Beata Szydło
Who was Beata Szydło?
Polish politician who served as Prime Minister from 2015 to 2017 under the Law and Justice party and later became a Member of the European Parliament.
Biographical data adapted from Wikipedia’s article on Beata Szydło (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Biography
Beata Maria Szydło, born on April 15, 1963, in Oświęcim, Poland, attended the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, the SGH Warsaw School of Economics, and Krakow University of Economics. There, she studied ethnology, economics, and politics, which shaped her understanding of Polish identity and community values. She is married to Edward Szydło.
Szydło became a key figure in the Law and Justice party (Prawo i Sprawiedliwość, PiS), managing Andrzej Duda's successful 2015 presidential campaign. This success showed her organizational skill and strategic talent, leading to her candidacy for prime minister ahead of the same year's parliamentary elections.
On October 25, 2015, Law and Justice won a historic majority, and Szydło was appointed Prime Minister by President Duda on November 16, 2015. She was the third woman to hold this office in Poland. As Prime Minister, she opposed EU immigration policies and stood firm against criticism from other EU leaders. Forbes ranked her among the world's 100 most powerful women and as the 10th most influential female political leader globally.
In December 2017, Szydło resigned after losing support from Law and Justice chairman Jarosław Kaczyński. President Duda accepted her resignation and named Mateusz Morawiecki as the new prime minister. Szydło then became Deputy Prime Minister, continuing to serve in the government.
In 2019, Szydło was elected to the European Parliament, where she became a vice-chair of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group. This role extended her influence beyond Poland as she joined a wider group of center-right and conservative European legislators.
Before Fame
Beata Szydło grew up in the city of Oświęcim in southern Poland, a place deeply marked by its closeness to the Auschwitz concentration camp. This environment gave many locals, including her, a strong understanding of Polish history. She studied ethnology, which focuses on cultural identity, folklore, and community, at Jagiellonian University in Kraków, known for being one of Europe’s oldest and most respected institutions. She furthered her studies at top economics schools, creating a well-rounded education.
Her entry into politics was through the Law and Justice party, joining as it became a major player in Polish politics in the early 2000s. She steadily worked within the party during a time of strong competition with the rival Civic Platform party, earning a reputation as a dependable and skilled organizer. Her management of Andrzej Duda’s successful 2015 presidential campaign marked her emergence as a nationally significant figure.
Key Achievements
- Served as Prime Minister of Poland from November 2015 to December 2017, becoming the third woman to hold the office.
- Led Law and Justice to its 2015 parliamentary election victory, the first outright single-party majority in post-communist Polish democratic history.
- Successfully directed Andrzej Duda's 2015 presidential campaign, securing his election as President of Poland.
- Elected as a Member of the European Parliament in 2019 and became vice-chair of the European Conservatives and Reformists group.
- Ranked among Forbes magazine's top 10 most influential female political leaders globally during her tenure as prime minister.
Did You Know?
- 01.Szydło was born in Oświęcim, the Polish city adjacent to the site of the former Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp complex.
- 02.Her academic background is in ethnology, the comparative and analytical study of human cultures, an unusual foundation for a career that led to the prime ministership.
- 03.She was ranked 31st in Forbes magazine's list of the world's 100 most powerful women while serving as Prime Minister of Poland.
- 04.Szydło became only the third woman ever to serve as Prime Minister of Poland, after Hanna Suchocka in the 1990s and Ewa Kopacz, her immediate predecessor.
- 05.After leaving the prime ministership, she was appointed Deputy Prime Minister by her own former deputy, Mateusz Morawiecki, within days of her resignation.