Ewa Kopacz

Ewa Kopacz
Prime Minister of Poland
In office 22 September 2014 – 16 November 2015
President	Bronisław Komorowski Andrzej Duda
Deputy	Tomasz Siemoniak Janusz Piechociński
Preceded by	Donald Tusk
Succeeded by	Beata Szydło
Leader of the Civic Platform
In office 8 November 2014 – 26 January 2016
Preceded by	Donald Tusk
Succeeded by	Grzegorz Schetyna
Marshal of the Sejm
In office 8 November 2011 – 22 September 2014
President	Bronisław Komorowski
Preceded by	Grzegorz Schetyna
Succeeded by	Radosław Sikorski
Minister of Health
In office 16 November 2007 – 8 November 2011
Prime Minister	Donald Tusk
Preceded by	Zbigniew Religa
Succeeded by	Bartosz Arłukowicz
Personal details
Born	Ewa Lis 3 December 1956 Skaryszew, Poland
Political party	United People's Party (Before 1989) Freedom Union (1994–2001) Civic Platform (2001–present)
Alma mater	Medical University of Lublin
Religion	Roman Catholicism
Awards

Ewa Kopacz [ˈɛva ˈkɔpatʃ] (born Ewa Lis; December 3, 1956) is a Polish politician and a former Prime Minister of Poland. Previously she was the Marshal of the Sejm, the first woman to have held the post. In addition, she was Minister of Health from November 2007 until November 2011. Kopacz has been a member of the Civic Platform since 2001.^[1] Kopacz became Prime Minister on September 22, 2014, succeeding Donald Tusk; she is the second woman to hold the office after Hanna Suchocka.^[2] Prior to entering politics, she was a pediatrician and a general practitioner.^[3] Her term ended on November 16, 2015.

Kopacz has been described as one of the leaders of the European Union, and was ranked as the world's 40th most powerful woman by Forbes magazine in 2015, placing her ahead of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Ellen DeGeneres.^[4]

Early life

Ewa Kopacz was born in Skaryszew. She is the daughter of Mieczysław and Krystyna Lis. Her father was employed as a mechanic and her mother worked as a tailor. She was raised in the city of Radom, where she graduated from high school. In 1981 she graduated from the Medical University of Lublin. She did a residency in family medicine ("second-degree specialisation") with a focus on pediatrics ("first degree"). She worked at the clinics in the villages of Orońsko and Chlewiska, then town of Szydłowiec, where until 2001 she headed the local health care facility.

Political activities

In the 1980s, Kopacz joined the United People's Party.

In the 1990s, she joined the Freedom Union and chaired the party's structures in the province of Radom. In the local elections in 1998, the regional council elected her as the councilor for the Masovian Voivodship.

In 2001, Kopacz left the Freedom Union to join the newly established Civic Platform political party. She was then elected to the Parliament in 2005, where she became head of the Health Committee. She worked as the chairperson of the Civic Platform structures of Masovia.

Sejm of the Republic of Poland

Kopacz was first elected as a deputy to the Sejm in 2001.^[1] She was subsequently re-elected in 2005, 2007 and 2011. In November 2011, she was elected the Marshal of the Sejm.^[5]

Minister of Health

In 2009 Kopacz gained some degree of international fame by requesting pharmaceutical companies to present the advantages of swine flu vaccines, and demanding they take full responsibility for the side effects. She advised the Polish government to wait until proper testing had been done on the vaccine before investing in it, citing the fact that seasonal flu exceeds the current WHO criteria for pandemic every year but there has been no declaration of a pandemic of this much more dangerous seasonal flu.^[6] The Polish government refused to purchase the vaccine in question.

Pro-life activists in Poland had called for her excommunication after she was involved in arranging, in accordance with Polish law, an abortion for a 14-year-old girl, citing Canon 1398, which automatically sanctions anyone who allows the procedure to occur.^[7]

Prime Minister

Ewa Kopacz with Jean-Claude Juncker

On September 22, 2014 Ewa Kopacz was sworn in as Prime Minister, after Donald Tusk resigned to take office as President of the European Council, and formed a cabinet.^[8][9] On November 8, 2014 she was sworn in as leader of the Civic Platform. According to the constitution, she resigned along with all other members of her cabinet at the First sitting of the newly elected Sejm. She remained in office until Cabinet of Beata Szydło was sworn in on 16 November 2015.

See also

• Cabinet of Ewa Kopacz
• History of Poland (1989–present)
• List of political parties in Poland
• List of politicians in Poland
• Politics of Poland
• Polish presidential election, 2015
• Polish parliamentary election, 2005
• Polish parliamentary election, 2007
• Polish parliamentary election, 2011
• Polish parliamentary election, 2015

References

1. Kopacz, Ewa. "O mnie" [About me]. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
2. "President confirms incoming PM Ewa Kopacz". Polskie Radio. September 12, 2014. Archived from the original on August 6, 2012. Retrieved September 15, 2014.
3. "Życiorys Ewy Kopacz. Kopacz jako minister zdrowia - Polska - Newsweek.pl". Newsweek.pl. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
4. The World's 100 Most Powerful Women Forbes
5. "Ewa Kopacz elected Polish Sejm Speaker". Voice of Russia. November 8, 2011. Archived from the original on September 26, 2014. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
6. "Polska bez szczepionki - Ewa Kopacz (03.11.2009)". Vimeo. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
7. "Poland Pro-Life Groups Call for Health Minister's Excommunication After Abortion Involvement". June 24, 2008. Archived from the original on August 6, 2012. Retrieved April 18, 2009.
8. "Ewa Kopacz sworn-in as new Polish Prime Minister". The Hindu (Warsaw). September 22, 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
9. "New Polish PM Ewa Kopacz unveils new cabinet". Euronews. September 26, 2014. Archived from the original on September 20, 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2014.

External links

• Official website (Polish)
• Ewa Kopacz - parliamentary page (Polish) – includes declarations of interest, voting record, and transcripts of speeches