Jaruzelski, Wojciech, << `yah` roo ZEHL skee, VOY chehk >> (1923-2014), was the top leader of Poland from 1981 to 1989. He became Poland’s leader when he was elected head of the country’s Communist Party in 1981. As leader, he faced economic problems and protests against the Communist Party’s political monopoly.
In December 1981, Jaruzelski established martial law in an effort to restore order. His administration established strict controls over the lives of the Polish people. It outlawed independent social organizations such as Solidarity, a free labor union led by Lech Walesa. Martial law was officially ended in 1983. But the government kept many controls over freedom. In 1989, the government ended its ban on Solidarity and other organizations. It also allowed the freest elections to Parliament since the country became a Communist state in 1945.
In the elections, non-Communist candidates backed by Solidarity had the greatest success. The government was then restructured. In 1985, Jaruzelski had become president of the government–then a largely ceremonial post. Under the restructuring, the presidency became a much more powerful post. Jaruzelski was elected president under the new system, and he resigned his position as Communist Party head. A presidential election was held in 1990. Jaruzelski did not run for the office.
Jaruzelski was born on July 6, 1923, in Kurow, near Lublin. In 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Poland. The Soviets deported Jaruzelski and many other Poles to the Soviet Union. After German troops invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, the Soviets recruited Jaruzelski to be trained as an officer for a Polish Communist army. Communists gained control of Poland in 1945. Jaruzelski joined the Polish Communist Party in 1947. In 1955, he became the youngest general in the Polish Army. He became army chief of staff in 1965. Jaruzelski became a full member of the Communist Party’s top policymaking body–the Politburo–in 1971. In the government, he was minister of defense from 1968 until 1983, and prime minister from 1981 until he became president. Jaruzelski died on May 25, 2014.
