Edward Gierek
| Edward Gierek | |
|---|---|
 |
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| 4th First Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party | |
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In office 20 December 1970 – 6 September 1980 |
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| Preceded by | Władysław Gomułka |
| Succeeded by | Stanisław Kania |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
6 January 1913 Porąbka, Piotrków Governorate, Congress Poland (the Russian Empire) |
| Died | 29 July 2001 (aged 88) Cieszyn, Silesian Voivodeship, Poland |
| Nationality | Polish |
| Political party | Polish United Workers' Party |
| Spouse(s) | Stanisława née Jędrusik (1918–2007) |
Edward Gierek (Polish pronunciation: [ˈɛdvart ˈɡʲɛrɛk]; 6 January 1913 – 29 July 2001) was a Polish communist politician. Gierek replaced Władysław Gomułka as First Secretary of the ruling Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) in the Polish People's Republic. Gierek is known for opening communist Poland to Western influence and for his economic reform, based on foreign loans, which ultimately failed. He was removed from power after labor strikes led to the Gdańsk Agreement between the communist state and workers of the emerging Solidarity free trade union movement.
Edward Gierek was born in Porąbka near Sosnowiec, into a coal mining family. He lost his father to a mining accident in a pit at the age of four. His mother remarried and emigrated to northern France, where he lived from the age of 10 and worked in a coal mine from the age of 13. Gierek joined the French Communist Party in 1931 and in 1934 was deported to Poland for organizing a strike. After completing compulsory military service in Stryi in southeastern Poland (1934–36), Gierek married Stanisława Jędrusik, but was unable to find employment. The Giereks went to Belgium, where Edward worked in the coal mines of Waterschei, acquiring pneumoconiosis (black lung disease). In 1939 Gierek joined the Communist Party of Belgium. During the German occupation, he participated in communist anti-Nazi Belgian resistance activities. After the war Gierek was politically active, primarily among Polish immigrants. He was a co-founder of the Belgian branch of the Polish Workers' Party (PPR) and a chairman of the National Council of Poles in Belgium.
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