View source for Jacek Saryusz-Wolski

{{Short description|Polish diplomat and politician}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Jacek Saryusz-Wolski
| image               = Saryusz-Wolski-1.jpg
| imagesize           = 
| caption             = Jacek Saryusz-Wolski speaking in the European Parliament in Brussels
| constituency_MP     = [[Łódź (European Parliament constituency)|Łódź]]
| parliament          = European
| term_start          = 20 July 2004
| term_end            = July 16 2024
| successor           = [[Waldemar Buda]]
| birth_date          = {{birth date and age|1948|09|19|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Łódź]], Poland
| death_date          = 
| death_place         = 
| alma_mater          = [[University of Łódź]]
| constituency        = 
| party               = [[Law and Justice]] (2019–present)
| spouse              = Grazyna
| children            = 2
| profession          = diplomat, politician, director at [[Collegium Civitas]]
| signature           = Jacek Saryusz-Wolski signature.svg
| website             = {{URL|saryusz-wolski.pl}}
| otherparty          = [[Civic Platform]] (2004–2019)
}}

'''Jacek Emil Saryusz-Wolski''' (born 19 September 1948) is a Polish diplomat and PiS ([[Law and Justice]]) politician.  He has been a [[Member of the European Parliament]] (MEP) since June 2004.<ref name=eup>[http://www.europarl.europa.eu/members/expert/groupAndCountry/view.do?partNumber=1&group=1533&country=PL&language=PL&id=28297 European Parliament website, Jacek Saryusz-Wolski]</ref> He served as vice president of the [[European Parliament]] (2004–2007). Saryusz-Wolski is chairman of the executive board of the “Foundation College of Europe”, in charge of the Natolin campus of the [[College of Europe]].

== Early life and education ==
Saryusz-Wolski comes from a family of the [[Jelita coat of arms]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://wiadomosci.wp.pl/kat,108240,title,Jacek-Saryusz-Wolski---zyciorys,wid,11107057,wiadomosc.html |title=Jacek Saryusz-Wolski – życiorys |website=wp.pl |date=26 May 2009 |access-date=2011-09-27|language=pl}}</ref> His father, Emil, a chemical engineer, was stationed with Polish troops in Britain during the Second World War, while his mother, Eryka, worked as a landscape gardener.<ref name="Pole Positioner">Martin Banks (April 13, 2005), [http://www.politico.eu/article/pole-positioner/ Pole Positioner] ''[[European Voice]]''.</ref>

He graduated from the First High School of "Nicolaus Copernicus" in [[Łódź]] and he obtained a degree in economics from the [[University of Łódź]]. He also completed postgraduate studies at the ''Centre Européen Universitaire'' in [[Nancy, France]]. In the 1970s he was a lecturer on the [[European Communities]] at the [[University of Łódź]] and in the 1980s he was an assistant professor in the Department of Socialist Political Economy of the [[University of Łódź]].<ref>''Uniwersytet Łódzki, Skład Osobowy, Rok Akademicki 1984/1985'', Łódź 1985, {{ISBN|83-7016-084-0}}</ref> At the turn of the 1980s and 1990s led the Center for European Studies at the University of Łódź.

==Political career==
{{BLP sources section|date=August 2023}}
Saryusz-Wolski was nominated the first Polish [[plenipotentiary]] for European integration and foreign aids (''pełnomocnik ds. integracji europejskiej i pomocy zagranicznej'') when this office was created in 1991 by the prime minister [[Jan Krzysztof Bielecki]].<ref name=eup/> He held this position till 1996, despite the frequent government changes. He returned to the government in 2000, when the prime minister [[Jerzy Buzek]] has nominated him a secretary in the European Integration Committee (''Komitet Integracji Europejskiej''). Jacek Saryusz-Wolski played an important role in the negotiations in [[Treaty of Nice|Nice]] in 2000. In 2001, he unsuccessfully ran for the Polish Senate on behalf of ''Blok Senat 2001''.

===Member of the European Parliament ===
Saryusz-Wolski was elected an MEP at the [[2004 European Parliament election in Poland|European Parliament election on 13 June 2004]], as a candidate of [[Civic Platform]], in the constituency #6 ([[Łódź Voivodship]]) receiving 66,589 votes (that is 16.92%, the best result in the region).

On 20 July 2004, he was elected as one of the Vice Presidents of the European Parliament for the [[European People's Party|EPP]], and was at the position till 16 January 2007.<ref name=po>[http://www.platforma.org/en/people/national-board-executives/vice-chairman/art4,jacek-saryusz-wolski.html Website of Platforma Obywatelska, Jacek Saryusz-Wolski]</ref> He was re-elected in [[2009 European Parliament election in Poland|2009]] and  [[2014 European Parliament election in Poland|2014]].

Since first joining the European Parliament, Saryusz-Wolski has been a member of the [[European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs|Committee on Foreign Affairs]], which he chaired between 2007 and 2009.

In late 2004, Saryusz-Wolski's candidacy to become Poland’s first-ever [[European Commissioner]] was supported by the main Polish opposition parties but the post eventually went to the country’s Europe minister, [[Danuta Hübner]].<ref name="Pole Positioner"/>

In March 2006, Saryusz-Wolski was elected vice president of the [[European People's Party]] (EPP)<ref name=jsw>{{Cite web |url=http://www.saryusz-wolski.pl/ |title=Dr. Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, official website |access-date=2010-01-30 |archive-date=2013-12-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203013526/http://www.saryusz-wolski.pl/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> for a three-year term. He also served as vice-president and member of the national board of [[Civic Platform]] until October 2010 and as leader of the Polish delegation of centre-right MEPs until 2012.<ref>[http://www.politico.eu/article/emotional-roller-coaster/ Emotional roller-coaster] ''[[European Voice]]'', March 7, 2012.</ref> In 2007, the Civic Platform failed to secure sufficient backing from within the centre-right [[European People’s Party]] Group for Saryusz-Wolski, its candidate as for the post of vice-president of the European Parliament.<ref name="ft.com">Andrew Bounds (January 16, 2007), [https://www.ft.com/content/447c3bd6-a58c-11db-a4e0-0000779e2340 Polish and German MEPs fight over key jobs] ''[[Financial Times]]''.</ref>

In 2010, Saryusz-Wolski joined the ''Friends of the EEAS'', a unofficial and independent pressure group formed because of concerns that the [[High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy]] [[Catherine Ashton]] was not paying sufficient attention to the Parliament and was sharing too little information on the formation of the [[European External Action Service]].<ref>Toby Vogel (March 3, 2010), [http://www.politico.eu/article/meps-struggle-to-influence-creation-of-diplomatic-corps/ MEPs struggle to influence creation of diplomatic corps] ''[[Politico Europe|European Voice]]''.</ref>

In addition to his parliamentary assignments, Saryusz-Wolski chaired the [[European People's Party|EPP Energy Ministers Meeting]] until 2017.<ref>[http://www.epp.eu/about-us/structure/ Council of the EU and Ministerial meetings] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160927131847/http://www.epp.eu/about-us/structure/ |date=2016-09-27 }} [[European People’s Party]] (EPP).</ref> In 2015, he and [[Françoise Grossetête]] guided the EPP’s working groups on economy and environment and foreign affairs in developing options for getting the EU to speak with a unified voice on external energy security matters.<ref>Anca Gurzu (September 2, 2015), [http://www.politico.eu/article/epp-energy-security-russia-poland/EPP tension on energy security] ''[[Politico Europe]]''.</ref>

In March 2017, the [[Cabinet of Beata Szydło|Polish government]] of Prime Minister [[Beata Szydło]] openly opposed the reelection of [[Donald Tusk]] as [[President of the European Council]] for a second two-and-a-half year term and put forward Saryusz-Wolski as a challenger.<ref>David M. Herszenhorn (March 5, 2017), [http://www.politico.eu/article/epp-threatens-to-expel-polish-mep-for-challenging-tusk/ EPP threatens to expel Polish MEP for challenging Tusk] ''[[Politico Europe]]''.</ref> After Saryusz-Wolski accepted the nomination for council president, Civic Platform ejected him from the party. He was subsequently stripped of his position of vice-president within the EPP.<ref>David M. Herszenhorn and Jan Cienski (March 7, 2017), [http://www.politico.eu/article/jacek-saryusz-wolski-the-man-who-would-be-donald-tusk-poland/ The man who would be Tusk] ''[[Politico Europe]]''.</ref> He also stopped being a member of the EPP group in the Parliament.

In February 2019, he was appointed as the leader of the  [[Law and Justice]] (PiS) list in the [[2019 European Parliament election in Poland|European elections]] in constituency No. 4 (Warsaw).<ref>{{cite web|title=PiS podaje "jedynki" do europarlamentu. Na liście wielu członków rządu i była premier|url=http://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wiadomosci/7,114884,24472830,beata-szydlo-bedzie-jedynka-na-liscie-pis-do-pe-terlecki.html|agency=gazeta.pl|date=19 February 2019|access-date=2019-02-20}}</ref>
In March of the same year he joined the parliamentary group of [[European Conservatives and Reformists Group|European Conservatives and Reformists]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Jacek Saryusz-Wolski zasilił frakcję Europejskich Konserwatystów i Reformatorów|url=http://telewizjarepublika.pl/jacek-saryusz-wolski-zasilil-frakcje-europejskich-konserwatystow-i-reformatorow,78007.html|agency=telewizjarepublika.pl|date=27 March 2019|access-date=2019-03-27|archive-date=2019-03-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327112548/http://telewizjarepublika.pl/jacek-saryusz-wolski-zasilil-frakcje-europejskich-konserwatystow-i-reformatorow,78007.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
As a result of the May vote, he was elected the MEP for the fourth time, receiving 186,851 votes.<ref>{{cite web|title=Serwis PKW – Wybory 2019|url=https://pe2019.pkw.gov.pl/pe2019/pl/wyniki/komitet/19913/okr/4|access-date=2019-05-31}}</ref>

==Political positions==
Saryusz-Wolski is widely regarded as having played a big role in the 2004 [[Orange Revolution]] in Ukraine and in support for the opposition in [[Belarus]].<ref name="ft.com"/> In the debate on the EU’s energy diversification and security policies, he has in the past argued that “[[Nord Stream 2]] would be, above all, detrimental in geopolitical terms . . . for the purpose of exerting more political pressure and applying blackmail on the EU, its eastern member states and its eastern neighbours.”<ref>Henry Foy (November 29, 2015), [http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/eb1ebca8-9514-11e5-ac15-0f7f7945adba.html Eastern Europe to confront Berlin over new Russian gas pipeline] ''[[Financial Times]]''.</ref>

In 2015, news media reported that Saryusz-Wolski was included in a Russian blacklist of prominent people from the [[European Union]] who are not allowed to enter the country.<ref>Laurence Norman (May 30, 2015), [https://www.wsj.com/articles/russia-produces-blacklist-of-eu-people-banned-from-entering-russia-1432986289 Russia Produces Blacklist of EU People Banned From Entering Country] ''[[Wall Street Journal]]''.</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-32949236 European Union anger at Russian travel blacklist] ''[[BBC News]]'', May 31, 2015.</ref>

==Other activities==
* [[European Policy Centre]], member of the Strategic Council
* European Union Institute at [[Collegium Civitas]], director
* [[Natolin European Centre]], chairman
* [[College of Europe Foundation]] at the [[College of Europe]] campus in [[Natolin]], chairman
* [[Euro-Atlantic Association]], member
* [[Polish Institute of International Affairs]] (PISM), deputy chairman
* German-Polish-Ukrainian Society (GPUS), member<ref>[http://gpu-society.org/members Members] German-Polish-Ukrainian Society (GPUS).</ref>

==Recognition==
Saryusz-Wolski has been awarded the Commander's Cross of the [[Order of Polonia Restituta]] (2003),<ref>{{Monitor Polski|rok=2004|numer=12|pozycja=188}}</ref> the French [[Legion of Honour]] (2003),<ref>{{cite web | url = http://wiadomosci.wp.pl/kat,1356,title,Saryusz-Wolski-Kawalerem-Legii-Honorowej,wid,582274,wiadomosc.html?ticaid=1d884 |title=Saryusz-Wolski Kawalerem Legii Honorowej |website=wp.pl |date=12 February 2003 |access-date=2011-12-10|language=pl}}</ref> the [[Order of Merit (Ukraine)|Ukrainian Order of Merit]] of 1st Class (2006),<ref name="president.gov.ua-2006">{{cite web|url=http://president.gov.ua/documents/4873.html |title=Указ Президента України № 698/2006 |website=president.gov.ua |language=uk |access-date=2011-09-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140710094228/http://president.gov.ua/documents/4873.html |archive-date=July 10, 2014 }}</ref> the Georgian [[St. George's Order of Victory]] (2013).<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.rp.pl/artykul/1063120.html |title=Polscy europosłowie otrzymali gruzińskie odznaczenia państwowe |date=7 November 2013 |website=rp.pl |access-date=2015-08-29|language=pl}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Saryusz-Wolski is married to his wife, Grazyna, a professor in English literature at Lodz University. The couple have a son and a daughter.<ref name="Pole Positioner"/>

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110717135413/http://nauka-polska.pl/dhtml/raporty/ludzieNauki?rtype=opis&objectId=10487&lang=pl Nauka Polska]
* [http://www.coleurop.be/w/Jacek.SaryuszWolski College of Europe] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101202112504/http://coleurop.be/w/Jacek.SaryuszWolski |date=2010-12-02 }}

{{Current EP Poland}}
{{EP Political Group ECR}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saryusz-Wolski, Jacek}}
[[Category:1948 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:College of Europe alumni]]
[[Category:Law and Justice MEPs]]
[[Category:MEPs for Poland 2004–2009]]
[[Category:MEPs for Poland 2009–2014]]
[[Category:MEPs for Poland 2014–2019]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the University of Łódź]]
[[Category:University of Łódź alumni]]
[[Category:MEPs for Poland 2019–2024]]
[[Category:Academic staff of Collegium Civitas]]