Mateusz Morawiecki

Biography

Mateusz Morawiecki was born on June 20, 1968, the son of Kornel Morawiecki.

At the age of 12, Morawiecki was already active in the fight for freedom in Poland as he became involved in the process of illegal duplication of political pamphlets. In August 1980 he plastered the poster edition of the "Lower Silesia Bulletin" all over the streets of Wroclaw. The print contained a list of the Gdansk Demands as well as a call for a general strike in support of the protests on the northern coast. After martial law was announced, he became a printer and distributor of underground Solidarity magazines. Despite repeated arrests and beatings by the secret police (SB), he continued participating in political demonstrations until the late 1980’s. He was the editor of the "Lower Silesia Bulletin" and an activist of the Independent Students' Association. In 1988 and 1989 he participated in a occupational strike at the University of Wroclaw. He was one of the organizers of the Club for Political Thought "Free and Solidary.

Morawiecki is an alumnus of the University of Wrocław (history, 1992), Wrocław University of Technology (1993), Wrocław University of Economics (business administration, 1995), the University of Hamburg (European law and economic integration, 1995–1997) and the University of Basel (European studies, 1995–1997). While at Wrocław Tech, he studied abroad at Central Connecticut State University and completed the advanced executive program at the Kellogg School of Management of Northwestern University.

In 1991 he began working for Cogito Co., as well as co-created two publishing companies, Reverentia and Enter Marketing- Publishing. That same year he co-established the magazine “Dwa Dni” (Two Days). He later became the manager and chief editor of that publication. In 1995 he completed an internship at Deutsche Bundesbank in Credit Analysis, Financial Restructuring, Banking Supervision as well as Financial Market Supervision. During the year 1996-7 he led banking and macroeconomic research at the University of Frankfurt. In 1998, as the Deputy Director of the Accession Negotiations Department in the Committee for European Integration, he oversaw and participated in the negotiations of the Polish accession to the European Union in numerous areas, including finance.

Together with Frank Emmert, he is the author of the first textbook in the field of “The Law of the European Union” published in Poland.

During the years 1996-2004 he worked as a lecturer at the Economic University in Wrocław, and between 1996-1998 also at the University of Technology. He was a member of policy counsels at numerous higher education institutions. During the years 1998-2001 he was a member of the supervisory boards of the Wałbrzych Power Company, Dialog (local telephone service provider), as well as the Industrial Development Agency. He was a member of the Lower Silesian Regional Assembly from 1998 to 2002.

Since November 1998, he has been working for BZWBK (Bank Zachodni WBK Group, Santander Group), where he began his career as the Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board, as well as the supervisor of the Economic Analysis Bureau and the International Trade Department. In 2001 he became Managing Director, as well as member of the Board. Since 2007, Morawiecki has been the Chairman of Bank Zachodni WBK.

He is also Honorary Consul of Ireland in Poland, serving since 2008. In 2013, Morawiecki was awarded the Cross of Freedom and Solidarity. He has also been awarded many other awards by institutions such as economic clubs, universities, publishing companies, and national cultural institutions.

Since 16 November 2015 Morawiecki has been Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Development in the cabinet of Beata Szydło. Until 2016 he was independent. In March 2016 he joined Law and Justice.

On 28 September 2016, Morawiecki was appointed Finance Minister and became one of the most powerful members of Beata Szydło’s government, in charge of the budget, government finances, EU funds, and overall economic policy.

Earlier in 2016, Morawiecki outlined the ambitious Plan for Responsible Development, known colloquially as the “Morawiecki Plan”, aimed at stimulating economic growth and raising revenues to fund the government’s generous spending plans, including the “Family 500+” programme of child benefits to all families with two or more children.

On March 18th and 19th of 2017, Morawiecki took part in a meeting of G20 financial ministers in Baden-Baden as the first Polish representative of this summit in history.