Poland's interior minister who imposed martial law then co-chaired the Round Table
At the Round Table signing, Kiszczak declared: 'There are neither winners nor losers. The Polish nation is the victor.'
A soldier and communist politician of the Polish People's Republic, he was appointed interior minister in 1981 and, alongside Wojciech Jaruzelski, planned and executed martial law, leading the crackdown on the Solidarity trade union. In 1989, as the government co-chairman of the Round Table, he negotiated with Lech Wałęsa, paving the way for the re-legalization of Solidarity and partially free elections. After Solidarity's landslide victory, he was named prime minister but was forced to resign after only three weeks when Solidarity refused to join his government; he served briefly as deputy prime minister and interior minister in Tadeusz Mazowiecki's cabinet before retiring from political life.
Career Timeline
- 1973–1979Head, Second Directorate of the General Staff (military intelligence)
- 1979–1981Commander, Internal Military Service (WSW)
- 1981–1990Minister of internal affairs
- 1981–1983Member, Military Council of National Salvation
- 1982–1990Politburo member, Polish United Workers' Party
- 1989Co-chairman, Round Table (government side)
- 1989.8Prime minister-designate (failed to form a government)
- 1989–1990Deputy prime minister and interior minister