Donald Tusk: Polish Politician and Prime Minister

• Donald Franciszek Tusk, born on April 22, 1957, is a Polish politician and historian.
• Tusk has served as the Prime Minister of Poland on two occasions, from 2007 to 2014 and again since December 13, 2023.
• He was also the President of the European Council from 2014 to 2019 and leader of the European People's Party from 2019 to 2022.
• Tusk co-founded Civic Platform (PO), a major Polish political party, and has led it for many years, from 2003 to 2014 and again since 2021.
• He holds the distinction of being the longest-serving prime minister of the Third Polish Republic.

Early Political Career

• He has been involved in Polish politics since 1989, co-founding parties like the Liberal Democratic Congress (KLD).
• Tusk entered the Sejm in 1991 but lost his seat in 1993.
• In 1994, the KLD merged to form the Freedom Union.
• In 1997, he was elected to the Senate and became its deputy marshal.
• In 2001, he co-founded Civic Platform (PO) and re-entered the Sejm, becoming its deputy marshal.
• Tusk ran for President of Poland in 2005 but lost.

First Premiership (2007-2014)

• Civic Platform (PO) won the 2007 parliamentary election, leading to Tusk's appointment as Prime Minister on November 16.
• He secured a second term in the 2011 election, becoming the first Polish PM to be re-elected since 1989.
• In 2014, he resigned to become President of the European Council.

Domestic Policy (First Term)

• Initial promises included continuing free market policies, streamlining bureaucracy, enacting stable governance, cutting taxes, encouraging the return of Polish citizens living overseas, and privatizing state-owned companies.
• His government raised the VAT from 22% to 23% in 2011, increased taxes on diesel oil, alcohol, tobacco, and coal, and eliminated various tax exemptions.
• Public sector employment grew, and foreign investments did not reach pre-2007 levels.
• Tusk oversaw an austerity program.
• Infrastructure development, especially for the UEFA 2012 football championships, was prioritized.
• He aimed to partially ban gambling.
• His government chose not to purchase swine flu vaccine during the 2009 pandemic.
• Tusk held moderately conservative views on social issues, opposing abortion on demand and euthanasia.
• In June 2022, he changed his stance on abortion, supporting legalization up to 12 weeks.

Foreign Policy (First Term)

• He sought to improve relations with Germany and Russia, which had been damaged during the previous government.
• Tusk advocated for warmer relations with Berlin and a more realistic relationship with Moscow.
• Russian bans on Polish meat and agricultural products were lifted.
• Poland reversed its disagreement on a European Union-Russian partnership agreement.
• He proposed withdrawing military units from Iraq.
• Initially skeptical, Tusk later supported U.S. missile defense shield bases in Poland.
• Polish soldiers did not engage in military action in Libya but offered logistical support for the 2011 intervention.
• He supported Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's controversial constitution.
• Tusk supported Poland signing the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).

European Policy (First Term)

• He supported greater EU integration and the Lisbon Treaty.
• Tusk aimed to bring Poland into the Eurozone, initially targeting 2012, then 2015, but later became less optimistic.
• Poland, under Tusk's government, held the Presidency of the Council of the European Union from July to December 2011.
• Poland supported Croatia's entry into the EU.
• He expressed concerns about the dominating roles of Germany and France in eurozone negotiations.

Constitutional Reform (First Term)

• Relations with President Lech Kaczyński were strained due to differing ideologies.
• Kaczyński vetoed Tusk government legislation.
• Tusk proposed constitutional reforms, including abolishing the presidential veto and reducing the size of the Sejm and Senate.

President of the European Council (2014-2019)

• Tusk promoted a unified European response to Russia's intervention in Ukraine.
• He coordinated the EU's response to the European migrant crisis.
• He warned economic migrants against coming to Europe.
• Ahead of the UK's EU membership referendum, Tusk warned of dire consequences if the UK voted to leave.
• After the UK voted to leave, he pursued a hard line on the UK's withdrawal.
• In 2018, he opposed the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
• In 2017, he stated that the Trump administration presented a threat to the EU.
• Tusk was re-elected for a second term in 2017, with Poland voting against him.
• He maintained that there would be no winners from Brexit.
• In 2018, 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 Liu Xiaobo.
• In 2019, Tusk said there was "a special place in Hell" for those who promoted Brexit without a plan.
• He stated "one thing I will not cooperate on is no deal" regarding Brexit.
• Tusk condemned the 2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria.

Second Premiership (2023-Present)

• Tusk returned to Polish politics in July 2021 as leader of Civic Platform.
• He organized anti-government protests in Warsaw in 2023.
• During his campaign, Tusk advocated for enhanced LGBT rights.
• In the 2023 Polish parliamentary election, Civic Coalition finished second.
• Tusk's cabinet was sworn in on December 13, 2023.

Domestic Policy (Second Term)

• Tusk dismissed top executives from Telewizja Polska.
• In February 2024, he said he would push for changes to the European Green Deal.
• Tusk’s administration oversaw the arrests of MPs Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik.

Foreign Policy (Second Term)

• On 22 January 2024, Tusk visited Kyiv, Ukraine.
• He criticized the International Criminal Court's arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
• In August 2024, Tusk stated that Ukraine's EU membership would not be possible without resolving the issue of Polish victims of the Volhynian Genocide.
• In February 2025, Poland was Europe's leading defence spender, allocating 4.7% of its GDP to military expenditure.

Personal Life

• Donald Tusk married Małgorzata Sochacka in 1978.
• They have two children, Michał and Katarzyna, and five grandchildren.
• He belongs to the Kashubian minority in Poland.
• Tusk speaks Polish, Kashubian, German, and English.
• On 12 December 2019, Tusk published his memoir Szczerze (Honestly).

Honors and Awards

• Charlemagne Prize (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)