1. Ewa Kopacz previously was Marshal of the Sejm from 2011 to 2014, the first woman to hold the office, as well as Prime Minister of Poland from 2014 to 2015.
21 Facts About Ewa Kopacz
1. 2.
Ewa Kopacz succeeded Donald Tusk as prime minister, becoming the second woman to hold the office after Hanna Suchocka.
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Ewa Kopacz was described as one of the leaders of the European Union during her tenure as prime minister.
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Ewa Kopacz was ranked as the world's 40th most powerful woman by Forbes magazine in 2015, placing her ahead of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and American television personality Ellen DeGeneres.
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Ewa Kopacz's father was employed as a mechanic and her mother worked as a tailor.
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Ewa Kopacz was raised in the city of Radom, where she graduated from high school.
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Ewa Kopacz did a residency in family medicine with a focus on pediatrics.
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Ewa Kopacz entered active politics after her late husband, Marek Kopacz, a prosecutor, stood unsuccessfully for parliament.
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In 2001, Ewa Kopacz left the Freedom Union to join the newly established Civic Platform political party.
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Ewa Kopacz was then elected to the Parliament in 2005, where she became head of the Health Committee.
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Ewa Kopacz worked as the chairperson of the Civic Platform structures of Masovia.
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Ewa Kopacz was first elected as a deputy to the Sejm in 2001.
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In 2009 Ewa Kopacz gained some degree of international fame by requesting pharmaceutical companies to present the advantages of swine flu vaccines, and demanding they take full responsibility for the side effects.
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Ewa Kopacz advised the Polish government to wait until proper testing had been done on the vaccine before investing in it, citing the fact that seasonal flu exceeds the current WHO criteria for pandemic every year but there has been no declaration of a pandemic of this much more dangerous seasonal flu.
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On 22 September 2014 Ewa Kopacz was sworn in as prime minister, after Donald Tusk resigned to take office as President of the European Council, and formed a cabinet.
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Ewa Kopacz said her government would not stand for a break-up of neighboring Ukraine and would push for a greater US military presence in Poland as a deterrent to possible Russian aggression.
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At her first EU summit in October 2014, Ewa Kopacz managed to persuade the other Member States that Poland deserved lucrative concessions as part of a deal to cut European carbon emissions.
18.
Poland's 2014 local elections, a ballot expected to provide a solid show of support for Ewa Kopacz, saw her party instead attract fewer votes than the opposition for the first time in almost a decade.
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Ewa Kopacz demoted the official who oversees Poland's intelligence services.
20.
Ewa Kopacz later joined the Special Committee on Beating Cancer and the Special Committee on the COVID-19 pandemic.
21.
When Tusk's sister Sonia suffered a stroke in 2005, Ewa Kopacz became involved in her treatment, travelling to hospitals around Poland with her.