Professor Leszek Balcerowicz

The economist and politician, one of the authors of transformation process in Poland, Vice - Prime Minister and Minister of Finance in the government of T.Mazowiecki

Professor Leszek Balcerowicz, born in 1947, is a distinguished economist, who carried out the reforms in Poland after the fall of communism. He was a Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance in the first non-communist Polish government after World War II in 1989-1991 and in 1997-2000.

He was a chairman of Council of Scientific Center for Social and Economic Research (Centrum Analiz Społeczno - Ekonomicznych, CASE) in 1992 – 2000.

In 2001-2007 he was the President of the National Bank of Poland. He is the founder of the Foundation for the Development of the Civic Forum (FOR), in which he is the Chairman of the Council.

During his career, Professor Balcerowicz was honored with many awards and titles, which included: Order of the White Eagle in 2005 for his contribution to the systemic transformation in Poland, award for the Minister of Finance of 1998 by the British financial magazine Euromoney (1998), a prize for the most outstanding European in 1998, Central European Award for the Finance Minister 1998 (1999), the Banker of the Year in the category of the central banks in Europe awarded by the British magazine “The Banker” (2004), Emerging Markets Award for the best President of the central bank in Central and Eastern Europe (2004) and many others.

On 16th November 2006 Professor Leszek Balcerowicz received the honoris causa doctorate from the University of Gdańsk for outstanding and creative contributions to the process of political transformation in Poland and for the determined care of the state of public finances, the stability of the Polish currency, and for the broadcasting of sound knowledge of business in society.