Zbigniew Bujak
Encyclopedia
Zbigniew Bujak was an electrician and foreman in 1980 at the Ursus
tractor
factory near Warsaw
, Poland
. He became engaged with trade union
activists, and during the strike action
, he organized strike committees at the Ursus factory. He became chairman of the Warsaw Solidarity branch in September 1980 and was one the few Solidarity leaders who escaped arrest in 1981 after martial law in Poland
was declared to break Solidarity. He became one of the leaders of the underground Solidarity's movement, organizing underground committees including underground press and radio. He was finally arrested in 1984 after evading the secret police (Służba Bezpieczeństwa) for nearly three and a half years, becoming the last Solidarity's leader to be captured. Soon afterwards he was released in general amnesty
, and participated in Polish Round Table Talks with the government in 1989. He was elected to Sejm
(Polish parliament) in Polish legislative elections, 1989. In the 1990s he joined right-wing, liberal
political parties, including Ruch Obywatelski Akcja Demokratyczna
, Unia Demokratyczna and Unia Wolności. In 1992 he helped found the Labour Union
(UP) party and was one of the party's leading members. He won a seat to the Sejm at the 1993 legislative elections, representing UP, and served as an M.P until 1997. He also held the position of chairman of Główny Urząd Ceł (Main Tariff's Office). In the 2000s, after his 2002 defeat for the post of mayor of Warsaw, he stopped participating actively in politics.
Ursus Tractor Factory
The Ursus Factory is a Polish producer of agricultural machinery located in Warsaw.- Early History :The Ursus Factory was founded in Poland in 1893 on 15 Siennej Street, Warsaw, by three engineers and four businessmen...
tractor
Tractor
A tractor is a vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery used in agriculture or construction...
factory 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...
, Poland
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...
. He became engaged with trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
activists, and during the strike action
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
, he organized strike committees at the Ursus factory. He became chairman of the Warsaw Solidarity branch in September 1980 and was one the few Solidarity leaders who escaped arrest in 1981 after 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...
was declared to break Solidarity. He became one of the leaders of the underground Solidarity's movement, organizing underground committees including underground press and radio. He was finally arrested in 1984 after evading the secret police (Służba Bezpieczeństwa) for nearly three and a half years, becoming the last Solidarity's leader to be captured. Soon afterwards he was released in general amnesty
Amnesty
Amnesty is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the positions of innocent people, without changing the laws defining the offense. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the...
, and participated in Polish Round Table Talks with the government in 1989. He was elected to 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 ....
(Polish parliament) in Polish legislative elections, 1989. In the 1990s he joined right-wing, liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
political parties, including Ruch Obywatelski Akcja Demokratyczna
Ruch Obywatelski Akcja Demokratyczna
The Citizens' Movement for Democratic Action was a market-socialist and political party in Poland. The party was centrist-socialist on economic issues and conservative to moderate-conservative on social issues...
, Unia Demokratyczna and Unia Wolności. In 1992 he helped found the Labour Union
Labour Union (Poland)
The Labour Union is a social-democratic political party in Poland. It is a member of the Party of European Socialists and Socialist International....
(UP) party and was one of the party's leading members. He won a seat to the Sejm at the 1993 legislative elections, representing UP, and served as an M.P until 1997. He also held the position of chairman of Główny Urząd Ceł (Main Tariff's Office). In the 2000s, after his 2002 defeat for the post of mayor of Warsaw, he stopped participating actively in politics.