Lech Walesa


Lech Walesa is a Polish trade-union leader who helped to free his country from Communism. Walesa was born in Popowo, Poland on September 29, 1943. In the early 1960s, he worked as a mechanic and served in the army. In 1967, he moved to Gdansk to work as an electrician in the local shipyards.

Poland was a Communist country then and living conditions were very poor. In the 1970s, workers began to protest these conditions. Walesa became a leader of these protests. In 1976, he lost his job because of his activities.

This did not stop him. In 1980, he led a strike at the Gdansk shipyards. Other Polish workers went on strike, too. Poland’s Communist rulers finally gave in to the workers’ demands for a free trade union. It was known as Solidarity and Walesa was its first elected leader. Most Polish workers joined this union.

For the next two years, Walesa traveled the world to gain support for the Solidarity movement. But, in December 1981, the Polish government made Solidarity illegal. It arrested and detained many of the union’s leaders, including Walesa. Walesa was held for nearly a year.

When Walesa was released, he returned to his electrician’s job in Gdansk. For the rest of the 1980s, he was part of a secret Solidarity movement. By 1989, the Polish economy was in poor shape and workers went on strike again. Thegovernment was very unpopular and had to negotiate with Walesa and his fellow trade unionists. Solidarity became legal once again. In June 1989, free elections were held.

Solidarity members won enough seats in the parliament to be part of a new non-Communist government. In 1990, Walesa was elected president of Poland. He served until 1995, when he was defeated in an election.

Walesa’s leadership in Poland helped to bring about the collapse of the Soviet Union. He has received many honors for his work, including the 1983 Nobel Peace Prize.