Professor Leszek Kolakowski, who passed away Friday in Oxford, England, will be transported to Poland by military plane and burying in his homeland.
Kolakowski, one of Poland’s most outstanding philosophers, journalists, poets and authors, published over 400 works, including thirty books published in Polish, English German, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, Hebrew and more.
Among other awards, the author received the John W. Klug Prize in the Human Sciences, worth one million US dollars and considered the American Nobel Prize.
Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski announced Monday that the Professor’s body will be flown to Poland from England on a military plane and the late laureate will receive a honourary military ceremony.
Sikorski made the announcement in Ozarow Mazowiecki, just outside of Warsaw, where the politician is meeting with his French counterpart Bernard Kouchner.
“I remember who [Kolakowski] was for Polish and French intellectuals: because of his intellectual defiance and integral knowledge, I could not leave Poland without mentioning him,” stated Kouchner, expressing his sorrow at the death of the literary and intellectual figure.
On 23 October 2009, Kolakowski would have been 82-years-old. (mmj)