Barbara Dolniak

Barbara Dolniak
Deputy Marshal of the Sejm
In office
12 November 2015 – 12 November 2019
Serving with See List
MarshalMarek Kuchciński
Elżbieta Witek
Personal details
Born (1960-09-12) 12 September 1960 (age 64)
Bytom, Poland
Political partyModern
SpouseGrzegorz Dolniak (until 2010)
ChildrenPatrycja
Websitehttp://www.dolniak.eu/

Barbara Dolniak (née Przyłucka; born 12 September 1960) is a Polish politician who currently serves as the Deputy Marshal of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland, a position she has held since 2015. She graduated with a law degree from the University of Silesia in Katowice. In her postgraduate studies, she graduated with a focus in European Union Law and Judicial Application. After graduating, Dolniak became a lawyer and a judge in the District Court of Katowice, and served in that role for 30 years.[1]

She married Grzegorz Dolniak, who was a member of the Sejm for five years. He died on 10 April 2010, a casualty of the Tupolev Tu-154 crash. After his death, Barbara started the "Sportowa Szansa" foundation in his honor, which provides scholarships to young athletes of Poland.[2] In 2011, she ran for the Senate of Poland as an independent candidate. She finished second out of eight candidates with 34,890 votes, losing to Zbigniew Meres's 47,820 votes.[3] In 2015, Dolniak ran for the Sejm as a member of the Modern party. She received 15,752 votes in the election, which was enough to earn her a spot on the Sejm.[4]

After being elected to the Sejm, Dolniak was named a Deputy Marshal, and serves on the Committee on Justice and Human Rights. She had spoken out about proposed reforms to the National Council of the Judiciary, stating that while reforms are needed, having politicians choose judges rather than judges themselves is a step in the wrong direction.[5]

  1. ^ "Barbara Dolniak" (in Polish). Sejm. 2015. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  2. ^ "Poseł zginął w Smoleńsku. Rusza fundacja jego imienia" (in Polish). Gazeta.pl. 19 April 2011. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  3. ^ "Okręg wyborczy do Senatu nr 76" (in Polish). Państwowa Komisja Wyborcza. 2011. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  4. ^ "Barbara Dolniak posłanką. Wdowa po Grzegorzu Dolniaku odniosła sukces" (in Polish). Se.pl. 26 October 2015. Archived from the original on 27 October 2015. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  5. ^ Bradley, Denise (17 July 2017). "Thousands protest against judiciary reforms in Poland". Newburgh Gazette. Archived from the original on 15 November 2017. Retrieved 14 November 2017.