Former prime minister Jerzy Buzek, currently president of the European Parliament (EP), is 70 years-old today.

Elected a year ago, he will serve as head of the EP for another eighteen months.

One of Poland’s most prominent politicians of the past two decades, Mr Buzek served as prime minister of Poland between 1997 and 2001. During his term, Poland joined NATO and started negotiations on EU membership.

He was elected to the European Parliament in 2004 and two years later was named the MEP of the Year by the Parliament Magazine. In 2009, he won the Wiktor Award of the Polish media as the country’s most popular politician.

He was an activist of the Solidarity Union from 1980 onwards, chairing several of its national congresses.

Jerzy Buzek, born near Cieszyn, southern Poland, is a professor at the Polish Academy of Sciences, specializing in the chemical sciences. He holds honorary doctorates from several universities in Poland and abroad, including those in Dortmund and Seoul. (mk)

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