Jarosław Kaczyński
Jarosław Aleksander Kaczyński is a conservative Polish politician and lawyer. He served as Prime Minister from July 2006 to November 2007. He is presently the chairman of the Law and Justice party, which he cofounded in 2001. He has been the leader of the opposition since the 2007 elections. Kaczyński is the identical twin brother of the late Polish President Lech Kaczyński. Jarosław and Lech were born in Warsaw. in 18 June 1949. Jarosław Kaczyński was a graduate of law and administration of Warsaw University, which in 1976 awarded him a PhD in Law. In the 1980s, he became a member of the Solidarity trade union. Kaczyński was the executive editor of the Tygodnik Solidarność weekly in 1989–91. In 1991, he created the centrist, Christian democratic Centre Agreement party and later became its chairman, remaining in the role until 1998. In the years 1991–3 and 1997–2005 Kaczyński was a member of the Polish Parliament. Following reports of a rift between Kaczyński and Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz, the latter tendered his resignation on 7 July 2006, and Kaczyński was appointed prime minister by the President Lech Kaczyński on 10 July, and officially sworn in on 14 July. Kaczyński controversially initiated a nationwide program (lustracja) which required thousands of public employees, teachers, and journalists to formally declare whether or not they had collaborated with the security services of the former communist regime. Kaczyński\'s government was criticized both at home and abroad for poor foreign relationships with Germany and Russia. Following the death of Lech Kaczyński in a plane crash in Russia, Jarosław announced that he would run for President against Bronisław Komorowski in the upcoming elections. He was running against Bronisław Komorowski in the presidential election, held on 20 June 2010. Kaczyński announced his candidacy on 26 April 2010, and said he would take the place of his recently deceased brother. Some analysts have said Kaczyński has softened his image during the campaign, in order to win centrist voters. On 11 May 2010, he made a televised address to Russia, greeting his \'Russian friends\' and praising the millions of Russians who died fighting in World War II. He got 36.46% of the votes in the first round, while acting president Bronisław Komorowski got 41.54%. In the second round, against Komorowski, he was defeated—he got 46.99% of the votes, and Komorowski got 53.01%, which made him the winner.
