Jan Krzysztof Bielecki
Chairman of the Economic Council to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland
Former Prime Minister of Poland, Minister for European Integration, co-founder of the Liberal-Democratic Congress and Freedom Union, and the Executive Director at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in London, Jan Krzysztof Bielecki has been active on the political and economic stage for over two decades. He was the President and Chief Executive Officer at Pekao Bank S.A. from October 2003 until January 2010.
In November 2009 he was appointed as the President of the Polish Institute of International Affairs Council (PISM). It is a leading and independent think-tank that conducts original, policy-focused research. PISM provides advice to all branches of government and contributes to wider debates on international relations in Europe and beyond.
In March 2010 he was nominated by Prime Minister Donald Tusk as the Chairman of the Economic Council. The primary task of it is to provide the Prime Minister with an independent and objective opinions both on the current and planned government activities. Another objective of the Council is to assess Poland’s socio-economic situation in comparison with other emerging as well as developed economies.
And also since 2010 he has been holding lectures at the Gdańsk University. In 2010 President Bronisław Komorowski awarded Jan Krzysztof Bielecki the highest decoration in Poland Order of the White Eagle. In the same year Minister of Foreign Affairs awarded him the civil decoration “Bene Merito”.
Mr. Bielecki started as an economic lecturer at Gdansk University in 1973, but lost his job in 1981 as a result of his anti-Communist political views. As an Advisor to key Solidarity figures in the early 1980s, Mr. Bielecki organised economic publications and was involved in the historic strike at the Gdansk shipyard in 1981. During the first half of the 1980s, Mr. Bielecki continued to play an active role in the then illegal "Solidarity" – publishing underground political materials and acting as liaison officer for the executive committee of the underground Solidarity. During this period Mr. Bielecki contributed to the formation of Solidarity's economic policy by developing a market-based approach as an alternative to Poland's communist state planning.
From 1982 to 1985 Mr. Bielecki worked as a lorry driver. And then from 1985 to 1990 Mr. Bielecki was the Chief Executive Officer of 'Doradca' – a consulting co-operative in Gdansk. 'Doradca' was founded in 1985 by members of Solidarity as a vehicle to both earn a living beyond state enterprises and provide support for Solidarity resistance activities.
Following the fall of communism, the first fully democratic presidential elections took place in 1990 and the newly elected President Lech Wałęsa requested Mr. Bielecki to form a government. The Parliament voted Jan Krzysztof Bielecki into the position on 5th January, 1991. Mr. Bielecki's cabinet successfully negotiated foreign debt reduction and the European Community Association Agreement. The government resigned after democratic parliamentary elections in December 1991.
Mr. Bielecki had also been the Chairman of the Liberal-Democratic Congress, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee in the Lower Polish Parliament and the Chief Delegate of the Polish Parliament to the European Parliament until July 1992, when he was nominated as a Minister for European Integration in the new coalition government of Ms Hanna Suchocka.
In December 1993 Mr. Bielecki was appointed to the Board of Directors at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in London. He was responsible for the EBRD’s activity in Poland, Bulgaria and Albania. From 1993 until 1997 Mr. Bielecki was the President of the Polish Equestrian Association.
Mr. Bielecki has published a number of articles for both Polish and foreign specialist newspapers and magazines, including The Wall Street Journal, Europe’s World, Rzeczpospolita, Gazeta Bankowa, Gazeta Wyborcza, Wprost, Tygodnik Powszechny, Die Welt to name but a few. He is co-author of the books: “Histoire de l'Europe” published in Paris (1997) and also “Value-based management in a public company” published in Warsaw (2012).
