|
|datum rođenja=[[29. rujna]] [[1943]].
|mjesto rođenja=[[Popovo]], [[Poljska]]
|datum smrti= 22.prosinac 1995
|mjesto smrti=
|malaslika=
[[Kategorija:Dobitnici Nobelove nagrade za mir]]
[[Kategorija:Političari nakon 1989.]]
[[Kategorija:Oporbeni političari u komunističkim zemljama (1945.-1989.)]]
Wałęsa je električar po zanimanju. Ubrzo nakon početka rada na Lenjina brodogradilištu (sada Gdanjsk brodogradilište), postao je sindikat aktivist, za koji je bio progonjen od komunističkih vlasti, stavljanje pod nadzor, otpustio 1976., a uhićen je nekoliko puta. U kolovozu 1980. godine bio je instrumentalan u političkim pregovorima koji su doveli do sporazuma Gdańsk u pionirskim između štrajkaša i vlade. On je postao suosnivač Solidarnost sindikalnog pokreta. Nakon što je nametnuto izvanredno stanje u Poljskoj i solidarnosti je izvan zakona, Wałęsa je ponovno uhićen. Nakon puštanja iz pritvora je nastavio svoj aktivizam i bila istaknuta u uspostavljanju sporazuma Okrugli stol 1989. koji je doveo do polu-free parlamentarnih izbora u lipnju 1989. godine, a do solidarnosti na čelu vlade.
U poljskom općim izborima 1990. godine, Wałęsa uspješno kandidirao za nedavno ponovno uspostavljenog ureda predsjednika Poljske. On je predsjedao Poljske prijelaz iz komunizma u postkomunističkoj državi, ali njegova popularnost opala i njegova uloga u poljskim politici smanjena nakon što je on tijesno izgubio na predsjedničkim izborima 1995. godine. Od 2016. godine, Wałęsa nastavlja govoriti i predavanje o povijesti i politici u Poljskoj i inozemstvu.Oporbeni političari u komunističkim zemljama (1945.-1989.)]]
Lech Walesa rođen 29. rujna 1943 je umirovljeni poljski političar i rada aktivist. On je suosnivač i krenuli solidarnost, Sovjetskog bloka prvi samostalni sindikat, dobio je Nobelovu nagradu za mir 1983. godine, a služio je kao predsjednik Poljske od 1990. do 1995. godine.
g.<ref name="NYT 2000"/>
In 1992, Naimski, as a head of the [[Urząd Ochrony Państwa|State Protection Office]], started the process of screening people suspected of being Communist collaborators in Poland.<ref name="NYT 2000"/> In June that year he helped Antoni Macierewicz prepare a list of 64 members of the government and parliament who were named as spies in the police records; these included Wałęsa, then the Polish president.<ref name="NYT 2000"/> Wałęsa's name was included on the list after a wrenching internal debate about the virtues of honesty versus political discretion.<ref name="NYT 2000"/> In response to the publication of this list, President Wałęsa immediately engineered the fall of prime minister [[Jan Olszewski]] and the dismissal of Interior Minister Macierewicz.<ref>{{cite news |first=Stephen |last=Engelberg |authorlink= |url=http://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/12/world/charge-of-spying-denied-by-walesa.html |title=Charge of Spying Denied by Walesa |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=12 June 1992 |accessdate=26 February 2016}}</ref> A parliamentary committee later concluded Wałęsa had not signed an agreement with the secret police.<ref name="NYT 2000"/>
A 1997 Polish law made the vetting a requirement for those seeking high public office. According to the law, it is not a crime to have collaborated, but those who denies it and are found to have lied are banned from political life for ten years. The 2000 presidential election was the first use of this law.<ref name="NYT 2000"/>
Despite helping Wałęsa in 2005 to receive the official status of a "victim of communist regime" from the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN),<ref>{{cite news |url=http://articles.latimes.com/2005/nov/17/world/fg-briefs17.5 |title=Walesa Cleared of Collaboration Charges |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=17 November 2005 |accessdate=25 February 2016}}</ref> this court ruling did not convince many Poles.<ref name="NYT 2000"/> In November 2009 Wałęsa sued the president of Poland, Lech Kaczyński over his repeated collaboration allegations.<ref>{{cite news |first=Nicholas |last=Kulish |authorlink=Nicholas Kulish |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C07E1DD1E3AF936A15752C1A96F9C8B63 |title=Poland: Former Leader Sues President |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=25 November 2009| accessdate=23 February 2016}}</ref> Five months later, Kaczyński failed to invite Wałęsa to the commemoration service at [[Katyn massacre|Katyn]], which arguably saved Wałęsa's life because the [[2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash|presidential plane crashed]], killing all on board.<ref>{{cite news |first=Julian |last=Borger |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/apr/04/lech-walesa-sees-errors-all-around-poland |title=Lech Walesa: the man who 'never made a mistake' sees errors all around |work=[[The Guardian]] |location=London |date=4 April 2011 |accessdate=25 February 2016}}</ref> In August 2010, Wałęsa lost a libel case against Krzysztof Wyszkowski, his former fellow activist, who also publicly accused Wałęsa of being a communist agent in 1970s.<ref name=Justification>{{cite web |url=http://www.wyszkowski.com.pl/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=1886:justification-for-the-judgement-from-31-august-2010 |title=Justification for the Judgement from 31 August 2010 |date=22 May 2012 |website=Krzysztof Wyszkowski |access-date=25 February 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://budapesttimes.hu/2010/09/06/lech-walesa-loses-court-case/ |title=Lech Walesa loses court case |work=[[The Budapest Times]] |date=6 September 2010| accessdate=23 February 2016}}</ref>
===2008 book===
The most comprehensive analysis of Wałęsa's possible collaboration with secret police was provided in a 2008 book ''The SB (''Służba Bezpieczeństwa''; secret police) and Lech Wałęsa: A Biographical Contribution'' ([[:pl:SB a Lech Wałęsa|''SB a Lech Wałęsa. Przyczynek do biografii'']]).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cenckiewicz |first1=Sławomir |author-link1=Sławomir Cenckiewicz |last2=Gontarczyk |first2=Piotr |author-link2=Piotr Gontarczyk |date=2008 |title=SB a Lech Wałęsa. Przyczynek do biografii |trans-title=The SB and Lech Wałęsa: A Biographical Contribution |url=http://ipn.gov.pl/publikacje/ksiazki/sb-a-lech-walesa.-przyczynek-do-biografii |language=pl |location=Gdańsk–Warszawa–Kraków |publisher=[[Institute of National Remembrance|Instytut Pamieci Nardowej]] |isbn=978-83-60464-74-8 |ol=23626992M |lccn=2009460072}}</ref> The book was written by two historians from the Institute of National Remembrance, [[Sławomir Cenckiewicz]] and [[Piotr Gontarczyk]], and included documents from the archives of the secret police that were inherited by the Institute.<ref name=Spiegel>{{cite news |last=Puhl |first=Jan |url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/interview-with-historian-slawomir-cenckiewicz-positive-proof-lech-walesa-was-a-communist-spy-a-561414.html |title='Positive Proof' Lech Wałęsa was a Communist Spy: Interview with Historian Slawomir Cenckiewicz |work=[[Der Spiegel]] |date=23 June 2008| accessdate=19 February 2016}}</ref> Among the documents were registration cards, memos, notes from the secret police, and reports from the informant.<ref>{{cite news |last=Paterson |first=Tony |date=25 June 2008 |title=Lech Wałęsa fights claims that he was secret police informant |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/lech-walesa-fights-claims-that-he-was-secret-police-informant-853538.html |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |location=London |access-date=20 February 2016}}</ref><ref name=Times>{{cite news |last=Boyes |first=Roger |author-link=Roger Boyes |date=25 June 2008 |title=Lech Wałęsa was a Communist spy, says new book |url=http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/europe/article2597288.ece |newspaper=[[The Times]] |location=London |access-date=20 February 2016 |subscription=y}}</ref>
The book's authors said Wałęsa, working under the code name ''Bolek'',<ref group="note">''Bolek'' was a main character of the popular children's cartoon series [[Bolek and Lolek]], produced in Poland in 1962–1986. Wałęsa's father's name also was Bolesław (or Bolek in diminuitive).</ref> was a secret police informant from 1970 (after he was released from the arrest) till 1976 (before he was fired from the shipyard).<ref>{{cite news |last=Quetteville |first=Harry de |date=14 Jun 2008 |title=Lech Wałęsa was Communist spy, claims book |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/poland/2126507/Lech-Walesa-was-Communist-spy-claims-book.html |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |location=London |access-date=20 February 2016}}</ref> According to them, "he wrote reports and informed on more than 20 people and some of them were persecuted by the communist police. He identified people and eavesdropped on his colleagues at work while they were listening to [[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|Radio Free Europe]] for example".<ref name="BBC 2008">{{cite news |last=Easton |first=Adam |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7469763.stm |title=Walesa scorns collaboration claim |work=[[BBC World Service]] |date=23 June 2008 |accessdate=20 February 2016}}</ref> The book describes the fate of the seven of his alleged victims; information regarding others was destroyed or stolen from the files.<ref name=Spiegel/> According to them, Wałęsa received over 13,000 [[Polish złoty|zlotys]] as remuneration for his services from the SB, while the monthly salary at the time was about 3,500 zlotys.<ref group="note">In a book published in 2011, Wałęsa’s wife Danuta said she believed the source of her husband’s extra money during the 1970s was lottery winnings (''Source:'' [http://www.wsj.com/articles/poland-state-archives-says-former-president-walesa-was-communist-spy-1455820685 ''The Wall Street Journal'']).</ref><ref name=Wyborcza/><ref name=Telegraph/> The authors said oppositionist activity in Poland in the first half of 1970s was minimal and Wałęsa's role in it was quite marginal.<ref name=Times/> However, according to the book, despite formally renouncing his ties with SB in 1976, Wałęsa went on to have contacts with communist officials.<ref>{{cite news |first=Martin M. |last=Sobczyk |url=http://www.wsj.com/articles/poland-state-archives-says-former-president-walesa-was-communist-spy-1455820685 |title=Poland State Archives Says Former President Walesa Was Communist Spy |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |date=18 February 2016 |accessdate=22 February 2016}}</ref>
The book also said that during his 1990-1995 presidency, Wałęsa used his office to destroy the evidence of his collaboration with secret police by removing incriminating documents from the archives.<ref name=Times/> According to the book, historians discovered that with the help of the state intelligence agency, Wałęsa, Interior Minister Andrzej Milczanowski, and other members of Wałęsa's administration, had borrowed from the archives the secret police files that had connections to Wałęsa, and returned them with key pages removed.<ref name=Spiegel/><ref name=Wyborcza/> When it was discovered at the turn of 1995/96, the following prosecutorial inquiry was discontinued for political reasons despite the case attracting much public attention.<ref name=Justification/><ref name=Wyborcza/>
Sławomir Cenckiewicz also said that in 1983, when Wałęsa was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, the secret police tried to embarrass him and leaked information about Wałęsa's previous collaboration with the government. By this time though, Wałęsa was already so popular that most Poles did not believe the official media and dismissed the allegations as a manipulation by the Communist authorities.<ref name=Spiegel/> The book's first print run sold out in Poland within hours.<ref>{{cite news |date=24 June 2008 |title=New Book Claims Polish Icon Walesa Was Communist Spy |url=http://dw.com/p/EPrF |work=[[Deutsche Welle]] |access-date=23 February 2016}}</ref><ref name="Irish Times"/> The book received substantial coverage in the media, provoked nationwide debate, and was noted by the international press.<ref>{{cite news |first1=Joanna |last1=Staszewska |first2=Gareth |last2=Jones |first3=Janet |last3=Lawrence |date=17 June 2008 |title=Polish book revives informer claims against Walesa |url=http://www.reuters.com/article/us-poland-walesa-idUSL1717590220080617 |agency=[[Reuters]] |access-date=23 February 2016}}</ref><ref>[[n:Row over Lech Wałęsa's alleged collaboration with communists escalates|"Row over Lech Wałęsa's Alleged Collaboration with Communists Escalates]]," ''Wikinews'', Friday, 20 June 2008.</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Szporer |first=Michael |date=Spring 2009 |title=Sławomir Cenckiewicz and Piotr Gontarczyk, SB a Lech Wałęsa: Przyczynek do biografii [The SB and Lech Wałęsa: A Contribution toward a Biography] |url=http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/mlt/10.1162%2Fjcws.2009.11.2.119 |journal=[[Journal of Cold War Studies]] |publisher=[[MIT Press]] |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=119–121 |issn=1520-3972 |subscription=y}}</ref> Wałęsa vowed to sue the authors but never did.<ref name="Irish Times">{{cite news |first=Derek |last=Scally |date=24 June 2008 |title=Walesa vows to sue authors over informer claims |url=http://www.irishtimes.com/news/walesa-vows-to-sue-authors-over-informer-claims-1.1271159 |newspaper=[[The Irish Times]] |location=Dublin |access-date=23 February 2016}}</ref>
===Kiszczak archives===
On 18 February 2016 the INR in Warsaw announced it had seized a package of original documents that allegedly proved Wałęsa "was a paid Communist informant".<ref name="BBC 18 Feb">{{cite news |url=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35602437 |title=Lech Wałęsa 'was paid Communist informant' |work=[[BBC World Service]] |date=18 February 2016 |accessdate=18 February 2016}}</ref> The documents dated from the period 1970-1976; they were seized from the home of a recently deceased former interior minister, General Czesław Kiszczak.<ref name="IPN 18 Feb">{{cite web |url=http://ipn.gov.pl/en/news/2016/official-statement-on-the-inspection-of-the-first-batch-of-materials-secured-by-the-prosecutor-of-the-ipn-on-16-february-2016 |title=Official statement on the inspection of the first batch of materials secured by the prosecutor of the IPN on 16 February 2016 |publisher=[[Institute of National Remembrance]] |date=18 February 2016 |place=Warsaw |accessdate=18 February 2016}}</ref> The documents' authenticity was confirmed by an archival expert,<ref name="IPN 18 Feb"/><ref>{{cite news |last=Berendt |first=Joanna |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/19/world/europe/lech-walesa-faces-new-accusations-of-communist-collaboration.html |title=Lech Wałęsa Faces New Accusations of Communist Collaboration |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=18 February 2016 |accessdate=19 February 2016}}</ref> but the [[Questioned document examination#Handwriting examinations|handwriting examination]] demanded by the prosecutors<ref>{{cite news |url=http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/polish-prosecutors-probe-secret-files-lech-walesa-37190825 |title=Polish Prosecutors to Probe Secret Files on Lech Walesa |work=[[ABC News]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=25 February 2016 |accessdate=26 February 2016}}</ref> could take up to six months.<ref>{{cite news |title=Szef IPN Łukasz Kamiński: Na ekspertyzy ws. teczki "Bolka" poczekamy pół roku |work=[[Rzeczpospolita (newspaper)|Rzeczpospolita]] |date=2 March 2016 |url=http://www.rp.pl/Archiwum-Kiszczaka/160309885-Szef-IPN-Lukasz-Kaminski-Na-ekspertyzy-ws-teczki-Bolka-poczekamy-pol-roku.html |accessdate=2 March 2016 |language=pl}}</ref>
[[File:Lech Wałęsa-Bolek.jpg|thumb|left|Signature ''Lech Wałęsa-Bolek'' on the collaboration agreement with [[Służba Bezpieczeństwa|SB]] from the ''Kiszczak archives'']]
The dossier consists of two folders; a "personal file" containing 90 pages of documents, including a handwritten commitment to cooperate with the secret police dated 21 December 1970,<ref name=AP/> and signed ''Lech Wałęsa - Bolek'' with a pledge he would never admit his collaboration with secret police “not even to family”;<ref name="WSJ 22 Feb"/> the file also contains the confirmations of having received funds.<ref name="BBC 18 Feb"/><ref name="IPN 18 Feb"/> and a "work file" contains 279 pages of documents, including numerous reports by ''Bolek'' on his co-workers at Gdansk Shipyard, and notes by secret police officers from meetings with him.<ref name="BBC 18 Feb"/><ref name="IPN 18 Feb"/> According to one note, Wałęsa agreed to collaborate out of fear of persecution after the workers’ protest in 1970.<ref name=AP/> The documents also show that at first ''Bolek'' eagerly provided information on opinions and actions by his co-workers and took money for the information, but his enthusiasm diminished and the quality of his information decreased until he was deemed no longer valuable and collaboration with him was terminated in 1976.<ref name=AP>{{cite news |first=Monika |last=Scislowska |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/polish-state-archive-releases-secret-file-on-ex-president/2016/02/22/48238c82-d95b-11e5-8210-f0bd8de915f6_story.html?tid=a_inl |title=Polish state archive releases secret file on Lech Walesa |work=[[The Washington Post]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=22 February 2016 |accessdate=22 February 2016}}</ref>
[[File:Kiszczak and Wałęsa.jpg|thumb|Wałęsa with Gen.[[Czesław Kiszczak]], c.1989]]
The sealed dossier also contained a letter, hand-written by Kiszczak in April 1996, in which he informs the Director of the Polish Central Archives of Modern Records ([[:pl:Archiwum Akt Nowych|''Archiwum Akt Nowych'']]) about the accompanying files documenting the collaboration of Wałęsa with the Communist Security Service and asks him not to publish this information until five years after Wałęsa’s death.<ref name="WSJ 22 Feb">{{cite news |first=Martin M. |last=Sobczyk |url=http://www.wsj.com/articles/polands-state-archives-releases-lech-walesa-documents-1456158176 |title=Poland’s State Archives Releases Lech Walesa Documents |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |date=22 February 2016 |accessdate=22 February 2016 |subscription=y}}</ref> In his letter Kiszczak said he kept the documents out of reach: before the [[Revolutions of 1989#Poland|1989 revolution]], trying to protect Wałęsa’s reputation; and afterwards to make sure they did not disappear or were used for political reasons.<ref name="WSJ 22 Feb"/> This letter and the accompanying documents had never been sent.<ref name="IPN 18 Feb"/>
On 16 February 2016, about three months after Kiszczak's death, his widow Maria approached the Institute of National Remembrance and suggested selling it the archives for 90,000 zlotys ($23,000).<ref name="AP 17 Feb">{{cite news |url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/424621a61c6a46abb9a645933e6e2a5f/old-documents-revive-polands-debate-over-walesas-past |title=Old documents revive Poland's debate over Walesa's past |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=17 February 2016 |accessdate=18 February 2016}}</ref> However, according to the Polish law, all documents of political police must be handed in to the state.<ref name="AP 17 Feb"/> The administration of the institute notified the prosecutor's office, which conducted a police search of the Kiszczaks' house and seized all the historic documents.<ref name="AP 17 Feb"/> Maria Kiszczak later said she had not read her husband’s letter and had "made a mistake".<ref name="NYT 22 Feb">{{cite news |last=Berendt |first=Joanna |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/23/world/europe/lech-walesa-poland.html |title=Lech Walesa Files Made Public Despite Forgery Claims |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=22 February 2016| accessdate=23 February 2016}}</ref>
===Wałęsa's response===
For years Wałęsa vehemently denied collaborating with the communist secret police and dismissed the incriminating files as forgeries created by the SB to compromise him.<ref>{{cite news |first=Adam |last=Easton |url=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35607181 |title=Informant claims unlikely to alter Polish view of Walesa |work=[[BBC World Service]] |date=18 February 2016| accessdate=22 February 2016}}</ref> Wałęsa also denies that during his presidency he removed documents incriminating him from the archives.<ref name=Wyborcza/> Until 2008 he denied having ever seen his secret police file.<ref name=Wyborcza/> After the publication of the book ''SB a Lech Wałęsa'' in 2008, he said that while he was president "I did borrow the file, but didn't remove anything from it. I saw there were some documents there about me and that they were clearly forgeries. I told my secretaries to tape up and seal the file. I wrote 'don't open' on it. But someone didn't obey, removed the papers, now casting suspicion on me."<ref name=Wyborcza/><ref name=Telegraph>{{cite news |last=Quetteville |first=Harry de |date=19 Jun 2008 |title=Lech Walesa denies allegations that he was a communist spy |url=http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/harrydequetteville/4330641/Lech_Walesa_denies_allegations_that_he_was_a_communist_spy/ |archive-url=http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:mq9BoGitNtEJ:blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/harrydequetteville/4330641/Lech_Walesa_denies_allegations_that_he_was_a_communist_spy/ |archive-date=6 December 2015 |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |location=London |access-date=22 February 2016}}</ref> Wałęsa's interior minister Andrzej Milczanowski denied the cover-up and said he "had the full legal right to make those documents available to President Wałęsa" and "no original documents were removed from the file", which contained only photocopies.<ref name=Wyborcza>{{cite news |first=Agnieszka |last=Kublik |first2=Wojciech |last2=Czuchnowski |url=http://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wiadomosci/1,114881,5324185,IPN_Launching_Hunt_for_Walesa.html |title=IPN Launching Hunt for Wałęsa |work=[[Gazeta Wyborcza]] |date=18 June 2008 |accessdate=22 February 2016}}</ref>
Wałęsa has offered conflicting statements regarding the authenticity of the documents.<ref name="WSJ 22 Feb"/> Initially he has appeared to come close to an admission, saying in 1992, "in December 1970, I signed three or four documents"<ref name=Justification/><ref>{{cite news |title=Trzy podpisy Wałęsy |newspaper=[[Gazeta Wyborcza]] |date=8 June 1992 |url=http://www.archiwum.wyborcza.pl/Archiwum/1,0,96855,19920608RP-DGW,Trzy_podpisy_Walesy,.html |number=134 |page=3 |accessdate=26 February 2016 |language=pl |subscription=y}}</ref> to escape from the secret police.<ref name="WSJ 22 Feb"/> In his 1987 autobiography ''A Way of Hope'',<ref>{{cite book |last=Wałęsa |first=Lech |date=1987 |title=A Way of Hope |url= |location=New-York |publisher=[[Henry Holt and Company]] |isbn=0805006680 |ol=2391768M |lccn=87021194}}</ref> Wałęsa said, "It is also the truth that I had not left that clash completely pure. They gave me a condition: signature! And then I signed."<ref name=Justification/> He denies he acted upon the collaboration agreement.<ref>{{cite book |last=Szporer |first=Michael |title=Solidarity: The Great Workers Strike of 1980 |date=2012 |location=Lanham, MD |publisher=[[Lexington Books]] |page=148 |isbn=9780739174876 |lccn=2012014490 |ol=25299438M}}</ref> However, in his later years Wałęsa said all the documents are forgeries and told [[BBC World Service|BBC]] in 2008, "you will not find any signature of mine agreeing to collaborate anywhere".<ref name="BBC 2008"/><ref name="BBC 18 Feb"/>
In 2009, after publication of another biography connecting him with the secret police (''Lech Walesa: Idea and History'' by Pawel Zyzak),<ref>{{cite book |first=Paweł |last=Zyzak |date=March 2009 |title=[[:pl:Lech Wałęsa – idea i historia. Biografia polityczna legendarnego przywódcy „Solidarności” do 1988 roku|Lech Wałęsa. Idea i historia]] |trans-title=Lech Walesa: Idea and History |url= |language=pl |location=Krakow |publisher=Arcana |isbn=978-83-609-40-72-3 |ol=23867915M |lccn=2009460828}}</ref> Wałęsa threatened to leave Poland if historians continue to question his past.<ref name="BBC 2009"/><ref>{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Day |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/poland/5077909/Lech-Walesa-threatens-to-leave-Poland-and-return-Nobel-peace-prize-over-spy-claims.html |title=Lech Walesa threatens to leave Poland and return Nobel peace prize over spy claims |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |location=London |date=30 March 2009 |accessdate=24 February 2016}}</ref> He said that before revealing such information "a historian must decide whether this serves Poland".<ref name="BBC 2009">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7972907.stm |title=Walesa threatens to leave Poland |work=[[BBC World Service]] |date=30 March 2009 |accessdate=23 February 2016}}</ref> After the accusations against him resurfaced with the discovery of the Kiszczak dossier on 16 February 2016, Wałęsa called the files "lies, slander and forgeries",<ref name="Telegraph 17 Feb"/> and said he "never took money and never made any spoken or written report on anyone".<ref>{{cite news |first=Monika |last=Scislowska |url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/05982da95af3404fabfce72d5b1646d2/walesa-denies-he-informed-regime-others-or-took-money |title=Ex-Polish president Walesa denies he was a paid informant |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=19 February 2016| accessdate=22 February 2016}}</ref> He said of the Polish public, which was about to believe in the allegations, "you have betrayed me, not me you"<ref name="NYT 22 Feb"/> and "it was I who safely led Poland to a complete victory over communism".<ref name="Telegraph 17 Feb">{{cite news |last=Day |first=Matt |date=17 February 2008 |title=Nobel Peace Prize winner accused of being informant for Poland's secret police |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/poland/12162160/Nobel-Peace-Prize-winner-accused-of-being-informant-for-Polands-secret-police.html |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |location=London |access-date=25 February 2016}}</ref> On his blog on 20 February 2016 Wałęsa said in the 1970s a secret police officer begged him to sign the financial documents because this officer lost money handed to him to purchase a vehicle. Wałęsa appealed to this officer to step forward now and clear him of the accusations.<ref>{{cite news |last=Skłodowski |first=Tomasz |title=Lech Wałęsa znów zmienia wersję ws. podpisu w dokumentach SB. "Obiecał, że papiery wrócą do mnie" |work=Kurier Lubelski |date=20 February 2016 |url=http://www.kurierlubelski.pl/polskaiswiat/art/9420233,lech-walesa-znow-zmienia-wersje-ws-podpisu-w-dokumentach-sb-obiecal-ze-papiery-wroca-do-mnie,id,t.html |accessdate=22 February 2016 |language=pl}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Andrzej |last=Stankiewicz |title=Lech Wałęsa, niewolnik "Bolka" |work=[[Rzeczpospolita (newspaper)|Rzeczpospolita]] |date=20 February 2016 |url=http://www.rp.pl/Archiwum-Kiszczaka/302219918-Lech-Walesa-niewolnik-Bolka.html |accessdate=23 February 2016 |language=pl}}</ref>
==Religious and personal views==
Wałęsa is a devout Roman Catholic Christian.<ref name=Independent>{{cite news |first=Tony |last=Barber |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/abortion-becomes-test-of-power-for-walesa-1420438.html |title=Abortion becomes test of power for Walesa |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |location=London |date=5 June 1994 |accessdate=26 February 2016}}</ref> He is a staunch opponent of abortion; in 1993 during his presidency he signed a law restricting abortions in Poland.<ref name="NYT 1993"/> This law reversed the virtually free access to abortion that existed since 1956<ref name="NYT 1993"/> and limited its use to cases in which the woman's life is in danger, pregnancy has resulted from rape or incest, or the fetus is irreparably damaged.<ref name=Independent/> Doctors who violate the rules now face up to two years in prison.<ref name="NYT 1993"/> This abortion law is one of the most restrictive in Europe, deeply divided the country, and saw the former Solidarity coalition split between liberals and conservatives.<ref name="NYT 1993"/> The [[Roman Catholicism in Poland|Polish Catholic Church]] supported Wałęsa,<ref name=Independent/> but public opinion polls indicated most Poles favored retaining a liberal abortion law; 1.3 million Poles signed a petition demanding a plebiscite rather than governmental imposition of the law.<ref name="NYT 1993">{{cite news |url=http://www.nytimes.com/1993/02/16/world/walesa-signs-law-sharply-restricting-abortions.html |title=Walesa Signs Law Sharply Restricting Abortions |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=16 February 1993 |accessdate=26 February 2016}}</ref> In 1994 a group of women legislators tried to ease the criteria for abortion; Wałęsa vetoed their amendment.<ref>{{cite news |first=Dean E. |last=Murphy |url=http://articles.latimes.com/1994-09-03/news/mn-34249_1_abortion-law |title=Poland's Strict Abortion Law Survives Challenge: Legislators fail to override President Walesa's veto of bill easing limits on women's access to the procedure |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=3 September 1994 |accessdate=26 February 2016}}</ref>
Wałęsa is well known for his [[Homophobia|anti-gay]] position.<ref name=Jerusalem/> In 2013 he said on Polish television that homosexual people have no right to a prominent role in politics, "They have to know that they are a minority and must adjust to smaller things".<ref>{{cite news |first=Sam |last=Masters |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/lech-walesa-activist-electrician-president-nobel-peace-prize-winner-homophobe-8518387.html |title=Lech Walesa: activist, electrician, president, Nobel Peace Prize winner... homophobe? |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |location=London |date=3 March 2013 |accessdate=26 February 2016}}</ref> He also said homosexual MPs should sit "behind a wall" in a parliament.<ref>{{cite news |first1=Dagmara |last1=Leszkowicz |first2=Rob |last2=Strybel |url=http://www.reuters.com/article/us-walesa-gays-idUSBRE92209N20130303 |title=Poland's Walesa provokes outrage with anti-gay comments |agency=[[Reuters]] |date=3 March 2013 |accessdate=26 February 2016}}</ref> Despite sharp international criticism and a legal complaint of "propaganda of hate against a sexual minority",<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/mar/03/lech-walesa-gay-rights-criticism |title=Lech Walesa accused of hate speech after gay rights criticism |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |location=London |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=3 March 2013 |accessdate=26 February 2016}}</ref> Wałęsa refused to apologize for his comments.<ref>{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Day |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2013/03/05/world/europe/poland-walesa-anti-gay/ |title=Lech Walesa: No apology for anti-gay comments |work=[[CNN]] |date=6 March 2013 |accessdate=26 February 2016}}</ref> At a political rally in 2000, he described gay people as "sick" and said, "I believe those people need medical treatment".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/ARTICLE.php?AID=28492 |title=Walesa says gays are sick |newspaper=[[Windy City Times]] |date=9 August 2000 |accessdate=26 February 2016}}</ref> During the drawing up of a new Polish Constitution in 1995, President Wałęsa argued against the inclusion of gay rights provisions.<ref>{{cite news |title=Under surveillance |magazine=[[The Advocate]] |date=16 May 1995 |page=14 |issue=681}}</ref> In 2014 [[San Francisco Board of Supervisors|City authorities of San Francisco]] renamed Walesa Street because of his "anti-gay remarks".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.mercurynews.com/samesexmarriage/ci_26243027/san-francisco-renames-lech-walesa-street-wake-polish |title=San Francisco renames Lech Walesa Street in wake of Polish leader's anti-gay remarks |newspaper=[[San Jose Mercury News]] |agency=[[Bay City News]] |date=30 July 2014 |accessdate=26 February 2016}}</ref> A [[Jerzy Wenderlich|deputy speaker]] of the Polish Parliament said Wałęsa's anti-gay position could jeopardize his international career as a human rights speaker.<ref>{{cite news |first=Vanessa |last=Gera |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/03/lech-walesa-shocks-poland_n_2802860.html |title=Lech Walesa Shocks Poland With Anti-Gay Words |work=[[The Huffington Post]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=3 March 2013 |accessdate=26 February 2016}}</ref>
==Honors==
{{main|List of awards and honors received by Lech Wałęsa}}
[[File:Defense.gov photo essay 110524-D-XH843-007.jpg|thumb|Wałęsa receiving the [[Ronald Reagan Freedom Award]], 2011]]
In 1983 Wałęsa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.<ref name=Nobel>{{cite web |title=Lech Wałęsa - Biographical |work=[[Nobel Foundation]] |url=http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1983/walesa-bio.html |location=Oslo |date=5 October 1983 |accessdate=27 February 2016}}</ref> Since then he has received more than 30 state decorations and more than 50 awards from 30 countries, including [[Order of the Bath]] (UK), [[Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany|Order of Merit]] (Germany), [[Legion of Honor]] (France), and [[European Human Rights Prize]] ([[Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe|EU]] 1989).<ref name="institute1"/> In 2011 he declined to accept the [[Order of Vytautas the Great|Lithuanian highest order]], citing his displeasure at Lithuania's policy towards the [[Poles in Lithuania|Polish diaspora]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Dominika |last=Maslikowski |url=http://www.wvgazettemail.com/article/20110909/ARTICLE/309099353/ |title=Walesa rejects Lithuanian honor, cites treatment of Polish minority |newspaper=[[Charleston Gazette-Mail]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=9 September 2011 |accessdate=27 February 2016}}</ref> In 2008 he established the [[Lech Wałęsa Award]].<ref name=Biography>{{cite web |title=Founder: Biography |url=http://www.walesa.org/en/founder/biography |publisher=Lech Wałęsa Institute |location=Warsaw |date=24 March 2014 |accessdate=27 February 2016}}</ref>
[[File:Gdansk Lech Walesa Artport.JPG|thumb|left|[[Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport]]]]
In 2004, Gdańsk International Airport was officially renamed [[Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport]] and Wałęsa's signature was incorporated into the airport's logo.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/963417.stm |title=Profile: Lech Walesa |work=[[BBC World Service]] |date=25 November 2004 |accessdate=27 February 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.thenews.pl/1/9/Artykul/241855,Polish-MP-wants-referendum-over-airport-named-after-Walesa |title=Polish MP wants referendum over airport named after Wałęsa |work=[[Polish Radio External Service|Radio Poland]] |date=23 February 2016 |accessdate=27 February 2016}}</ref> A college hall in [[Northeastern Illinois University]] (Chicago),<ref>{{cite news |first=Matt |last=Simonette |url=http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/lgbt/NEIU-faculty-students-ask-for-renaming-of-Walesa-building/47023.html |title=NEIU faculty, students ask for renaming of Walesa building |newspaper=[[Windy City Times]] |location=Chicago |date=14 April 2014 |accessdate=27 February 2016}}</ref> six streets, and five schools in Canada, France, Sweden and Poland also were named after Lech Wałęsa.
Wałęsa was named [[Time Person of the Year|Man of the Year]] by [[Time (magazine)|''Time'' magazine]] (1981),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19820104,00.html |title=Lech Walesa, Man of the Year |date=4 January 1982 |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |accessdate=27 February 2016}}</ref> ''[[Financial Times]]'' (1980), ''[[Saudi Gazette]]'' (1989) and 12 other newspapers and magazines.<ref name="institute1"/> He was awarded with over 45 [[Honorary degree|honorary doctorates]] by universities around the world,<ref name=Biography/> including [[Harvard University]] and [[University of Paris|Sorbonne]].<ref name=Nobel/> He was named an honorary [[karate]] [[Black belt (martial arts)|black belt]] by [[International Traditional Karate Federation]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://frenchboxing.blogspot.ru/2009/12/lech-walesa-receives-honorary-itkf.html |title=Lech Walesa receives honorary ITKF black belt: Media release |date=10 October 2009 |accessdate=27 February 2016 |publisher=[[International Traditional Karate Federation]]}}</ref> Wałęsa is also an [[Honorary citizenship|honorary citizen]] of more than 30 cities, including [[London]], [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]] and [[Turin]].<ref name=Biography/>
In the United States, Wałęsa was the first recipient of the [[Philadelphia Liberty Medal|Liberty Medal]], in 1989.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://constitutioncenter.org/liberty-medal/recipients/lech-walesa |title=Lech Walesa |publisher=[[National Constitution Center]] |date=4 July 1989 |accessdate=27 February 2016}}</ref> That year he also received the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]]<ref>{{cite news |last=Dowd |first=Maureen |authorlink=Maureen Dowd |url=http://www.nytimes.com/1989/11/14/world/solidarity-s-envoy-bush-give-walesa-medal-of-freedom.html |title=Solidarity's Envoy: Bush Give Walesa Medal of Freedom |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=14 November 1989 |accessdate=27 February 2016}}</ref> and became the first non-head-of-state to address a joint meeting of the [[United States Congress]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://history.house.gov/Institution/Foreign-Leaders/Fast-Facts/ |title=History: Art & Archives: U.S. House of Representatives: "Fast Facts" |accessdate=27 February 2016 |publisher=[[United States House of Representatives]]}}</ref> Wałęsa symbolically represented Europe by carrying the Olympic flag at the opening ceremony of the [[2002 Winter Olympics]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Founder: Current Activity |url=http://www.walesa.org/en/founder/current-activity |publisher=Lech Wałęsa Institute |location=Warsaw |date=24 March 2014 |accessdate=27 February 2016}}</ref> In 2004, he represented ten newly acceded EU countries during the official accession ceremony in Strasbourg.<ref name=Biography/> In 1993 the [[heraldic authority]] of the Kingdom of Sweden assigned Wałęsa a personal [[List of personal coats of arms of Presidents of Poland|coat of arms]] on the occasion of his admittance into the [[Royal Order of the Seraphim]].{{citation needed|date=March 2016}}
==Cultural references==
Lech Wałęsa has been portrayed, as himself or a character based on him, in a number of feature films. The two most notable of them are:
* ''[[Walesa. Man of Hope]]'' (2013) is a biographical drama by [[Academy Awards|Oscar]]-winning filmmaker [[Andrzej Wajda]] about the lives of Wałęsa ([[Robert Więckiewicz]]) and his wife [[Danuta Wałęsa|Danuta]] ([[Agnieszka Grochowska]]) from 1970 to 1989. It shows Wałęsa's change from a shipyard worker into a charismatic labor leader. The film was shot in the historical locations of the depicted events, including the former Lenin Shipyard. It won three awards, including ''Silver Hugo'' for Robert Więckiewicz at [[Chicago International Film Festival]] and a ''Pasinetti Award'' for [[Maria Rosaria Omaggio]] at [[Venice Film Festival]], and was nominated for five more awards.<ref>{{IMDb title|2113820|Walesa. Czlowiek z nadziei}}</ref>
[[File:Walesa film set.jpg|thumb|left|Shooting of ''[[Walesa. Man of Hope]]'' on the Solidarity Square in Gdańsk]]
* ''[[Man of Iron]]'' (1981) is another Andrzej Wajda film about the Solidarity movement. The main character, a young worker Maciej Tomczyk ([[Jerzy Radziwiłowicz]]) is involved in the anti-Communist labor movement. Tomczyk is clearly portrayed as a parallel to Wałęsa, who appears as himself in the movie. The film was made during the brief relaxation of censorship in Poland between the formation of Solidarity in August 1980 and its suppression in December 1981. Waida was awarded both the ''[[Palme d'Or]]'' and the ''[[Prize of the Ecumenical Jury]]'' at the [[Cannes Film Festival]] for the film. In 1982 it was nominated for ''[[Academy Awards|Oscar]]'' as the ''Best Foreign Language Film'' and gained seven other awards and nominations.<ref>{{IMDb title|0082222|Czlowiek z zelaza}}</ref>
[[File:PL Wałęsa movie premiere.jpg|thumb| Premiere of ''[[Walesa. Man of Hope]]'' in Warsaw, 2013]]
Both of these films were produced in Poland. In 1990, [[Warner Bros]] intended to produce a "major" movie about Wałęsa in the US, with a $20 million budget and [[Robert De Niro]] starring as Wałęsa.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://articles.latimes.com/1989-12-04/entertainment/ca-292_1_warner-bros |title=Warners Plans Major Film on Lech Walesa |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |agency=[[United Press International]] |date=4 December 1989 |accessdate=1 March 2016}}</ref> The company paid Wałęsa a $1 million fee for the rights to produce a biopic.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1990-01-12/news/9001125125_1_lech-walesa-chico-mendes-warner-bros |title=Million Dollar Story |work=[[Orlando Sentinel]] |date=12 January 1990 |accessdate=1 March 2016}}</ref> Although the movie was never made, this payment sparked controversy in Poland when five years later it emerged that Wałęsa concealed this income to avoid paying taxes on it.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.apnewsarchive.com/1995/Walesa-Didn-t-Pay-Polish-Taxes-on-$1-Million-from-Warner-Bros-/id-721ef96d7f9400dc909469e3ef512a07 |title=Walesa Didn't Pay Polish Taxes on $1 Million From Warner Bros |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=16 November 1995 |accessdate=29 February 2016}}</ref> The Gdańsk tax office initiated a tax fraud case against Wałęsa but it was later dismissed because the five-year [[statute of limitations]] had already run out.<ref>{{cite book |last=Easter |first=Gerald M. |date=2012 |title=Capital, Coercion, and Postcommunist States |publisher=[[Cornell University Press]] |page=157 |isbn=9780801465277}}</ref>
In 1982 [[Bono]] was inspired by Wałęsa to write [[U2]]'s first hit single, "[[New Year's Day (song)|New Year's Day]]".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/new-year-s-day-u2 |title=New Year's Day |last=Fields |first=Gaylord |date=7 May 2012 |website=[[Rolling Stone]] |access-date=29 February 2016}}</ref> Coincidentally, the Polish authorities lifted [[martial law]] on 1 January 1983, the same day this single was released. Wałęsa also became a hero of a number of Polish pop songs, including a satirical 1991 hit titled ''[[Nie wierzcie elektrykom]]'' (''Don't Trust the Electricians'') from the eponymous album by the punk rock band [[Big Cyc]].{{cn|date=March 2016}}
Patrick Dailly's [[chamber opera]] ''Solidarity'', starring Kristen Brown as Wałęsa, was premiered by the San Francisco Cabaret Opera in [[Berkeley, California|Berkeley]], California, in September 2009.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bullock |first=Ken |title=SF Cabaret Opera Premieres ‘Solidarity’ |url=http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2009-09-24/article/33816 |newspaper=[[Berkeley Daily Planet]] |date=24 September 2009 |access-date=29 February 2016}}</ref>
==Publications==
* {{cite book |last=Wałęsa |first=Lech |date=1987 |title=A Way of Hope |location=New-York |publisher=[[Henry Holt and Company]] |isbn=0805006680 |ol=2391768M |lccn=87021194}}
* {{Cite book |last=Wałęsa |first=Lech |date=1991 |title=Droga do wolności |trans-title=Road to Freedom |language=pl |location=Warsaw |publisher=Editions Spotkania |isbn=8385195033 |ol=1293474M |lccn=92155586}}
* {{Cite book |last=Wałęsa |first=Lech |date=1992 |title=The Struggle and the Triumph: An Autobiography |translator-first=Franklin |translator-last=Philip |location=New York |publisher=[[Arcade Publishing]] |isbn=1559701498 |ol=1555547M |lccn=91035875}}
* {{Cite book |last=Wałęsa |first=Lech |date=1995 |title=Wszystko, co robię, robię dla Polski |trans-title=All That I Do, I Do for Poland |language=pl |location=Warsaw |publisher=Kancelaria Prezydenta RP |isbn=8390434709 |ol=18320510M |lccn=96130042}}
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