Mariusz Błaszczak

Early activity and local government

While at university, Błaszczak was a member of the Independent Students' Association and the Catholic Academic Youth Association. In 1991 he joined the Centre Agreement,^[5] a centre-right Christian democratic party, which would later become the core of Law and Justice, both political projects of Jarosław Kaczyński.^[6] In the 1993 parliamentary election, Błaszczak stood for the first time as a candidate for the Sejm but was unsuccessful. He received 0.17% of the votes in the now revised suburban Warsaw constituency,^[e] while the Centre Agreement did not surpass the 5% electoral threshold.^[7]

After his studies, Błaszczak worked as a civil servant in the town government of Legionowo.^[8] In the 2002 local election, Błaszczak ran for the office of mayor of Legionowo, as a candidate of the Voters Electoral Committee of Justice, Law and Self-Government.^[9] He obtained 11.02% of the votes and did not advance to second round.^[10] Between 2002 and 2004, Błaszczak served as deputy mayor of the Warsaw district of Wola, and from 2004 until 2006 was a mayor of the Śródmieście district, during Lech Kaczyński's tenure as Mayor of Warsaw.^[8][11]

First government (2005–2007)

In the parliamentary election of September 2005, Błaszczak run for the Sejm from the Warsaw constituency with the Law and Justice party, but did not secure a seat receiving 0.11% of the votes.^[12] On 31 October 2005, he was appointed chief of the Chancellery of the Prime Minister in the newly formed government of Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz.^[13] He was chosen at the persuasion of Jarosław Kaczyński, in spite of Marcinkiewicz's original intent to assign Piotr Tutak to the post.^[14] Błaszczak remained in office, when Jarosław Kaczyński succeeded Marcinkiewicz as prime minister in July 2006, and also entered Kaczyński's cabinet as minister without portfolio on 27 March 2007.^[c][17]

Simultaneously, Błaszczak became a member of the Masovian Voivodeship Sejmik in the November 2006 local elections,^[18] where he served until November 2007.^[19]

As the government coalition came apart on 13 August 2007, a snap election was called,^[20] in which Błaszczak obtained a seat in the Sejm running from the suburban Warsaw constituency.^[21] In the election aftermath, he stepped down from government posts, along with Kaczyński's cabinet, by 16 November 2007.^[22][23]

In the opposition (2007–2015)

Błaszczak became a spokesman of the Law and Justice parliamentary group in March 2009. On 3 August 2010 he was chosen as the party's parliamentary leader on the recommendation of Jarosław Kaczyński.^[24]

In the 2011 parliamentary election, he led the party list in his incumbent constituency, and received 9.85% of the votes securing re-election.^[25]

Second government (2015–2023)

In the 2015 parliamentary election, Błaszczak was once again elected to the Sejm, with 14.91% of the votes in his constituency.^[26] The Law and Justice won an outright majority in the parliament, giving the party sole discretion to form new government.^[27] On 16 November 2015, the cabinet led by Beata Szydło was appointed, in which Błaszczak took the office of Minister of the Interior and Administration.^[28]

In February 2016, opposition party Civic Platform filed a motion of no confidence against Błaszczak, accusing him of incompetence in choosing the chief of Police, who was dismissed after two months in office in response to the allegations of corruption investigations being carried out against him. In March, the motion failed in parliament, with members of the Sejm voting 177 in favour and 239 against it.^[29][30]

In the 2017 interview with Radio ZET about the European refugee crisis, Błaszczak stated that thanks to Christianity, there were leaders like "Charles Martel who stopped the Muslim invasion of Europe in the eighth century".^[31]

In August 2018, Błaszczak's public statements on TV Trwam regarding the equality parade in Poznań were described by some media and commentators as homophobic and constituted hate speech.^[32]

On 11 December 2017, Błaszczak became Minister of Interior of Poland in the First Cabinet of Mateusz Morawiecki.^[33] He resigned from the position on 9 January 2018, later replacing Antoni Macierewicz as Minister of National Defence.^[34]

In the 2019 Polish parliamentary election, Błaszczak successfully ran for parliamentary re-election, receiving 135,189 votes.^[35] The same year on 15 November, he became Polish Minister of Defence again, becoming part of the Second Cabinet of Mateusz Morawiecki.^[36] On 22 June 2022, Błaszczak was appointed to the position of deputy prime minister,^[37] replacing Jarosław Kaczyński.^[38]

Błaszczak served as Vice-President of the Council of Ministers until 21 June 2023, but resigned together with other deputy prime ministers due to Jarosław Kaczyński's re-entry into the government.^[39]

In the opposition (since 2023)

In the 2023 Polish parliamentary election, Błaszczak won a parliamentary seat for the fifth time in a row (with the result of 127,578 votes).^[40] Later that November, he became chairman of his party's parliamentary club again.^[41] Błaszczak left the office on 13 December 2023.^[42]

Sejm