Jan Józef Lipski

Jan Józef Lipski
Writer, politician, Jan Józef Lipski
Born	26 May 1926 Warsaw, Poland
Died	10 September 1991(1991-09-10) (aged 65) Kraków, Poland
Occupation	Writer, Senator in the Republic of Poland
Nationality	Polish
Notable awards	Cross of Valour Order of the White Eagle

Jan Józef Lipski (26 May 1926 in Warsaw – 10 September 1991 in Kraków) was a Polish critic, literature historian, politician and freemason. As a soldier of the Home Army (Armia Krajowa), he fought in the Warsaw Uprising. Editor of collected works by Jan Kasprowicz, Benedykt Chmielowski and Gabriela Zapolska.

Between 1956 and 1957 Lipski was an editor of the pro-reform weekly “Po prostu”; from 1957 to 1959 he was president of the Klub Krzywego Koła. In 1964 Lipski organized the Letter of the 34 (objecting the expansion of censorship in communist Poland). In 1975 he signed the Letter of 59 and in 1976 he co-funded the Workers' Defence Committee (Komitet Obrony Robotnikow); as one of the most active members of this organization he organized help for the workers who protested in June 1976 against the government sponsored price increases in Radom and in Ursus district of Warsaw.

In 1980, Lipski became a member of the Solidarity Union and was elected a delegate to the 1st Delegates’ Rally to represent the Masovia Region (based in Warsaw). On December 14, 1981, after the imposition of the martial law, he was arrested and charged with orchestrating a protest.

As the only senior member of the non-communist opposition, he re-established the Polish Socialist Party (Polska Partia Socjalistyczna), the ritwing and centrist pro-Pilsudski part which he led from 1987. In 1989 he was elected Senator from Radom and was a member of the Civic Parliamentary Club (Obywatelski Klub Parlamentarny); he died during his term in office.