Donald Tusk: Polish Politician & Prime Minister

• Donald Franciszek Tusk, born on April 22, 1957, is a Polish politician and historian.
• He has served as the Prime Minister of Poland since December 13, 2023, and previously from 2007 to 2014.
• Tusk was the President of the European Council from 2014 to 2019.
• He served as the leader of the European People's Party from 2019 to 2022.
• Tusk co-founded Civic Platform, a major Polish political party, and led it from 2003 to 2014 and again since 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 party (KLD).
• He entered the Sejm in 1991 but lost his seat in 1993.
• In 1994, 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.
• He 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, and Tusk was appointed prime minister on November 16, 2007.
• He secured a second victory in the 2011 election, becoming the first Polish prime minister re-elected since 1989.
• In 2014, he became President of the European Council, resigning as prime minister.

Domestic Policy (First Term)

• Tusk promised free market policies, streamlined bureaucracy, and tax cuts.
• Value Added Tax (VAT) was raised from 22% to 23% in 2011; taxes on diesel, alcohol, tobacco, and coal were increased and many tax exemptions were eliminated.
• The government oversaw an austerity program.
• The construction of a larger national road network was a priority for the UEFA 2012 football championships.
• Tusk's government decided not to purchase swine flu vaccine during the 2009 pandemic, citing a lack of testing.
• He was moderately conservative 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 (First Term)

• Tusk sought to improve relations with Germany and Russia.
• Military units were withdrawn from Iraq.
• Initially skeptical, Tusk later supported the U.S. missile defense shield in Poland.
• He announced that Polish soldiers would not take military action in Libya but supported the 2011 intervention logistically.
• Tusk supported Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's new constitution.
• In early 2012, Tusk supported Poland signing the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).

European Policy (First Term)

• Tusk supported greater EU integration and the Lisbon Treaty.
• He aimed to bring Poland into the Eurozone, but the European debt crisis made it seem "unthinkable".
• Poland held the Presidency of the Council of the European Union from July to December 2011.
• He showed displeasure over the dominating roles of Germany and France in eurozone negotiations.

Constitutional Reform (First Term)

• Relations between Tusk and President Lech Kaczyński were strained due to different ideologies.
• Kaczyński used presidential veto powers to block Tusk's government's legislation.
• Tusk proposed abolishing the presidential veto, reducing the Sejm membership, radical changes to the Senate, and stripping parliamentary immunity.

President of the European Council (2014–2019)

• He succeeded Herman Van Rompuy as President of the European Council on December 1, 2014.
• Tusk promoted a unified European response to Russia's intervention in Ukraine.
• He coordinated the EU's response to the European migrant crisis and warned illegal economic migrants not to come to Europe.
• Advocated for a hard line on the UK's withdrawal from the European Union after the UK voted to leave.
• In 2018, Tusk opposed the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany.
• Perceived the Trump administration as a threat to the EU.
• Re-elected for a second term in March 2017, despite opposition from the Polish government.

Second Premiership (2023–Present)

• Tusk returned to Polish politics in July 2021 as leader of Civic Platform.
• Organized and led anti-government protests in Warsaw.
• Advocated for enhanced LGBT rights during his campaign.

2023 Polish Parliamentary Election

• Civic Coalition finished as the second-largest bloc in the Sejm.
• Civic Coalition and two other opposition parties, Third Way and New Left, secured a majority.
• Signed an agreement with New Left, the Polish People's Party, and Poland 2050 to support Tusk as prime minister.
• Nominated as prime minister and sworn in on December 13, 2023.

Domestic Policy (Second Term)

• Dismissed top executives from Telewizja Polska (TVP), promising reliable information from state media.
• Responding to European farmer protests, Tusk aimed to change the European Green Deal.
• His administration oversaw the arrests of MPs Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik.
• Opposed the EU Migration Pact.
• Announced plans to temporarily suspend the right of migrants to seek asylum in Poland.
• 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 (Second Term)

• Tusk met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, supporting Ukraine in the Russo-Ukrainian War.
• Criticized the International Criminal Court's arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leaders.
• Stated that Ukraine's EU membership would not be possible without resolving the issue of Polish victims of the Volhynian Genocide.
• Guaranteed safe passage for senior Israeli officials to attend an event marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
• Emphasized maintaining strong U.S.-European relations while advocating for increased European defence capabilities.
• Ruled out sending Polish troops to Ukraine as part of a post-ceasefire peacekeeping force.
• 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.

Early life

• Born and raised in Gdańsk, Poland, identifying as Polish, Kashubian, and European.
• His father was a carpenter; his mother was a nurse.
• His paternal grandfather was imprisoned in the Neuengamme concentration camp and later forcibly conscripted into the Wehrmacht.
• Witnessing clashes between striking workers and riot police as a teenager sparked his interest in politics.
• Graduated with a history degree from the University of Gdańsk in 1980 and was active in the Student Committee of Solidarity.

Personal life

• Married Małgorzata Sochacka in 1978; they have two children and five grandchildren.
• His son, Michał, worked for OLT Express, an airline owned by Amber Gold, which was later revealed to be a Ponzi scheme.
• Tusk belongs to the Kashubian minority in Poland.
• Speaks Polish, Kashubian, German, and English.
• Had a Catholic marriage ceremony with his wife Małgorzata in 2005, after 27 years of civil marriage.
• Published his memoir Szczerze (Honestly) in 2019.

Honours and awards

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