Radosław Sikorski | |
---|---|
Marshal of the Sejm | |
In office 24 September 2014 – 23 June 2015 |
|
President | Bronisław Komorowski |
Preceded by | Ewa Kopacz |
Succeeded by | Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska |
Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
In office 16 November 2007 – 22 September 2014 |
|
Prime Minister | Donald Tusk |
Preceded by | Anna Fotyga |
Succeeded by | Grzegorz Schetyna |
Minister of National Defence | |
In office 31 October 2005 – 7 February 2007 |
|
Prime Minister |
Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz Jarosław Kaczyński |
Preceded by | Jerzy Szmajdziński |
Succeeded by | Aleksander Szczygło |
Personal details | |
Born |
Radosław Tomasz Sikorski 23 February 1963 Bydgoszcz, Poland |
Political party | Civic Platform |
Other political affiliations |
Law and Justice (2005–2007) |
Spouse(s) | Anne Applebaum (1992–present) |
Children | Aleksander Tadeusz |
Alma mater | Pembroke College, Oxford |
Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Signature |
Radosław Tomasz "Radek" Sikorski ([raˈdɔswaf ɕiˈkɔrskʲi]; born 23 February 1963) is a Polish politician and journalist. He was Marshal of the Sejm from 2014 to 2015 and Minister of Foreign Affairs in Donald Tusk's cabinet between 2007 and 2014. He previously served as Deputy Minister of National Defense (1992) in Jan Olszewski's cabinet, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs (1998–2001) in Jerzy Buzek's cabinet and Minister of National Defense (2005–2007) in Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz and Jarosław Kaczyński's cabinets.
Sikorski was born in Bydgoszcz. He chaired the student strike committee in Bydgoszcz in March 1981 while studying at the I Liceum Ogólnokształcące (High School). In June 1981 he travelled to the United Kingdom to study English. After martial law was declared in December 1981, he was granted political asylum in Britain in 1982. He studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Pembroke College, University of Oxford, where Zbigniew Pełczyński was one of his tutors.
During his time at Oxford, Sikorski was head of the Standing Committee of the debating society, the Oxford Union (where he organised debates on martial law), president of the Oxford University Polish Society, member of the Canning Club, and was elected to the Bullingdon Club, a dining society that counted among its members former British Prime Minister, David Cameron, former Chancellor George Osborne, and current Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson. His articles were published in prestigious Polish émigré magazines – the Paris-based Kultura and Zeszyty Historyczne as well as Britain's Sunday Telegraph and Tatler magazines. He graduated in 1986.