposed radical changes to the Senate, including abolishing it or reducing its size, and stripping parliamentary immunity for members of the Sejm and Senate.

President of the European Council (2014–2019)

• Tusk succeeded Herman Van Rompuy as President of the European Council on December 1, 2014.
• He promoted a unified European response to Russia's intervention in Ukraine.
• He coordinated the EU's response to the European migrant crisis and warned economic migrants not to come to Europe.
• Tusk warned of dire consequences should the UK vote to leave the EU.
• He pursued a hard line on the UK's withdrawal, stating the only alternative to a "hard Brexit" is "no Brexit."
• In 2018, Tusk opposed the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany.
• In January 2017, Tusk stated the Trump administration presented a threat to the EU.
• Tusk was re-elected for a second term on March 9, 2017, with Poland voting against him.
• Tusk stated in February 2018 that there would be no winners from Brexit and the time after would be damage limitation.
• In February 2018, Tusk urged Turkey to avoid threats against EU members.
• In February 2019, Tusk said there was a "special place in Hell for those who promoted Brexit without even a sketch of a plan how to carry it out safely."
• In September 2019, Tusk said that the EU should open accession talks with both Albania and North Macedonia.
• Tusk condemned the 2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria.
• Sara Hagemann said Tusk "set the tone for a liberal and progressive agenda at a time of significant threat from populist and pro-Russian voices in Europe."

Second Premiership (2023–Present)

• Tusk returned to Polish politics as leader of Civic Platform in July 2021.
• He organized and led anti-government protests in Warsaw in 2023, including the "March of a Million Hearts".
• During his campaign, Tusk advocated for enhanced LGBT rights, including introducing same-sex civil unions.
• In the 2023 Polish parliamentary election, Civic Coalition became the second-largest bloc in the Sejm.
• Civic Coalition and two other opposition parties signed an agreement to support Tusk as their candidate for prime minister.
• Tusk's cabinet was sworn in on December 13, 2023.
• He dismissed top executives from Telewizja Polska, considered a propaganda machine for the PiS government.
• In February 2024, Tusk said he would push for changes to the European Green Deal, later blaming it for high energy prices.
• Tusk’s administration oversaw the arrests of MPs Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik.
• 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; Inpost CEO Rafał Brzoska will lead the advisory team.

Foreign Policy (2023-Present)

• In January 2024, Tusk met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, calling for full mobilization to support Ukraine.
• Donald Tusk supports efforts to strengthen European strength in the face of Russian aggression.
• In May 2024, Tusk criticized the ICC's arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alongside Hamas leaders.
• In August 2024, Tusk guaranteed Ukraine's EU membership would not be possible without resolving the issue 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.
• 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, has two children, Michał and Katarzyna, and five grandchildren.
• Tusk belongs to the Kashubian minority in Poland.
• In December 2008, Donald compared his own family history to the Jewish experience, describing the Kashubian minority as people who were suspected of disloyalty.
• Tusk speaks Polish, Kashubian, German, and English.

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 (Norway, 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)