Andrzej Lepper

Andrzej Lepper
Deputy Prime Minister of Poland
In office
5 May 2006 – 22 September 2006
Prime MinisterKazimierz Marcinkiewicz
Jarosław Kaczyński
Preceded byZyta Gilowska
Succeeded byLudwik Dorn
In office
16 October 2006 – 9 July 2007
Prime MinisterJarosław Kaczyński
Preceded byLudwik Dorn
Succeeded byPrzemysław Gosiewski
Minister of Agriculture
In office
5 May 2006 – 22 September 2006
Prime MinisterKazimierz Marcinkiewicz
Jarosław Kaczyński
Preceded byKrzysztof Jurgiel
Succeeded byJarosław Kaczyński (acting)
In office
16 October 2006 – 9 July 2007
Prime MinisterJarosław Kaczyński
Preceded byJarosław Kaczyński (acting)
Succeeded byWojciech Mojzesowicz
Deputy Marshal of the Sejm
In office
26 October 2005 – 9 May 2006
Preceded byMarek Borowski
Succeeded byGenowefa Wiśniowska
Personal details
Born
Andrzej Zbigniew Lepper

(1954-06-13)13 June 1954
Stowięcino, Poland
Died5 August 2011(2011-08-05) (aged 57)
Warsaw, Poland
Political partySamoobrona RP

Andrzej Zbigniew Lepper (Polish pronunciation: [ˈandʐɛj ˈzbiɡɲɛf ˈlɛppɛr] ; 13 June 1954 – 5 August 2011) was a Polish politician, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Agriculture, and the leader of Self-Defence of the Republic of Poland. Known for his radical rhetoric and aggressive protests, Lepper was considered a far-left populist,[1] compared to left-wing figures such as José Bové,[2] Hugo Chávez,[3] Evo Morales,[4] and Juan Perón.[5] He left a long-lasting impact on Polish politics, emerging as the "defender of the oppressed and (...) all working people, the weak, and the needy."[6] He was particularly known for his Balcerowicz must go (Polish: Balcerowicz musi odejść) slogan, which he coined to protest the neoliberal Balcerowicz Plan that had deregulated and privatized Polish economy.[7] Lepper considered the capitalist transition "economic genocide".[8]

He was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development in the cabinet of Jarosław Kaczyński once from 5 May 2006 and 22 September 2006, and again from 16 October 2006 to 9 July 2007. Prior to entering politics he was a professional farmer in the village of Zielnowo, Pomerania. Lepper entered Polish politics in 1991 as the leader of farmer protests, and founded Self-Defence as a political party and trade union in 1992.[9] His first political office was as councillor of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship Sejmik, which he was elected to in the 1998 Polish local elections as part of the Social Alliance coalition.[10] He was a candidate in the Polish presidential election in 1995, 2000, 2005 and 2010. He was also a candidate in the Polish parliamentary elections between 1991 Polish parliamentary election and 2007, becoming elected in 2001 and then in 2005.

  1. ^ "Polish rightist presidential rivals face run-off". Times of Malta. 10 October 2005. Far-left populist Andrzej Lepper, feared by the financial markets, came third with around 13 per cent of the vote.
  2. ^ "Miller's Tale". Wall Street Journal. 20 February 2004. In the meantime, Poles have grown fed up, turning to extremists. In the poll, 23% supported Self-Defense, a farmers group led by Andrzej Lepper, a far-left populist in the José Bové mold. Two far-right parties got just over 10%.
  3. ^ Wos, Rafal (20 July 2007). "Der polnische Chavez". stern.de (in German).
  4. ^ Piotr Kuligowski; Łukasz Moll; Jarosław Tomasiewicz; Jarosław Urbański; Aleksandra Bilewicz; Andrzej Leder; Remigiusz Okraska; Rafał Woś; Krzysztof Król; Stanisław Chankowski (28 November 2023). "Andrzej Lepper: kryzys transformacji i polityka populizmu". Praktyka Teoretyczna (in Polish). 48 (2): 143. doi:10.19195/prt.2023.2.1. Andrzej Lepper jest jedną z pięciu najważniejszych postaci politycznych III RP. To przykład polityka, który jako jeden z pierwszych sięgał po narzędzia populizmu. A ten populizm z natury jest lewicowy. Jego krytyka socjalna była pierwszą po ofercie antyokrągłostołowej (Kaczyński, Olszewski) krytyką III RP. Był pionierem nie tylko w skali Polski. To postać z tej samej półki, co wtedy Hugo Chávez i Evo Morales. [Andrzej Lepper is one of the five most important political figures of the Third Republic of Poland. He is an example of a politician who was one of the first to reach for the tools of populism. And this populism is inherently left-wing. His social criticism was the first criticism of the Third Republic after the anti-circle offer (Kaczyński, Olszewski). He was a pioneer not only in Poland. He is a figure on the same shelf as Hugo Chávez and Evo Morales at the time.]
  5. ^ Przyłęcki, Paweł (2012). Populizm w polskiej polityce: Analiza dyskursu polityki (in Polish). Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Sejmowe. p. 149. ISBN 9788376661858.
  6. ^ Moroska, Aleksandra; Zuba, Krzysztof (2010). "Two faces of Polish populism: the causes of the success and fall of Self Defence and the League of Polish Families". Totalitarismus und Demokratie. 7 (1). Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht: 129–138. doi:10.13109/tode.2010.7.1.123. ISSN 1612-9008.
  7. ^ Kania-Lundholm, Magdalena (2012). Re-Branding A Nation Online: Discourses on Polish Nationalism and Patriotism. Uppsala. p. 105. ISBN 978-91-506-2302-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  8. ^ Beichelt, Timm (27 March 2003). "Nationalism and anti-EU mobilization in postsocialist Europe" (PDF). Frankfurt an der Oder: European University Viadrina Frankfurt Oder. p. 5.
  9. ^ Fillieule, Olivier; Neveu, Erik (2019). Activists Forever? Long-Term Impacts of Political Activism. Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781108690928. ISBN 978-1-108-42872-9.
  10. ^ Drozd-Piasecka, Mirosława (2001). "Andrzej Lepper - chłopski przywódca charyzmatyczny? Wizerunek medialny przewodniczącego "Samoobrony"". Etnografia Polska (in Polish). 45 (1–2): 54. ISSN 0071-1861.