Jan-Krzysztof Bielecki

Jan Krzysztof Bielecki "President and Chief Executive Officer of Bank Pekao S.A.

"Formerly Prime Minister of Poland, Minister for European Integration, co-founder of the Liberal-Democratic Congress and Freedom Union, and an Executive Director at the European Bank in London, Jan Krzysztof Bielecki has been active in the political and economic affairs of Poland for over two decades. He joined Bank Pekao SA in October 2003.

"Mr Bielecki started his career as an economic lecturer at Gdansk University in 1973, until losing his job in 1981 for his anti-Communist political activities. An advisor to key Solidarity figures in the early 1980s, Mr Bielecki organised economic publications and was involved in the historic strike at Gdansk shipyard in 1981. During the first half of the 1980s, Mr Bielecki continued to play an active role in the then illegal "Solidarity" - publishing underground political materials and acting as liason officer for executive committee of underground Solidarity. During this period Mr Bielecki contributed to the formation of Solidarity's economic policy by developing a market-based approach as an alternative to Poland's communist state planning.

"From 1985 to 1990 Mr Bielecki was the Chief Executive Officer of 'Doradca' - a consulting co-operative in Gdansk. 'Doradca' was founded in 1985 by members of Solidarity as a means to both earn a living outside of state enterprises and provide support for Solidarity resistance activities.

"Following the post-communist, fully free presidential election at the end of 1990, the newly elected President Wałęsa requested Mr Bielecki to form a government and the Parliament confirmed him as Prime Minister on January 5, 1991. Mr Bielecki's cabinet successfully negotiated foreign debt reduction and the EC Association Agreement. The government resigned after democratic parliamentary elections in December 1991.

"Mr Bielecki had also been the Chairman of the Liberal-Democratic Caucus, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee in the Sejm (Polish Parliament) and Chief Delegate of the Polish Parliament to the European Parliament until July 1992, when he was nominated as a Minister for European Integration in the new coalition government of Ms Hanna Suchocka.

"In December 1993 Mr Bielecki was appointed to the Board of Directors at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in London, where he represented Poland until September 2003.

"Mr Bielecki has published a number of articles for both foreign and Polish specialist papers and magazines, including The Wall Street Journal, Rzeczpospolita, Gazeta Bankowa, Gazeta Wyborcza, Wprost, Tygodnik Powszechny, Die Welt and many others. He is co-author of the book 'Histoire de l'Europe' published in Paris (1997)."


 * Transatlantic Steering Group, Project on Democratic Transitions
 * Emeritus Director, East-West Institute