Donald Tusk: Polish Prime Minister and Political Career

• 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, and previously from 2007 to 2014.
• He also served as the President of the European Council from 2014 to 2019 and as the leader of the European People's Party from 2019 to 2022.
• Tusk co-founded Civic Platform (PO), a major Polish political party, and led it from 2003 to 2014 and again from 2021.
• He holds the distinction of being the longest-serving prime minister of the Third Polish Republic.

Early Political Involvement

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

Premierships and European Council Presidency

• As leader of Civic Platform, Tusk won the 2007 parliamentary election, becoming prime minister.
• He repeated this success in the 2011 election, marking the first time a prime minister had been re-elected since 1989.
• In 2014, he stepped down to become President of the European Council.
• Civic Platform lost control of the presidency and parliament to Law and Justice (PiS) in 2015.
• After his term as President of the European Council concluded in 2019, he returned to Polish politics in 2021 as leader of Civic Platform.
• In the 2023 election, Civic Coalition secured 157 seats.
• After Mateusz Morawiecki failed to gain a vote of confidence, Tusk was elected prime minister for a third time on December 11.
• His cabinet was sworn in on December 13, ending eight years of PiS government.

Policies and Stances

• Tusk aimed to reduce bureaucracy, ensure stable governance, lower taxes, and encourage foreign business ventures.
• He later altered his position on taxation, raising VAT from 22% to 23% in 2011 and increasing taxes on various goods.
• Infrastructure expansion, especially highways for Euro 2012, was a priority, but it came at the cost of rail sector development.
• Faced various scandals, unfulfilled promises, and an economic slowdown from 2012 to 2014 that led to a decline in public support.
• He has supported aid to Ukraine after the Russian invasion.
• Tusk has adopted right-wing themes, opposing illegal migration and prioritizing border security, even suspending asylum rights for illegal border crossings.

Early Life and Education

• Tusk was born in Gdańsk, Poland, with Polish, German, and Kashubian heritage, identifying as Polish, Kashubian, and European.
• His father was a carpenter, and his mother was a nurse.
• His paternal grandfather was imprisoned in Neuengamme concentration camp.
• He has described Gdańsk as a "frontier town" with diverse ethnicities.
• Tusk studied history at the University of Gdańsk, graduating in 1980.
• He was active in the Student Committee of Solidarity.

2005 Presidential Election

• Tusk faced Lech Kaczyński in the presidential elections.
• Tusk campaigned on separating church and state, rapid European integration, and a free-market economy.
• Kaczyński was socially conservative, a soft Eurosceptic, and supported state intervention.
• The first round saw Tusk with 36.6% of the votes and Kaczyński with 33.1%.
• Tusk was defeated by Kaczyński in the second round.
• Controversy arose over accusations that Tusk's grandfather had been a Nazi collaborator.

First Premiership (2007–2014)

• Civic Platform won the 2007 Polish parliamentary election, defeating Law and Justice.
• Tusk was sworn in as prime minister on November 16.
• In 2011, Civic Platform retained its majority, making Tusk the first Polish PM since communism to win reelection.
• In September 2014, he was selected as President of the European Council.
• Tusk resigned as prime minister.

Domestic Policy (2007-2014)

• Tusk promised to continue free market policies, streamline bureaucracy, enact stable governance, cut taxes, encourage Polish citizens to return, and privatize state-owned companies.
• His government raised VAT from 22% to 23% in 2011, increased taxes imposed on diesel oil, alcohol, tobacco and coal, and eliminated many tax exemptions.
• The number of people employed in public administration grew.
• Foreign investments in Poland had not matched the peak level attained in 2006–07, before Tusk entered office.
• The number of Poles living abroad in 2013 was almost the same level as in 2007.
• Tusk oversaw the austerity programme.
• The construction of a larger national road network in preparation for the UEFA 2012 football championships was a stated priority for Tusk's government.
• In October 2009, Tusk declared that he wanted to ban gambling partially.
• During the 2009 swine flu pandemic, Tusk defended his government's decision not to purchase the vaccine.
• Tusk opposed legalizing 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 (2007-2014)

• Tusk sought to improve relations with Germany and Russia.
• He advocated a more realistic relationship with Moscow, especially in regard to energy policy.
• Russian bans on Polish meat and agricultural products were lifted.
• Poland reversed its official policy of disagreement on a European Union-Russian partnership agreement.
• Tusk outlined a proposal to withdraw military units from Iraq.
• He showed skepticism toward U.S. plans of hosting missile defense shield bases in the country but later supported the missile shield.
• Tusk announced that Polish soldiers would not take military action in Libya, although he voiced support for the 2011 military intervention.
• He supported Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in his efforts of implementing a new constitution.
• In early 2012, Tusk announced his support for committing Poland to signing the international Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).

European Policy (2007-2014)

• Tusk strongly supported greater political and economic integration within the European Union.
• Tusk repeatedly stated his government's intention in bringing Poland into the Eurozone.
• Between July and December 2011, Poland under Tusk's government presided over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
• Tusk showed displeasure over German Chancellor Angela Merkel's and French President Nicolas Sarkozy's dominating roles in eurozone negotiations.

Constitutional Reform (2007-2014)

• Relations between Tusk and President Lech Kaczyński were often acrimonious.
• Kaczyński blocked legislation drafted by the Tusk government.
• He proposed various reforms to the Polish constitution including abolishing the presidential veto.
• Further constitutional reforms proposed by Tusk include reducing the Sejm from a membership of 460 to 300.
• Parliamentary immunity for all members of the Sejm and Senate would also be stripped, except for in special situations.
• Tusk proposed that the prime minister's role in foreign policy decisions would be greatly expanded.

President of the European Council (2014–2019)

• Tusk succeeded Herman Van Rompuy as President of the European Council on December 1, 2014.
• He worked to promote a unified European response to Russia's military intervention in Ukraine.
• Tusk made attempts to co-ordinate the EU's response to the European migrant crisis
• Tusk warned of dire consequences should the UK vote to leave.
• He pursued a hard line on the UK's withdrawal from the European Union.
• In 2018, Tusk opposed the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany.
• On January 31, 2017, Tusk wrote an open letter to 27 EU heads of state or government on the future of the EU before the Malta summit stating the Trump administration presented a threat to the EU.
• He was re-elected for a second term to run until November 30, 2019.
• In February 2018, Tusk urged Turkey "to avoid threats or actions against any EU member".
• He expressed concern over the Turkish invasion of northern Syria in 2018.
• Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker said they had learned of Liu Xiaobo's death "with deep sadness."
• On February 6, 2019, Tusk held talks with Irish Premier Leo Varadkar in Brussels to discuss Britain's departure from the European Union.
• In September 2019, Tusk said that the EU should open accession talks with both Albania and North Macedonia.

Second Premiership (2023–present)

• In July 2021, Donald Tusk returned to Warsaw, actively reengaging in Polish politics as leader of Civic Platform.
• In 2023, Tusk organized and led significant anti-government protests in Warsaw.
• He advocated for enhanced LGBT rights, including introducing same-sex civil unions.
• In the 2023 Polish parliamentary election, Tusk's Civic Coalition finished as the second-largest bloc in the Sejm.
• On November 10, 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 December 11, Morawiecki's cabinet lost a vote of confidence in the Sejm.
• The Sejm subsequently nominated Tusk as its candidate for prime minister, by 248 votes in favor and 201 against.
• Tusk's cabinet was sworn in on December 13.
• Upon assuming office, Tusk dismissed the top executives from Telewizja Polska and promised to turn Polish state media into a source of reliable information”.
• In February 2024, responding to protests by European farmers, Tusk said he would push for changes to the European Green Deal.
• Tusk’s administration oversaw the arrests of MPs Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik, both 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, limiting eligibilty 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 (2023-Present)

• On January 22, 2024, Tusk arrived in Kyiv, Ukraine on a working visit and met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
• He called for the "full mobilization" of the West.
• 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 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 by Soviet troops.
• 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.
• The couple has two children, a son Michał (born 1982) and a daughter Katarzyna (born 1987), as well as five grandchildren.
• He belongs to the Kashubian minority in Poland.
• Tusk speaks Polish, Kashubian, German, and English.
• His religious views became a subject of debate during his 2005 presidential campaign.
• In 2019, Tusk published his memoir Szczerze (Honestly).

Honours and Awards

• The Charlemagne Prize of the city of Aachen was awarded to Tusk on May 13, 2010.
• In May 2012, he received the Walther-Rathenau-Preis.
• In the same year, he also received the European Prize for Political Culture.
• In December 2017, he was awarded an honorary doctorate at the University of Pécs, Hungary.