Edward Gierek

Edward Gierek was a Polish communist politician and de facto leader of Poland between 1970 and 1980. He replaced Władysław Gomułka as First Secretary of the ruling Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) in the Polish People's Republic in 1970. He is known for opening communist Poland to the Western Bloc and for his economic policies based on foreign loans. He was removed from power after labor strikes led to the Gdańsk Agreement between the communist state and workers of the emerging Solidarity free trade union movement. Born in Sosnowiec, Congress Poland, to a devoutly Catholic family, Gierek emigrated with his relatives to France at a young age. In 1934, he was deported to Poland for communist advocacy and campaigning, but subsequently moved to Belgium to work as a coal miner in Genk. As a result, he was proficient in French, which benefited him in pursuing his future political career. During the Second World War, Gierek was active in the Belgian Resistance against the Germans. He returned to post-war Poland only in 1948 after spending 22 years abroad. In 1954, he became part of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) under Bolesław Bierut as a representative of the Silesian region. Known for his openness and public speaking, Gierek gradually emerged as one of the most respected and progressive politicians in the country, whilst becoming a strong opponent to more authoritarian Władysław Gomułka. Gomułka was removed from office after the 1970 Polish protests were violently throttled on his authority. In December 1970, Gierek was appointed the new First Secretary and de facto leader of the Polish People's Republic. The first years of his term were marked by industrialization as well as the improvement of living and working conditions. Having spent time in Western Europe, he opened communist Poland to new Western ideas and loosened the censorship, thus turning Poland into the most liberal country of the Eastern Bloc. The large sums of money lent by foreign creditors were directed at constructing blocks of flats and at creating heavy steel and coal industries in his native Silesia. In 1976, Gierek opened the first fully-operational Polish highway from Warsaw to Katowice, which colloquially bears his name to this day. However, by the end of the 1970s Poland submerged into decline. The country was so heavily indebted that rationing was introduced due to shortages as the government was unable to pay off the loans. In 1980, he allowed the Solidarity trade union to appear in accordance with the Gdańsk Agreement, which formed a basis for workers' rights. He resigned from his position in September 1980, after a series of strikes and demonstrations paralyzed the country. He was succeeded by Stanisław Kania, who tried to negotiate with the opposition and reform the system. Gierek spent the rest of his life in relative obscurity, under constant surveillance by the secret police. He was expelled from the PZPR in 1981 and interned during the martial law. He was released in 1982 and lived in his villa in Ustroń until his death in 2001. He died of heart failure in a hospital in Cieszyn at the age of 88. He was buried in his hometown of Sosnowiec, next to his wife Stanisława, who died in 2007.