53 Facts About Andrzej Lepper

Andrzej Lepper served as both the Deputy Prime Minister of Poland and Minister of Agriculture twice throughout 2006 and 2007, and was the Deputy Marshal of the Sejm from 2005 to 2006.

Andrzej Lepper entered Polish politics in 1991 as the leader of farmer protests, and founded Self-Defence as a political party and trade union in 1992.

Andrzej Lepper was a candidate in the Polish presidential election in 1995,2000,2005 and 2010.

Andrzej Lepper was a candidate in the Polish parliamentary elections between 1991 Polish parliamentary election and 2007, becoming elected in 2001 and then in 2005.

Andrzej Lepper became a polarizing figure towards the end of his career after accusations of harassment and corruption, which he denied.

Andrzej Lepper's party collapsed in the 2007 election, losing all of its 56 seats.

On 5 August 2011, Andrzej Lepper's hanged body was found in his office, and it was ruled a suicide the same day.

Andrzej Lepper had acted erratically prior to his death and claimed to fear for his life and to be invigilated.

Andrzej Lepper was born in Stowiecino, a tiny hamlet of roughly 200 people.

Andrzej Lepper had no formal higher education, but was presented with several doctor honoris causa awards, including by the University of Kyiv in recognition of his work, commitment and outreach.

Andrzej Lepper was married and together with his wife Irena had three children.

The first time Andrzej Lepper rose to a position of political leadership was in the summer 1991, when he organized and led a farmer protest movement against the disastrous economic conditions in Polish agriculture and lack of state assistance to those impoverished by the ongoing capitalist transition.

Already back then, Andrzej Lepper was considering proposing an alternative economic system to the capitalist one.

Rural Solidarity wanted to preserve their official and civil image by keeping to peaceful protests, while the group organized against Andrzej Lepper insisted on more confrontational measures.

On 6 November 1991, Andrzej Lepper's group organized a hunger strike, which came to be considered "spectacular".

Andrzej Lepper organised anti-government demonstrations and other actions, most significantly against the politics of the Suchocka and Buzek governments, both characterised by growing social and socio-economic injustice, especially experienced in the Polish countryside.

Andrzej Lepper quickly attracted the interests of the media and politicians, as well as the courts.

Andrzej Lepper's margin was attributed to a "wake up call" effect, as he performed the best in places with lowest turnout, mobilizing non-voters to participate in the election.

Andrzej Lepper was initially opposed to both candidates, denouncing the election of "sham democracy" of oligarchic character in which "Poles voted for different parties and still Balcerowicz jumped out of the ballot box".

Andrzej Lepper led the Samoobrona party to form a majority coalition with the Law and Justice party in May 2006, assuming the office of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture.

Andrzej Lepper ran in the 2008 Polish Senate by-election in Krosno, which was contested by 12 other candidates.

Andrzej Lepper believed that he had a chance to succeed - he believed that since Krosno was overwhelmingly rural, 'a farmer will always get along with a farmer'.

Andrzej Lepper discussed his achievements when he served as Minister of Agriculture, highlighting his water management program and aid for semi-subsistence farms.

However, Maria Zbyrowska, the former leader of Samoobrona in the region, ran in the election and criticized Andrzej Lepper for running in the Podkarpackie region despite being born in Pomerania.

Samoobrona and Andrzej Lepper successfully tapped into the disillusion felt by millions of poor citizens who had not benefited from Poland's transition to capitalism and entry into the European Union.

Andrzej Lepper embodied the public discontent and social costs of the Balcerowicz Plan, an economic plan drafted by Jeffrey Sachs that dissolved the socialist planned economy in Poland in favor of a neoliberal market economy.

Andrzej Lepper was classified as a far-left populist, and was dubbed "Polish Chavez" by the international media.

Andrzej Lepper has been compared to figures such as Jose Bove, Evo Morales, and Juan Peron in that regard.

Andrzej Lepper promoted socialism on the basis of Catholic social teaching and the tradition of the Polish peasant movement, and his views were described as a mix of "folkish Catholicism and Polish socialism" by the media.

The political rhetoric of Andrzej Lepper was full of nostalgic references to the communist Polish People's Republic, especially in regard to the rule of reformist Edward Gierek.

Andrzej Lepper divided the Polish society into the 'children of Balcerowicz' which he described as businessmen who built 'capital empires' on privatization, as well as the 'victims of Balcerowicz' who "were robbed by Balcerowicz's financial politics" and were plunged into poverty by the neoliberal shock therapy reforms.

Andrzej Lepper defended Communist Poland as overall positive, noting that despite problems such as the overgrowth of the bureaucracy and anti-Catholic policies, it was a "semi-sovereign state" that had more achievements than faults, such as the post-war reconstruction, development of industry, infrastructure and housing, the development of education and health care, social security, as well as "the social advancement of millions of formerly disinherited citizens".

Andrzej Lepper praised socialism as a "a system which put man first" and which was "in line with the commandments of the Church".

Andrzej Lepper believed that the downfall of Communist Poland was caused by the anti-worker elites of the PZPR, while praising the rank-and-file members who stayed true to "genuinely socialist ideals and values".

Andrzej Lepper argued that within the EU, Poland fulfills 'the role of a third category country in the European Union.

Andrzej Lepper stressed that he personally "is in favour of the EU, but not under these conditions".

The party treated the results of the referendum with skepticism - Andrzej Lepper argued that with a much higher turnout, the No vote would have won.

Andrzej Lepper remained a Eurosceptic, but later toned down his position.

Janusz Wojciechowski, a long-standing Polish Member of the European Parliament, argued that contrary to his reputation as a vulgar populist, Andrzej Lepper "was a really good minister of agriculture" whose conduct was professional yet tough.

Wojciechowski credits Andrzej Lepper with negotiating numerous concessions for Polish farmers and fruit producers from the European Union and sees this as proof that Andrzej Lepper's "concern for the poor and excluded was not for show, but genuine".

Andrzej Lepper was one of the few high-profile politicians who consistently opposed Poland's involvement in American global military operations.

Andrzej Lepper was involved in promoting close relations with the country's eastern neighbours: Ukraine, Russia and Belarus.

The core of Andrzej Lepper's views was opposition to globalization, capitalism and neoliberalism, which Andrzej Lepper considered epitomised by Leszek Balcerowicz.

Andrzej Lepper's party stressed the primacy of man before capital, and used slogans such as "Man, Family, Work - a life of dignity".

Andrzej Lepper himself appeared to be a restless man, not easily placated and not inclined to settle down as an officeholder, as his participation in Kaczynski's government showed.

The Anti-Defamation League strongly condemned Andrzej Lepper for accepting these titles.

Andrzej Lepper was charged with criminal offenses, including assault, blocking roads and dumping grain on railroad tracks in the course of anti-government demonstrations.

In May 2001 Andrzej Lepper was sentenced to sixteen months in prison.

Andrzej Lepper said that the entire case against him was "imagined", and that he would appeal the decision.

In 2011, the court overturned the verdict against Andrzej Lepper, citing procedural errors such as failure to take into account Andrzej Lepper's alibi.

Andrzej Lepper claimed to have been the victim of a politically motivated sting operation, initiated by Kaczynski and PiS, and he demanded that a parliamentary inquiry be conducted to investigate the legality and motivation of the Central Anticorruption Bureau operation mounted against him.

Andrzej Lepper was found dead in his Warsaw office on 5 August 2011.

Andrzej Lepper hanged himself from a ceiling hook for a punching bag.