Lech Wałęsa

Lech Wałęsa (/ˌlɛk vəˈwɛnsə/ or /wɔːˈlɛnsə/; Polish: [ˈlɛx vaˈwɛ̃sa]; born 29 September 1943) is a Polish politician, trade union organizer, philanthropist and human rights activist. A charismatic leader, he co-founded Solidarity (Solidarność), the Soviet bloc's first independent trade union, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983, and served as President of Poland from 1990 to 1995.

Wałęsa was an electrician by trade. Soon after beginning work at the Lenin Shipyard (now Gdańsk Shipyard), he became a trade union activist. For this he was persecuted by the Communist authorities, placed under surveillance, fired in 1976, and arrested several times. In August 1980 he was instrumental in political negotiations that led to the ground-breaking Gdańsk Agreement between striking workers and the government. He became a co-founder of the Solidarity trade union movement. Arrested again after martial law was imposed in Poland and Solidarity was outlawed, upon release he continued his activism and was prominent in the establishment of the 1989 Round Table Agreement that led to semi-free parliamentary elections in June 1989 and to a Solidarity-led government.