Wojciech Jaruzelski

**Wojciech Witold Jaruzelski** (6 July 1923 - 25 May 2014) was a Polish military officer and politician. He was leader from 1981-1989 and the first President of Poland from July 1989 to December 1990.

## Personal life

Jaruzelski came from a family of Polish gentry. He was a son of Władysław Jaruzelski.

## Military and political career

Selected by the Soviets for officer training in 1943, he served in the military working for Stalin,from 1943-1953 and Beria,Malenkov,and,Molotov,in 1953 and,Khrushchev,from 1955-1964,and Brezhnev,from 1964-1982,Andropov,from 1982-1984 and,Chernenko,from 1984-1985 and Gorbachev,from 1985 until 1989 . In total he worked for 46 year’s from 1943-1989 . He was the last commander-in-chief of the Polish People's Army (Ludowe Wojsko Polskie) and chairman of the Polish United Workers Party 1981-1989. Jaruzelski was the Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland from 1981-1985 and remained as head of state until 1990 as Poland's last communist leader. He resigned to allow for democratic elections.

In 1981, Jaruzelski ordered a brutal crackdown on people who did not agree with the Communist government of Poland. Jaruzelski imposed martial law in Poland on 13 December 1981 to stop pro-democracy movements including Solidarity, the first non-Communist trade union in the Warsaw Pact.

In 2005, Jaruzelski said he was happy that Poland joined NATO for reasons of security and the European Union for reasons of economic development.

## Death

Jaruzelski died on 25 May 2014, in a Warsaw hospital after having a stroke earlier that month.

## Other websites

- Jaruzelski's official website

## Infobox (officeholder)

- **honorific-prefix**: His Excellency
- **birthname**: Wojciech Witold Jaruzelski
- **image**: Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski 13 grudnia 1981.JPGborder
- **caption**: Jaruzelski in 1981
- **order1**: Polish United Workers' Party, 6th First Secretary of the
Polish United Workers' Party
- **term start1**: 18 October 1981
- **term end1**: 29 July 1989
- **predecessor1**: Stanisław Kania
- **successor1**: Mieczysław Rakowski
- **order**: 1st President of Poland
- **term start**: 19 July 1989
- **term end**: 22 December 1990
- **primeminister**: Mieczysław Rakowski
Czesław Kiszczak
Tadeusz Mazowiecki
- **predecessor**: _Office restored_
 _Himself (As Chairman of the Council of State)_
 _Bolesław Bierut (As President before office was abolished)_
- **successor**: Lech Wałęsa
- **order2**: Polish Council of State, 6th Chairman of the Council of State
- **term start2**: 6 November 1985
- **term end2**: 19 July 1989
- **primeminister2**: Zbigniew Messner
Mieczysław Rakowski
- **predecessor2**: Henryk Jabłoński
- **successor2**: _Office abolished_
 _Himself (As President)_
- **order4**: 8th Prime Minister of Poland, Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Poland
- **term start4**: 11 February 1981
- **term end4**: 6 November 1985
- **1blankname4**: Chairman of the Council of State
- **1namedata4**: Henryk Jabłoński
- **predecessor4**: Józef Pińkowski
- **successor4**: Zbigniew Messner
- **order5**: Ministry of National Defence (Poland), Minister of National Defence of the
People's Republic of Poland
- **term start5**: 11 April 1968
- **term end5**: 22 November 1983
- **primeminister5**: Józef Cyrankiewicz
Piotr Jaroszewicz
Edward Babiuch
Józef Pińkowski
_Himself_
- **predecessor5**: Marian Spychalski
- **successor5**: Florian Siwicki
- **birth place**: Kurów, Second Polish Republic, Poland
- **death place**: Warsaw, Poland
- **resting place**: Powązki Military Cemetery, Warsaw
- **party**: Polish Workers' Party (1944–1948)
 Polish United Workers' Party (1948–1990)
 Independent (politician), Independent (1990–2014)
- **children**: Monika Jaruzelska
- **profession**: Military
- **signature**: Wojciech Jaruzelski Signature.svg
- **website**: [http://www.wojciech-jaruzelski.pl/ Official website]
- **allegiance**:
 Polish People's Republic
- **branch**: Polish People's Army
- **serviceyears**: 1943–1991
- **rank**: General of the Army
- **battles**: Eastern Front (World War II), World War II
Battle of Berlin
- **awards**: Virtuti Militari, Order of Polonia Restituta, Cross of Valour (Poland), Cross of Valor