Donald Tusk: Polish Prime Minister & EU President

• Donald Franciszek Tusk, born on April 22, 1957, in Gdańsk, Poland, serves as the current Prime Minister of Poland since December 13, 2023, and previously from 2007 to 2014.
• Tusk also held the position of President of the European Council from 2014 to 2019 and led the European People's Party from 2019 to 2022.
• A co-founder of Civic Platform, one of Poland's main political parties, he has led the party for extended periods: 2003-2014 and again from 2021.
• He holds the distinction of being the longest-serving prime minister in the history of the Third Polish Republic.

Early Political Career

• Tusk's formal involvement in Polish politics began in 1989, having helped establish multiple parties, including the Liberal Democratic Congress (KLD).
• He was first elected to the Sejm in 1991.
• Tusk lost his seat in 1993.
• In 1994, the KLD merged with the Democratic Union to create the Freedom Union.
• Tusk was elected to the Senate in 1997, becoming its deputy marshal.
• He co-founded Civic Platform (PO) in 2001, re-entering the Sejm and serving as its deputy marshal.

2005 Presidential Election

• Tusk ran for President of Poland in 2005 but did not win.
• He also experienced defeat in the 2005 Polish parliamentary election.

First Premiership (2007-2014)

• As Prime Minister, Tusk oversaw the reduction and digitization of the public sector, portraying himself as a pragmatic liberal realist and technocrat.
• The construction of a national road network for the UEFA Euro 2012 football championships saw the expansion of highways but at the expense of the rail sector.
• Various scandals, unfulfilled promises, and an economic downturn between 2012 and 2014, caused by his austerity policies related to the European debt crisis, decreased public support during his second term.
• He led the PO to victory in the 2007 parliamentary election and was appointed prime minister.
• He secured a second victory in the 2011 election, becoming the first Polish prime minister to be re-elected since 1989.
• He left Polish politics in 2014 to become President of the European Council.
• The Civic Platform lost control of the presidency and parliament to the Law and Justice (PiS) party after his departure.

President of the European Council (2014-2019)

• Tusk served as President of the European Council from December 1, 2014, to November 30, 2019.
• He worked to create a unified European response to Russia's intervention in Ukraine.
• Tusk coordinated the EU's reaction to the European migrant crisis and warned economic migrants against coming to Europe.
• He cautioned against the consequences of the UK leaving the EU before the UK's EU membership referendum.
• He pursued a firm stance on the UK's withdrawal after the UK voted to leave the European Union.
• In 2018, he opposed the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany.
• He stated that the Trump administration presented a threat to the EU, comparable to challenges from China, Russia, and instability in the Middle East and Africa.
• Tusk was re-elected for a second term on March 9, 2017, despite opposition from the Polish government.
• He stated there would be no winners from Brexit and that damage would need to be limited.
• Tusk urged Turkey to respect EU members' sovereignty and territorial integrity in February 2018.
• He expressed concern over Turkey's military actions in northern Syria.
• He expressed sadness at the death of Chinese Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo.
• Tusk expressed strong sentiments about Brexit, stating 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."
• Regarding Brexit, he stated that "one thing I will not cooperate on is no deal."
• He urged the EU to commence accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia in September 2019.
• Tusk condemned Turkey's offensive into north-eastern Syria in 2019.
• He was critical of Turkish President Erdoğan's threats to send millions of Syrian refugees to Europe.

Second Premiership (2023-Present)

• After the 2023 elections, the Civic Coalition secured 157 seats in the Sejm, becoming the second-largest bloc.
• After President-appointed Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki failed to secure a vote of confidence, Tusk was elected prime minister for a third term by the Sejm.
• His cabinet was sworn in on December 13, concluding eight years of PiS government.
• Tusk has focused on improving the rule of law and strengthening relations between Poland and the EU after returning to power in 2023.
• He has maintained aid to Ukraine following Russia's invasion.
• In 2024, he embraced right-wing themes, opposing illegal migration, prioritizing border security, and suspending asylum rights for those illegally crossing the Belarus-Poland border.

Early Life

• Tusk was born and raised in Gdańsk, Poland, and has Polish, German, and Kashubian heritage, identifying as Polish, Kashubian, and European.
• His father was a carpenter, and his mother was a nurse.
• Tusk's paternal grandfather was imprisoned in a concentration camp and later forcibly conscripted into the Wehrmacht, from which he defected to join the Polish Armed Forces in the West.
• Tusk has described his youth in Gdańsk as shaped by multiple ethnicities and believes that "nothing is simple in life or in history."
• He considers himself immune to orthodoxy, ideology, and nationalism.
• He recalls his youth under communism as "so hopeless," which led him to become a "typical hooligan."
• Witnessing clashes between striking workers and riot police inspired his interest in politics.
• Tusk graduated from the University of Gdańsk in 1980 with a degree in history.
• During his university years, he was active in the Student Committee of Solidarity, opposing the communist regime.

Domestic Policy

• Tusk dismissed top executives from Telewizja Polska, considered a propaganda outlet for the PiS government, aiming to transform it into a reliable source of information.
• In February 2024, he expressed intentions to push for revisions to the European Green Deal in response to farmer protests.
• He insisted that Poland would pursue its own path "without European coercion" in March 2024.
• In January 2025, he attributed high energy prices in the EU to the European Green Deal.
• His administration oversaw the arrests of Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik, both tried for exceeding authority since 2015.
• Tusk is moderately conservative on social issues.
• He opposed legalizing abortion on demand while prime minister from 2007 - 2014.
• He publicly stated that he opposes euthanasia.
• In June 2022, Tusk changed his stance on abortion, supporting a bill that would legalize abortion up to 12 weeks.
• In April 2024, Tusk voiced his opposition to the EU Migration Pact.
• In October 2024, Tusk announced a temporary suspension on the right of migrants to seek asylum in Poland,.
• Tusk supports proposals to reduce benefits paid by Poland to Ukrainian refugees in January 2025.
• In February 2025, Tusk unveiled plans for economic deregulation to spur growth and appointed InPost CEO Rafał Brzoska to lead the advisory team.

Foreign Policy

• In foreign policy, Tusk sought to improve relations which were severely damaged during the Kacyznski government, particularly with Germany and Russia.
• Under Tusk's premiership, Russian bans on Polish meat and agricultural products were lifted, while Poland reversed its official policy of disagreement on an European Union-Russian partnership agreement.
• Tusk outlined a proposal to withdraw military units from Iraq, stating that "we will conduct this operation keeping in mind that our commitment to our ally, the United States, has been lived up to and exceeded."
• Tusk hinted skepticism toward hosting missile defense shield bases in the country.
• He supported the missile shield.
• Tusk described President Barack Obama's decision to scrap and revise missile defense strategy as "a chance to strengthen Polish-US co-operation in defense..."
• Although he voiced support for the 2011 military intervention in Libya and pledged to offer logistical support, Tusk announced that Polish soldiers would not take military action in Libya.
• In spite of the condemnation of foreign governments and the leadership of the European Union, Tusk supported Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in his efforts of implementing a new controversial constitution.
• In early 2012, Tusk announced his support for committing Poland to signing the international Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).
• On January 22, 2024, Tusk visited Kyiv, Ukraine, and called for full mobilization of the West, also saying that those choosing neutrality in the Russo-Ukrainian War deserve "the darkest place in political hell".
• In May 2024, Tusk criticized the International Criminal Court's arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
• In August 2024, Tusk stated that Ukraine's EU membership required addressing the remembrance of Polish victims of the Volhynian Genocide.
• In January 2025, Tusk guaranteed safe passage for Israeli officials to an Auschwitz liberation event, despite the ICC warrant for Netanyahu.
• In February 2025, Poland was Europe's leading defence spender, allocating 4.7% of its GDP to military expenditure and significantly exceeding NATO's target threshold.
• 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.

European Policy

• Tusk strongly supported greater political and economic integration within the European Union in continental policy, strongly backing the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty, standing in stark contrast to President Lech Kaczyński's vehement opposition.
• While being a constituent member of the Weimar Triangle with fellow states Germany and France, Tusk showed displeasure over German Chancellor Angela Merkel's and French President Nicolas Sarkozy's dominating roles in eurozone negotiations.

Constitutional Reform

• Relations between Tusk and President Lech Kaczyński were often acrimonious due to different political ideologies and the constitutional role of the presidency.
• In his premiership, Tusk has proposed various reforms to the Polish constitution.
• In 2009, Tusk proposed changes to the power of the presidency, by abolishing the presidential veto.
• "The president should not have veto power. People make their decision in elections and then state institutions should not be in conflict," said Tusk.
• Tusk again reiterated his desire for constitutional reform in February 2010, proposing that the presidential veto be overridden by a simple parliamentary majority rather than through a three-fifths vote.

Personal Life

• Donald Tusk married Małgorzata Sochacka in 1978 in Gdańsk.
• Tusk belongs to the Kashubian minority in Poland.
• Tusk speaks Polish, Kashubian, German, and English.
• In 2014, Tusk was criticized for his poor English and lack of knowledge of French.
• He underwent intensive language training in advance of assuming the role, rapidly mastering English

Honours and Awards

• He dedicated the Charlemagne Prize to the people killed in a plane crash of a Polish Air Force Tu-154 in April 2010 including the Polish president Lech Kaczyński.
• In May 2012, he received the Walther-Rathenau-Preis "in recognition for his commitment to European integration during Poland's Presidency of the Council of the EU in the second half of 2011 and for fostering Polish–German dialogue."
• 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, in recognition of Tusk's "achievements as a Polish and European politician, which are strongly connected with Hungarian, regional and European history."
• On 16 December 2018, Tusk was awarded an honorary doctorate at the TU Dortmund University, Germany, "in recognition of his services to European politics and his contribution to the debate on European values."
• In 2019, he was awarded an honorary doctorate at the University of Lviv, Ukraine, which he accepted on the fifth anniversary of the Revolution of Dignity.
• 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)