Donald Tusk, Politician • Biography & Facts Donald Tusk Politician Donald Franciszek Tusk ([ˈdɔnalt franˈt͡ɕiʂɛk ˈtusk] (13px ); born 22 April 1957) is a Polish politician who has been President of the European Council since 1 December 2014. Previously he was Prime Minister of Poland from 2007 to 2014, having also been co-founder and chairman of the Civic Platform (Platforma Obywatelska) party.Tusk was officially designated as Prime Minister on 9 November 2007 and took office on 16 November. His cabinet won a vote of confidence in the Sejm on 24 November 2007. He was the longest serving Prime Minister of the Third Republic of Poland. In October 2011, Tusk's Civic Platform won a plurality of seats in the Polish parliamentary election, meaning that Tusk became the first Prime Minister to be re-elected since the fall of communism in Poland.Tusk began his public career as an activist in his home town of Gdańsk, supporting Solidarity and organizing his fellow university students.

With the exception of one four-year stretch, Tusk has served in the Third Republic parliament continuously since its first elections in 1991. He was Vice Marshal (deputy speaker) of the Senate from 1997 to 2001 and Vice Marshal of the Sejm from 2001 to 2005.On 30 August 2014, it was announced at an extraordinary EU Council meeting that Tusk would be the next President of the European Council. On 9 September, Tusk submitted his resignation as Prime Minister. Personal facts Donald Tusk | prime minister of Poland | Britannica.com prime minister of Poland Alternative Title: Donald Franciszek Tusk Donald Tusk Donald Tusk, in full Donald Franciszek Tusk (born April 22, 1957, Gdańsk, Poland), Polish politician who was the first prime minister of Poland to serve two consecutive terms (2007–14) since the fall of communism in 1989. Donald Tusk (left) speaking with a Polish army general, 2008.

Alik Keplicz/AP Early life and start of political career The son of a carpenter and a nurse, both of whom were slave labourers during the Nazi German occupation of Poland, Tusk grew up as part of the Kashubian ethnic minority in the port city of Gdańsk , the birthplace of the Solidarity movement. After showing promise as a football (soccer) player, he studied history at the University of Gdańsk, where he became an anticommunist student leader in the 1970s. Tusk’s political awareness had been dramatically awakened at age 13 when he witnessed police shooting at striking workers. He joined Solidarity in 1980, becoming one of the movement’s prominent young intellectuals . After the imposition of martial law in 1981, Tusk worked as a chimney painter and cofounded a cooperative, one of the few avenues of private enterprise open to Poles at the time. In the process he became a devotee of free-market capitalism and would eventually embrace the economic theories of F.A. Hayek and classical liberalism , as well as look to Western conservatives Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan as role models.

In 1989, as Solidarity began to fragment (the product of political and personality clashes within the movement following its assumption of power and the demise of the communist state), Tusk cofounded the free-market-oriented Liberal and Democratic Congress (KLD) party. He entered the Sejm (lower house of Poland’s legislature) in 1991. After the KLD failed to meet the threshold for representation in the 1993 parliamentary election, it merged with the Democratic Union Party (UD) in 1994 to become the Freedom Union (UW). In 1997 Tusk was elected to the Senate. Then in 2001 he formed another centre-right market-oriented party, Civic Platform (PO), was again elected to the Sejm, and became its deputy speaker. In 2005, as the parties on the left in Poland waned in influence, the PO finished second in Sejm elections to the Law and Justice party (PiS), whose candidate, Lech Kaczyński , defeated Tusk in that year’s presidential election.

First term as prime minister The tables were turned in 2007, when scandals forced the PiS to call an early legislative election and the PO, having secured a pluralist victory (with some 40 percent of the vote), joined the Polish Peasant’s Party (PSL) in coalition rule, with Tusk as the prime minister. Despite the difficulties of cohabitation with President Kaczyński, Tusk’s popularity swelled as he “reset” Poland’s relations with both Russia and Germany . He also implemented strongly pro-business and pro- European Union (EU) policies that benefited the Polish economy, which, robustly bolstered by EU funds, survived the global economic downturn of 2008–09 and the resulting euro-zone debt crisis to continue to grow while the economies of other EU member countries were badly shaken. Tusk also demonstrated a steady hand during Poland’s first-ever tenure in the presidency of the EU in 2011. Britannica Stories Ringling Bros.

Folds Its Tent The stability Tusk seemingly brought to Poland was never more visible or necessary than when the country was plunged into despair following the airliner crash in April 2010 near Smolensk , Russia, in which President Kaczyński perished along with a number of other major government and military figures. After initially declaring his interest in the presidency, Tusk removed his name from consideration in the special election in an attempt to maintain continuity for the country and also to see that his party’s policy objectives continued to be realized. Bronisław Komorowski , an associate of Tusk’s, won the special election for the presidency, solidifying the PO’s grip on power, which was further reinforced when Tusk led his party to victory in the 2011 legislative election, becoming the first government returned to office in Poland since 1989. Second term as prime minister and beyond Structures of Government: Fact or Fiction? Much of the political debate in Poland in early 2012 centred on Tusk’s plans to reform the pension system, which called for an increase over time of the retirement age from 65 for men and 60 for women to 67 for both.

That reform was deeply unpopular with voters and led to a serious conflict between the PO and its partner in the ruling coalition, the PSL, which was unhappy about both the substance of the proposal and the PO’s lack of consultation with it prior to the plan’s introduction. After weeks of wrangling, the PSL agreed to a retirement age of 67 for both men and women in return for the PO’s agreeing to the possibility of early retirement on a partial pension under certain conditions. The reform was then passed by the Sejm (parliament) and signed into law by the president. Britannica Lists & Quizzes Editor Picks: Exploring 10 Types of Basketball Movies Among the numerous scandals during 2012 that contributed to an overall decline in popular support for the PO was one involving Tusk’s son, Michael, who worked for the Polish discount airline OLT Express, which went bankrupt , followed by its parent company, Amber Gold, a parabank (unlicensed financial institution offering banking services) that was responsible for a widespread Ponzi scheme . In an attempt to reverse the PO’s waning popularity, Tusk reshuffled his cabinet more than once in 2013.

In March the government survived PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński ’s attempt to bring it down with the aid of an iPad message. During debate on what became a failed no-confidence vote, the PiS leader employed the device to play a prerecorded speech by potential prime minister Piotr Gliński, who could not address the Sejm in person because he was not a member. There was also trouble for Tusk within his own party. In April he sacked Minister of Justice Jarosław Gowin, officially because of Gowin’s controversial accusation that German research centres were importing foreign embryos for experimentation; Gowin had begun to use his position as the head of a new faction within the PO to challenge Tusk’s leadership of the party. Tusk faced the challenge head-on by calling early elections for the leadership, which he won in August , capturing almost 80 percent of the vote, while Gowin was supported by some 20 percent of PO members. Ultimately, Gowin and two other members of the conservative group departed the PO, leaving it with a razor-thin parliamentary majority.

In August 2014 the leaders of the European Union voted unanimously to select Tusk to succeed Herman Van Rompuy as the president of European Council. With his term at the head of the Council set to begin in December, Tusk resigned as prime minister in the second week of September. Donald Tusk, the new head of Europe - Telegraph EU Donald Tusk, the new head of Europe Tusk has also long been a proponent of free markets, privatisation and minimal government interference - a stance that should made him a natural ally of the UK Donald Tusk, president of the European Council Photo: AFP By Matthew Day, in Warsaw and Bruno Waterfeld in Brussels 7:00AM BST 31 Aug 2014 Initially reluctant to leave national politics, Donald Tusk, Poland’s prime minister was persuaded by his wife Malgorzata for the “prestige, better money and less problems at work” that come with a top Brussels job at the top of EU officialdom renowned for its “gravy train” pay and perks.

Mr Tusk currently earns 240,000 zloty a year, a salary that is worth just €60,000 (£47,500) a year, making him one of the lowest paid EU leaders. In the EU post, he will earn over five times with a pay and perks package worth well over €300,000 a year, including a personal motorcade of five limousines. That Mr Tusk could step into some of Europe’s biggest shoes has surprised many in Poland. Unlike Radek Sikorski, his ardently Europhile foreign minister, he has never made any public declaration of seeking a job in Brussels - even last month saying that he intended to stay in Poland - and has never really outlined in depth his views on Europe. Senior EU officials have described a growing consensus building around Mr Tusk, who is supported by Germany, as the star of his main rival, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, the Danish prime minister and daughter-in-law of Lord Kinnock, wanes. “It is a progressive consensus. Her name is Angela Merkel,” joked a Brussels ambassador.

Earlier last week, perhaps seeking to curry favour in Berlin, David Cameron added his support to Mr Tusk’s bandwagon. Related Articles Merkel under pressure to ditch 'blackmailing' Cameron in EU president row 02 Jun 2014 The Prime Minister backed Mr Tusk to please the German chancellor and also in the hope that the centre-Right Pole will act as a counter-balance to the federalist ambitions of Jean-Claude Juncker, the incoming president of the European Commission. The 57-year-old prime minister’s prospects for a European role are mainly hindered by his weakness at English. Although improving, Mr Tusk rarely speaks English in public and when he does it comes with a strong Polish accent. Although Mr Tusk’s commitment to the EU has grown over his seven years in office as Poland prospered from union membership, the 57-year-old Polish leader has retained a pragmatic stance on European policy and is committed to its reform. Mr Tusk has also long been a proponent of free markets, privatisation and minimal government interference - a stance that should made him a natural ally of the UK.

Despite this, Poland and the UK have clashed in Europe with the two falling out over Mr Cameron call for limits on EU freedom of movement rights that benefit millions of Poles working in Britain. His relationship with Mrs Merkel, has been a mixed blessing domestically, leading to accusations from nationalists circles that he is too close to a country that was for long Poland’s traditional enemy but her blessing counts for a lot in Brussels. Mr Tusk’s instinct to form strong bonds with Germany may stem from his own background. Although born in the northern city of Gdansk, his family hail from the Kaszuby region of Poland, a small distinctive area not far from the city where, for years before the Second World War, Polish and German culture entwined and national divisions blurred. One of Mr Tusk’s grandfathers was even forced to join Hitler’s armies in 1944 after spending time in a concentration camp. This fact was picked up by his opponents, and used in an attempt derail his political career - but the attempt failed and Mr Tusk went on to become a dominant force in Polish politics.

As leader of the economically liberal Civic Platform party, he became prime minister in 2007 after inflicting a heavy defeat on his bitter foe Jaroslaw Kaczynski. Credited with bringing order and stability after the turbulent Kaczynski years, which were punctuated by frequent scandals and arguments with Poland’s neighbours, the softly-spoken Mr Tusk made Polish history in 2011 by becoming the first prime minister to be re-elected since the fall of Communism. But since then his star had waned. His government has been dogged by scandal and accusations that it is doing too little to reform the economy, and to the chagrin of its supporters Civic Platform now trails Mr Kaczynski’s Law and Justice party in the opinion polls. Sensing that the departure of Mr Tusk will hasten the demise of Civic Platform, Jaroslaw Kaczynski said he hoped his rival would get the job because it would mean “he will not be here”. Rafal Pankowski, an expert on Poland’s political Right, also said he feared Tusk leaving Poland could inflict a hammer blow on his party, which faces a general election next year.

“Without him it is difficult to imagine how the party will survive and maintain the same level of support,” he commented. “There is no successor who has the same track record as he does. He holds the party together.” Introducing Poland's prime minister: Donald Tusk - CNN.com Introducing Poland's prime minister: Donald Tusk Story Highlights Involved in anti-communist activities as a student in Gdansk In 1989 Tusk co-founded the KLD (Liberal and Democratic Congress Party) In 1997 he was voted into the Polish Senate Became prime minister of Poland after 1997 parliamentary election VIDEO (CNN) -- At 51 years of age, Polish prime minister Donald Tusk has come a long way. As part of the Kashubian minority living in the Gdansk Region, he was born to working-class parents -- his father a carpenter and his mother a nurse. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk was elected in November 2007.

As a student of History at the University of Gdansk in the late 1970s, a period of growing discontent with the Communist regime in Poland, he became actively involved in the creation of the opposition Students' Solidarity Committee. This was founded in reaction to the murder of student activist Stanislaw Pyjas by the State Security Service. Despite his anti-communist activities, he successfully finished his studies in 1980 and joined the Independent Solidarity Trade Union movement. When the Communists imposed martial law in 1981 he continued with his underground activities, writing pamphlets about the ideas of liberal economist Friedrich Hayek and the concept of private property. His heroes became former U.S. president Ronald Reagan and British prime minister Margaret Thatcher. With the fall of Communism in 1989, the Solidarity Movement splintered. Lech Walesa , the former Solidarity Leader was elected President, while Tusk went on to co-found the KLD (Liberal and Democratic Congress Party) with other well-known figures. The Party stood for among other things: free market economy, privatization, individual freedom of Polish citizens and Polish accession to the EU.

The following year, during the 1991 Parliamentary elections, the KLD won 37 seats in the lower house of the Polish Parliament. Not being able to follow up on their success in the 1993 elections, the KLD merged with the larger Democratic Union Party (UD) to form a new party called Freedom Union (UW). Don't Miss Donald Tusk biography, Prime minister, Domestic policy, European Donald Tusk : biography 22 April 1957 - Donald Franciszek Tusk ( born 22 April 1957) is a Polish politician who has been Prime Minister of Poland since 2007. He was a co-founder and is chairman of the Civic Platform (Platforma Obywatelska) party. Tusk was officially designated as Prime Minister on 9 November 2007 and took office on 16 November. His cabinet won a vote of confidence in the Sejm on 24 November 2007. He is currently the longest serving prime minister of the Third Republic of Poland.

In October 2011, Tusk's Civic Platform won a plurality of seats in the Polish parliamentary election, meaning that Tusk became the first Prime Minister to be re-elected since the fall of communism in Poland. Tusk began his public career as an activist in his home town of Gdansk, supporting Solidarity and organizing his fellow university students. With the exception of one four-year stretch, Tusk has served in the Third Republic parliament almost continuously since its first elections in 1991. He was Vice Marshal (deputy speaker) of the Senate from 1997 to 2001 and Vice Marshal of the Sejm from 2001 to 2005. He also served as Leader of the Opposition from 2003 to 2007. Prime minister Tusk and his Civic Platform party emerged victorious in the 2007 parliamentary election, defeating incumbent Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński‘s Law and Justice party. The Civic Platform’s electoral victory also pushed Law and Justice’s junior coalition partners, the League of Polish Families and Self-Defense of the Republic of Poland out of the Sejm altogether.

Following the election, Tusk engaged in coalition talks with the Polish People's Party, emerging with a solid working parliamentary majority. On 9 November, President Lech Kaczyński, who had defeated Tusk in 2005’s presidential election, asked Tusk to form a government. Tusk and his assembled cabinet were sworn in on 16 November, becoming the fourteenth prime minister of the Third Republic. Tusk and his newly-assembled cabinet survived a vote of confidence in the Sejm several days later on 24 November. In the 2011 parliamentary election, Civic Platform retained its place as Poland's most popular party. Domestic policy In his government’s domestic policy, Tusk has pursued the continuation of free-market policies, streamlining the bureaucracy, enacting long-term stable governance, cutting taxes to attract greater foreign business ventures, luring foreign-working Poles back to Poland, and privatizing state-owned companies. The construction of a more adequate and larger national road network in preparation for the UEFA 2012 football championships has been a stated priority for the Tusk government. On 27 October 2009, Tusk declared that he wants to partially outlaw gambling.

There are some concerns on Internet censorship, as Tusk wants to ban Internet gambling and monitor Internet connections and money transfers. During the 2009 swine flu pandemic, Tusk defended his government's decision not to purchase swine flu vaccine, citing the lack of testing by pharmaceutical companies and its unavailability to be purchased freely through the market. Tusk criticized other nations' responses to the pandemic. "The eagerness of some countries seems to be excessive and disproportionate to the real epidemiological situation", Tusk stated, referring to the pandemic's relatively low fatality rate. The government's decision drew harsh responses from opposition members in the Sejm. Donald Tusk is moderately conservative on social issues. He is opposed to legalizing abortion on demand, believing that Poland's current legislation on abortion (which allows for legal abortion only when the pregnancy threatens the mother's life or health, when the fetus is seriously malformed, and when the pregnancy results from rape or incest) protects human life best. Tusk has publicly stated that he opposes euthanasia and the legalization of marijuana.

European policy In continental policy, Tusk has strongly supported greater political and economic integration within the European Union, strongly backing the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty, standing in stark contrast to President Lech Kaczyński's vehement opposition. Tusk has repeatedly stated his government’s intention in bringing Poland into the Eurozone. Originally wanting to introduce the euro by 2012, Tusk envisioned in 2009 a starting year of 2015 as "a realistic and not overly-ambitious goal." However, during the European sovereign debt crisis, Tusk and his government displayed less optimism in joining the monetary union under contemporary economic circumstances, leading to Finance Minister Jan Vincent-Rostowski calling any move "unthinkable." Despite not being a member of the eurozone, Tusk pressed that Poland, along with the other non-eurozone states of the EU, should be included in future euro financial negotiations. Donald Tusk Facts for Kids | KidzSearch.com Donald Tusk (pronounced [ˈdɔnalt franˈtɕiʃɛk ˈtusk] , born 22 April 1957) was the Prime Minister of Poland from 2007 to 2014.

He was the leader of the biggest Polish political party , Platforma Obywatelska (Civic Platform). In August 2014, Tusk was elected to become the next President of the European Council . Other websites Donald Tusk - 必应 Sign in Donald Tusk Donald Franciszek Tusk ([ˈdɔnalt franˈt͡ɕiʂɛk ˈtusk] ( listen); born 22 April 1957) is a Polish politician and historian. He has been President of the European Council since 1 December 2014 . Previously he was Prime Minister of Poland (2007 — 2014) and a co-founder and chairman of the Civic Platform (Platforma Obywatelska) party. Tusk began his public career as an activist in his home town of Gdańsk, supporting Solidarity and organizing his fellow university students. With the exception of one four-year stretch, Tusk has served in the Third Re ... (展开) public Sejm] (parliament) continuously since its first elections in 1991.

He was Vice Marshal (deputy speaker) of the Senate from 1997 to 2001 and Vice Marshal of the Sejm from 2001 to 2005. Tusk was officially designated as Prime Minister on 9 November 2007 and took office on 16 November. His cabinet won a vote of confidence in the Sejm on 24 November 2007. In October 2011, Tusk's Civic Platform won a plurality of seats in the Polish parliamentary election, meaning that Tusk became the first Prime Minister to be re-elected since the fall of Communism in Poland. On 30 August 2014, it was announced at an EU Council meeting that Tusk would be the next President of the European Council. On 9 September, Tusk submitted his resignation as Prime Minister. He was the longest-serving Prime Minister of the Third Republic of Poland. Donald Franciszek Tusk ([ˈdɔnalt franˈt͡ɕiʂɛk ˈtusk] ; born 22 April 1957) is a Polish politician and historian. He has been President of the ...

435,855 followers · 4,788 tweets The latest Tweets from Donald Tusk (@eucopresident). Twitter channel of Donald Tusk, President of the European Council. Managed by the media team. EU Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, outlines the conclusions of the European Council meeting. Discussions focused on the situation in Aleppo, migration ... Donald Tusk. 115,889 likes · 2,107 talking about this. Welcome to the official Facebook page of the President of the European Council. 727,066 followers · 323 tweets My wife's latest comment: one Donald is more than enough! 456 replies 2,160 retweets 4,944 likes. Reply. 456. Retweet. 2.2K. Retweeted. 2.2K. ... Donald Tusk ... Donald Tusk (Politician) - Pics, Videos, Dating, & News Donald Tusk Male Born Apr 22, 1957 Donald Franciszek Tusk is a Polish politician who has been Prime Minister of Poland since 2007.

He was a co-founder and is chairman of the Civic Platform (Platforma Obywatelska) party. Tusk was officially designated as Prime Minister on 9 November 2007 and took office on 16 November. His cabinet won a vote of confidence in the Sejm on 24 November 2007. He is currently the longest serving prime minister of the Third Republic of Poland.… Read More related links Eu Agrees To Extend Russia Sanctions Until Mid 2017 In A Signal To Trump Yahoo News - Dec 16, 2016 ' By Gabriela Baczynska BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union leaders agreed on Thursday to extend economic sanctions against Russia over the turmoil in Ukraine until mid-2017, though some wanted a longer timespan over fear U.S. President-elect Donald Trump would ease pressure on Moscow. The decision was expected and the formal process to extend the sanctions on Russia\'s defense, energy and financial sectors will take place early next week. \"Some of our colleagues would prefer maybe 12 months...

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Brexit: May Says Tusk Letter Justifies Expat Stance Bbc News Google News - Nov 30, 2016 ' BBC News Brexit: May says Tusk letter justifies expat stance BBC News Britons living around Europe would have been left \"high and dry\" if the rights of EU citizens to stay in the UK had been guaranteed, the PM has said. Theresa May said EU leaders\' remarks showed it was \"absolutely right\" for the UK not to have actedÂ ... Brexit \'may never happen\', claims Polish foreign ministerThe Week UK PM defends not \'giving away\' guarantee for EU citizens before Brexit talksBelfast Telegraph ... Learn about the memorable moments in the evolution of Donald Tusk. CHILDHOOD 1957 Birth Born on April 22, 1957. TEENAGE 1976 19 Years Old Tusk graduated from Nicolaus Copernicus High School No. 1 in GdaÅsk in 1976.

TWENTIES Show Less He then enrolled as a student of history at the University of GdaÅsk, from which he graduated in 1980 under professor Roman WapiÅski with an M.A. thesis on JÃ³zef PiÅsudski. … Read More Tusk also speaks German and English.<br /><br /> At the beginning of the Solidarity era, Tusk was involved in student politics in GdaÅsk. He helped found the Solidarity Student Committee at the university, and later the local Independent Students Association. Read Less This positioned him at the forefront of student politics in 1980, and he was influential in founding the Independent Students Union (NZS), the Solidarity affiliate, that year. … Read More He became a journalist, involved with pro-Solidarity organs like Samorzadnosc, as well as Kashubian publications. He collaborated with the Free Trade Unions of the Coastal Region as well as Kashubian leader Lech BÄ dkowski. Tusk's activities blacklisted him from employment at state-operated firms under the Communist government, so Tusk spent seven years working at the Swietlik co-operative.

Read Less THIRTIES 1991 34 Years Old Tusk was one of the founders of the Liberal Democratic Congress (Kongres Liberalno-Demokratyczny KLD), and became its president in 1991. … Read More In this party â which backed free markets, European integration, and privatization of state industry. In the 1991 elections, the KLD won 8% of the vote and 37 seats in the Sejm with the slogan, "Neither the right nor the left, just straight to Europe." Tusk was one of the candidates, making him a member of the First Sejm of the Third Polish Republic. Conservative parties formed a loose coalition in the Sejm, and Jan Olszewski became prime minister. Read Less 1992 35 Years Old Tusk did not enter the government, and was involved in the so-called "Nocna Zmiana" ("Night Shift") change of government during the night of 4â5 June 1992.KLD stayed in opposition until Hanna Suchocka became prime minister in 1992.

… Read More Suchocka's government quickly became unpopular, and KLD's popularity fell with it. In the 1993 elections, the party received only 4%, under the threshold and keeping it out of the Sejm for the next term. Read Less FORTIES Show Less Tusk lost his seat as well and would be out of Parliament until 1997. … Read More In 1994, the KLD merged with the Democratic Union (Unia Demokratyczna) to become the Freedom Union (Unia WolnoÅci, UW). Tusk became vice-chairman of the new party. Read Less Tusk was elected to the Senate in the next election in 1997, with his UW party supporting the Solidarity (AWS) government of Jerzy Buzek. … Read More He served as deputy speaker of the Senate in that term. Read Less 2001 44 Years Old In the run-up to the 2001 elections, Tusk lost a leadership campaign in the UW party to BronisÅaw Geremek.

… Read More With the party in disarray and the previous parliament's AWS/Solidarity coalition breaking apart, Tusk, Andrzej Olechowski, and Maciej PÅaÅ¼yÅski founded Civic Platform (PO), taking many party members with him. The party would win 65 seats in that year's election, becoming the largest single opposition party. Tusk became deputy speaker of the Sejm. Read Less 2003 46 Years Old While PÅaÅ¼yÅski was founding chairman of the party, Tusk took over in 2003, and has been leader ever since. (The Freedom Union party won no seats. … Read More It later changed its name to the Democratic Party.) Read Less Show Less Tusk was the party's official candidate for the 2005 presidential election. … Read More He was defeated in the second round by a margin of 46:54 by Lech KaczyÅski.

He represented the constituencies of Gdynia-SÅupsk (2001â2005) and GdaÅsk (2005â2007). Since 2007 he has been an MP for Warsaw.<br /><br /> Tusk's political position emphasizes strong support for a free market economy with minimal government interference and cooperative relationships with other EU members. Read Less … The Civic Platform's electoral victory also pushed Law and Justice's junior coalition partners, the League of Polish Families and Self-Defense of the Republic of Poland out of the Sejm altogether. Following the election, Tusk engaged in coalition talks with the Polish People's Party, emerging with a solid working parliamentary majority. Read Less On 9 November, President Lech KaczyÅski, who had defeated Tusk in 2005's presidential election, asked Tusk to form a government. … Read More Tusk and his assembled cabinet were sworn in on 16 November, becoming the fourteenth prime minister of the Third Republic. Tusk and his newly assembled cabinet survived a vote of confidence in the Sejm several days later on 24 November.

In the 2011 parliamentary election, Civic Platform retained its place as Poland's most popular party. Read Less Polish presidential election, 2005 … Read More Prime Minister of Poland (vote of confidence) <br /><br /> 2007 <br /><br /> 2011 <br /><br /> 2012 <br /><br /> 2014 <br /><br /> Donald Tusk and his wife, MaÅgorzata, have two children: a son, MichaÅ (born 1982) and a daughter, Katarzyna (born 1987). He also has one grandson, MikoÅaj (born 2009) by his son MichaÅ. Tusk's family belongs to the Kashubian minority in Poland. They reside in Sopot near GdaÅsk. Read Less FIFTIES Tusk was officially designated as Prime Minister on 9 November 2007 and took office on 16 November. … Read More His cabinet won a vote of confidence in the Sejm on 24 November 2007.

Read Less Tusk and his Civic Platform party emerged victorious in the 2007 parliamentary election, defeating incumbent Prime Minister JarosÅaw KaczyÅski's Law and Justice party. In the 2007 parliamentary election campaign and at an early stage of his rule Tusk promised to continue the free-market policies, streamline the bureaucracy, enact long-term stable governance, cut taxes to attract greater foreign business ventures, lure foreign-working Poles back to Poland, and privatize state-owned companies. … Read More Later on in his rule, Tusk changed his views on the role of taxation in the functioning of the state and his government has never cut any taxes. Instead, it raised the value-added tax from 22% to 23% in 2011 and has increased the excise imposed on diesel oil, alcoholic beverages, tobacco and coal as well as eliminated many tax exemptions. The number of people employed in the public administration has also grown considerably. As of 2012, the value of foreign investments in Poland had never reached its heights from 2006â2007, before the Tusk's take-over.

The number of Poles staying abroad in 2013 was almost the same as in 2007. Read Less 2008 51 Years Old The country has not contracted, even despite the 2008 financial crisis during his term. Show Less On 27 October 2009, Tusk declared that he wants to partially outlaw gambling. … Read More There are some concerns on Internet censorship, as Tusk wants to ban Internet gambling and monitor Internet connections and money transfers. Read Less During the 2009 swine flu pandemic, Tusk defended his government's decision not to purchase swine flu vaccine, citing the lack of testing by pharmaceutical companies and its unavailability to be purchased freely through the market. … Read More Tusk criticized other nations' responses to the pandemic. "The eagerness of some countries seems to be excessive and disproportionate to the real epidemiological situation", Tusk stated, referring to the pandemic's relatively low fatality rate. The government's decision drew harsh responses from opposition members in the Sejm.<br /><br /> Donald Tusk is moderately conservative on social issues.

He is opposed to legalizing abortion on demand, believing that Poland's current legislation on abortion (which allows for legal abortion only when the pregnancy threatens the mother's life or health, when the fetus is seriously malformed, and when the pregnancy results from rape or incest) protects human life best. Tusk has publicly stated that he opposes euthanasia and the legalization of marijuana.<br /><br /> In continental policy, Tusk has strongly supported greater political and economic integration within the European Union, strongly backing the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty, standing in stark contrast to President Lech KaczyÅski's vehement opposition. Tusk repeatedly stated his government's intention in bringing Poland into the Eurozone.

Originally wanting to introduce the euro by 2012, Tusk envisioned in 2009 a starting year of 2015 as "a realistic and not overly-ambitious goal." However, during the European sovereign debt crisis, Tusk and his government displayed less optimism in joining the monetary union under contemporary economic circumstances, leading to Finance Minister Jan Vincent-Rostowski calling any move "unthinkable." Despite not being a member of the eurozone, Tusk pressed that Poland, along with the other non-eurozone states of the EU, should be included in future euro financial negotiations. Read Less In his premiership, Tusk has proposed various reforms to the Polish constitution. In 2009, Tusk proposed changes to the power of the presidency, by abolishing the presidential veto. "The president should not have veto power. … Read More People make their decision in elections and then state institutions should not be in conflict", said Tusk. Read Less Show Less In an interview with the Financial Times in January 2010, Tusk was asked if he considered running again as Civic Platform's candidate for that year's presidential election.

… Read More Tusk replied that although the presidential election typically drew the most voters to the polls and remained Poland's most high-profiled race, the presidency had little political power outside of the veto, and preferred to remain as prime minister. While not formally excluding his candidacy, Tusk declared that "I would very much like to continue to work in the government and Civic Platform, because that seems to me to be the key element in ensuring success in the civilisational race in which we are engaged". A day after the interview, Tusk formally announced his intention of staying as prime minister, allowing his party to choose another candidate (and eventual winner), BronisÅaw Komorowski. Read Less The Charlemagne Prize of the city of Aachen was awarded to Tusk on 13 May 2010 for his merits in the further unification of Europe and for his role as a "patriot and great European". He dedicated the prize to the people killed in a plane crash of a Polish Air Force Tu-154 in April 2010 including the Polish president Lech KaczyÅski.

… Read More The eulogy was given by German chancellor Angela Merkel.<br /><br /> He was also awarded an Economy Raspberry Award (similar to the Golden Raspberry Award in movies) by the Puls Biznesu ("Business' Pulse") and organizacja PracodawcÃ³w RP (Polish Employers Confederation) awarded to the persons who had negative influence in Polish economy, destroyed entrepreneurship and damaged quality standards of capital market. Read Less Tusk again reiterated his desire for constitutional reform in February 2010, proposing that the presidential veto be overridden by a simple parliamentary majority rather than through a three-fifths vote. "Presidential veto could not effectively block the will of the majority in parliament, which won elections and formed the government", stated Tusk. … Read More Further constitutional reforms proposed by Tusk include reducing the Sejm from a membership of 460 to 300, "not only because of its savings, but also the excessive number of members' causes blurring certain plans and projects".

Similarly, Tusk proposed radical changes to the Senate, preferring to abolish the upper house altogether, yet due to constitutional concerns and demands from the junior coalition Polish People's Party partner, Tusk proposed reducing the Senate from 100 to 49, while including former presidents to sit in the Senate for political experience and expertise in state matters. Parliamentary immunity for all members of the Sejm and Senate would also be stripped, except for in special situations. In addition, Tusk proposed that the prime minister's role in foreign policy decisions would be greatly expanded. By decreasing the president's role in governance, executive power would further be concentrated in the prime minister, directly responsible to the cabinet and Sejm, as well as avoiding confusion over Poland's representation at international or EU summits. The opposition conservative Law and Justice party deeply criticized Tusk's constitutional reform proposals, opting in opposing legislation for the presidency to garner greater power over the prime minister. Read Less Show Less Between July and December 2011, Poland under Tusk's government presided over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Under its presidency tenure, Poland supported and welcomed Croatia's entry into the European Union through the Treaty of Accession 2011.

… Read More While being a constituent member of the Weimar Triangle with fellow states Germany and France, Tusk showed displeasure over German Chancellor Angela Merkel's and French President Nicolas Sarkozy's dominating roles in eurozone negotiations, remarking to Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera in January 2012 that "this should not translate into a lasting political monopoly: things cannot be left to only two capitals of Europe." While supporting Franco-German efforts to solve the crisis, Tusk believed the effort should be continental-wide, with EU states using their own initiatives.<br /><br /> In foreign policy, Tusk has sought to improve relations severely damaged during the previous KaczyÅski government, particularly with Germany and Russia. While criticizing the words of German politician Erika Steinbach with regard to her opinion over the expulsion of Germans from Poland following World War II, Tusk has stressed the need for warm relations with Berlin. Tusk also advocated a more realistic relationship with Moscow, especially in regard to energy policy. Under Tusk's premiership, Russian bans on Polish meat and agricultural products have been lifted, while Poland reversed its official policy of disagreement on a European Union-Russian partnership agreement.

Read Less In October 2011, Tusk's Civic Platform won a plurality of seats in the Polish parliamentary election, meaning that Tusk became the first Prime Minister to be re-elected since the fall of Communism in Poland. Show Less The construction of a more adequate and larger national road network in preparation for the UEFA 2012 football championships has been a stated priority for the Tusk government. In May 2012, he, moreover, received the Walther-Rathenau-Preis "in recognition for his commitment to European integration during Poland's presidency of the EU Council in the second half of 2011 and for fostering Polish-German dialogue". … Read More In her speech German chancellor Angela Merkel praised Tusk as "a farsighted European". Read Less 2013 56 Years Old In February 2013, he received the Gold Medal award of the Fondation du MÃ©rite europÃ©en from Jean-Claude Juncker for his efforts to overcome domestic skeptics especially of the then anti-EU Polish president, and to promote a more pro-EU agenda by the Polish Government.

David Cameron scores EU victory as Polish ally named new European president - Telegraph EU David Cameron scores EU victory as Polish ally named new European president Donald Tusk, Poland's pro-reform prime minister, was the Prime Minister's preferred choice for the top job in Brussels Donald Tusk, president of the European Council Photo: AFP By Bruno Waterfield in Brussels and Tim Ross 7:47PM BST 30 Aug 2014 David Cameron won a key battle in Brussels, securing his favoured candidate as the next president of Europe in a major boost to his campaign to reform the European Union. Donald Tusk, the pro-reform prime minister of Poland, was named as the new president of the European Council at a summit of EU leaders. Mr Tusk was Mr Cameron’s preferred candidate to succeed Herman van Rompuy as president of the European Council. The Polish leader is understood to have won over Mr Cameron in a telephone call in which he promised to back British proposals to change the way the EU operates. Crucially, the Polish premier indicated he would be ready to support Mr Cameron’s plans to introduce new limits on welfare payments to migrant workers from other EU states.

Related Articles Juncker named as next European Commission president 27 Jun 2014 Reforming immigration laws allowing the “free movement” of people across the EU is a key goal for the Conservatives. “There was a constructive conversation and he acknowledged British concerns on free movement,” a British source said. The development will be a significant fillip for the Prime Minister, who has made a personal commitment to reform Britain’s relationship with the rest of Europe. If the Conservatives win next year’s general election, Mr Cameron has promised he will negotiate better terms for Britain’s EU membership, before putting a new deal to voters at an “in/out” referendum by the end of 2017. Among the Prime Minister’s chief concerns is the rise of so-called “benefits tourism”, in which European migrants can travel to the UK to claim generous hand-outs on the welfare state. Mr Cameron has promised to secure stricter rules, limiting payments to citizens of other EU countries, as well as wider reforms to migration laws. Earlier this year, Mr Tusk, 57, furiously denounced Mr Cameron over his calls to scrap overseas payments of child benefit to the children of British-based migrants after the Prime Minister singled out the £55 million paid to Polish immigrants.

Downing Street hopes Mr Tusk will also act as a reformist counterweight to Jean-Claude Juncker, the arch federalist who has taken over as president of the European Commission, despite fierce opposition from Mr Cameron. Ahead of Saturday's Brussels summit, Mr Cameron also held talks with Mr Juncker over what post Britain’s candidate Lord Hill would have in his EU executive when it assumes office in November. “The Prime Minister reiterated the case for Lord Hill securing a strong economic portfolio,” said a Downing Street spokesman. “There was no offer made by Mr Juncker on portfolios.” Mr Tusk was initially reluctant to leave national politics, until he was persuaded by his wife Malgorzata to take the “prestige, better money and less problems at work” that come with a Brussels job at the top of EU officialdom, renowned for its “gravy train” pay and perks. Mr Tusk currently earns 240,000 zloty a year, a salary that is worth just €60,000 (£47,500) a year, making him one of the lowest paid EU leaders.

In the EU post, he will earn over five times that figure, with a pay and perks package worth well over €300,000 (£237,000) a year, including a personal motorcade of five limousines. Mr Tusk’s post is one the EU’s most powerful roles and his closeness to Angela Merkel will make him a force to be reckoned with for Britain. The German Chancellor pushed the Polish leader forward and sponsored him for the most senior EU post held by an East European, a move that indicates Poland’s growing importance as player on the political stage and Warsaw’s shift away from being Britain’s traditional ally. During the course of next year, Mr Cameron, if he is still Prime Minister, will be pushing for EU treaty change and reform ahead his planned referendum in 2017. Mr Tusk will oversee the negotiations and broker a future EU treaty deal that could make or break the Conservative leader. As Pole, whose country has benefited from free movement rules allowing people to work and claim benefit across Europe, his appointment will be a major setback for Mr Cameron’s campaign for migration to be limited from poorer new east European EU members until their national wealth has approached the average.

In his new post as president of the European Council, Mr Tusk will also be at odds with Britain over cuts to Brussels budgets that benefit Poland, which benefits hugely from EU farms subsidies and regional aid. At the same summit yesterday, the EU agreed to appoint Federica Mogherini, Italy’s foreign minister, to replace the Labour peer, Baroness Ashton, as the new EU foreign affairs chief, despite widespread concerns that she is soft on Russia and lacks experience. Just seven months ago she was plucked from parliamentary obscurity in Rome and named foreign minister of her own country by Matteo Renzi, the Italian prime minister. From November she will take over from Lady Ashton to run the EU’s diplomatic service and foreign policy. The appointment of Mr Tusk as president of the European Council – the regular summit of EU leaders – followed a change of direction from Mr Cameron, who has clashed with the Pole over the issue of free movement and welfare tourism. After months of EU horse-trading, Mr Tusk is also seen as balancing Mrs Mogherini in her new role as Europe’s foreign minister because of Poland’s hawkish stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Question: Donald Tusk became the prime minister of which country in November 2007?
Answer: Poland