Lech Walesa

Lech Walesa married Danuta Golos in 1969. He has eight children named Bogdan, Slawomir, Przemyslaw, Jaroslaw, Magdalena, Anna Maria, Wiktoria and Brygida.

In 2004 the ‘Gdansk International Airport’ was officially named ‘Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport’.

A college hall of the Chicago Northeastern Illinois University, six streets and five schools in Poland, France, Canada, and Sweden are named after him.

Lech Walesa was born on 29 September 1943 in Popowo, a village located in the Lipno County in the north-central part of Poland. At that time, the country was under German occupation, which made life tough for the citizens.

His father, Bolesław Walesa, was a carpenter. He was rounded up by the German occupying forces before Lech was born and interned in a forced labour camp at Młyniec for more than two years. After the World War II, he returned home exhausted and ill, and died shortly thereafter.

Lech was mostly brought up by his mother, Feliksa Walesa née Kamieńska, who later married her former brother-in-law, Stanisław Walesa. She is believed to have had a tremendous influence on the development of Lech’s mental tenacity and beliefs.

He was the youngest of his parents’ three children, having a sister named Izabela and a brother named Edward. In addition, he had three half-brothers named Tadeusz, Zygmunt, and Wojciech from his mother’s second marriage to his uncle Stanislaw.

Lech had his schooling in the nearby village of Chalin. Although a good student, he was forced to abandon his studies at the age of sixteen due to financial constraint, and thereafter moved to the nearby city of Lipno for his vocational training.

In 1961, Lech Walesa graduated from his vocational school as a qualified electrician. In the same year, he began his career as an electro-mechanic in Lochocin, continuing with the job until 1965, when he was enlisted in the army for the two-year obligatory military service.

In 1967, on his release from the army, Walesa moved to the city of Gdańsk, located on the Baltic Coast, in search of work. Subsequently on July 12, he joined Stocznia Gdańska im. Lenina (Lenin Shipyard), as an electrician. The shipyard has since been renamed as Stocznia Gdańska (Gdańsk Shipyard).

A born leader, he soon began to yield great influence on his colleagues. When the students’ unrest erupted in March 1968, he discouraged them from attending official rallies that condemned it.

In 1970, as the government promulgated a decree, which led to a sudden rise of prices of day-to-day items including food articles, protests erupted everywhere. Walesa was among the organizers of such protest in Gdańsk, becoming the Chairman of the protest committee.

Very quickly, the movement gained momentum, leading to the death of more than thirty workers. On January 15, 1971, Walesa, along with few other leaders, negotiated with Edward Gierek, the First Secretary of the Communist Party, on workers' demands.

In July 1980, the Polish government tried to increase the meat prices stealthily, triggering numerous strikes across Gdańsk. On August 14, 1980, Walesa entered the Lenin Shipyard by climbing its twelve-foot high fence, taking control of the strike. He also headed the Inter-Plant Strike Committee, coordinating the striking workers of twenty other plants.

After a three-day negotiation, as the authorities agreed to most of his demands, he suddenly reversed his stand. Instead of calling off the strike, he began a solidarity strike on behalf of strikers from other factories excluded from the settlement.

On August 23, 1980, Walesa entered into a negotiation with Deputy Prime Minister Mieczyslaw Jagielski with twenty-one demands in hand. After a weeklong hard negotiation, the government was forced to accept non-governmental trade unions and also the right to strike.

On August 31, 1980, the two parties signed the last phase of the Gdansk Agreement, thus ending the strike. On September 17, 1980, they formed a nationwide labour union called ‘Niezależny Samorządny Związek Zawodowy’(NSZZ) or ‘Solidarność’ (Solidarity). It was the first independent labour union in the communist world.

In 1980-81, Lech Walesa travelled to Italy, Japan, Sweden, France and Switzerland as guest of the International Labour Organisation. In January 1981, he also met Pope John Paul II, who received him very cordially.