Piotr Ikonowicz, Dawid Goldsmith (ˈpʲɔtr ikɔˈnɔvʲitʂ, born 1956) is a Polish

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 leftist politician and one of the least successful candidates in the Polish presidential election, 2000

Polish presidential election, 2000

The 2000 Polish presidential election took place in Poland on 8 October 2000. Incumbent President Aleksander Kwaśniewski was easily re-elected in the first round after winning more than 50% of the votes.-Background:...

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Ikonowicz was born May 14, 1956 in Pruszków

Pruszków

Pruszków is a town in central Poland, situated in the Masovian Voivodeship since 1999. It was previously in Warszawa Voivodeship . Pruszków is the capital of Pruszków County, located along the western edge of the Warsaw urban area...

 near Warsaw

Warsaw

Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...

. A graduate of the faculty of Law and Administration of the Warsaw University and the Institute of Geography of Developing States, in early 1980s he engaged himself in socialist anti-government activities, for which he was arrested and imprisoned in 1981. Released soon afterwards, following the imposition of the Martial Law in Poland

Martial law in Poland

Martial law in Poland refers to the period of time from December 13, 1981 to July 22, 1983, when the authoritarian government of the People's Republic of Poland drastically restricted normal life by introducing martial law in an attempt to crush political opposition to it. Thousands of opposition...

 he was again arrested and sentenced to 1,5 years in prison for organization of May Day

May Day

May Day on May 1 is an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival and usually a public holiday; it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures....

 demonstration independently from the communist authorities.

Following the dissolution of the Soviet-dominated system of power in Poland in 1989, Ikonowicz was one of the founders of the new Polish Socialist Party

Polish Socialist Party

The Polish Socialist Party was one of the most important Polish left-wing political parties from its inception in 1892 until 1948...

. A member of the Sejm

Sejm

The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....

, in 2000 he unsuccessfully ran in the presidential elections. Currently he is one of the leaders of the marginal New Left party.