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.

Wałęsa (disambiguation)

Wałęsa means a vagabond in old Polish language.

Wałęsa may refer to:

Walesa. Man of Hope

Walesa. Man of Hope (Polish: Wałęsa. Człowiek z nadziei) (Polish pronunciation: [vaˈwɛ̃sa tʂwɔˈvʲɛk s naˈdʑɛj]) is a 2013 biopic directed by Andrzej Wajda, starring Robert Więckiewicz as Lech Wałęsa. Wajda stated at Kraków, Poland's Off Plus Camera Film Festival in April 2012 that he foresaw trouble following the film's release. The film was selected as the Polish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Academy Awards, but was not nominated.

Synopsis

Wałęsa, an electrician at the Gdańsk Shipyards, participated in local demonstrations during the 1970s. Following the bloody aftermath, which remains with Wałęsa, he concentrates on his day-to-day duties. Ten years later, a new uprising occurs and he becomes an unexpected and charismatic leader of Polish dockworkers.

Wałęsa's leadership role signified the beginning of a new movement that successfully overcame the communist regime of the period, and Wałęsa is pushed into representing the majority of Poland's population. The Soviet Union, previously regarded as too powerful to confront, eventually grants the movement a degree of acceptance. The Polish example of solidarity then caused a domino effect throughout Eastern Europe: people in Eastern Germany followed the Polish example, starting demonstrations for freedom that achieved the German reunification peacefully. The Soviet Union then dissolved alongside Yugoslavia.