20 Facts About Henryka Bochniarz

Henryka Teodora Bochniarz was born on in Swiebodzin on 29 October 1947 and is a Polish economist and administrator who is a former Minister of Industry and Trade in the Government of Poland.

Henryka Bochniarz graduated from the Foreign Trade Faculty at Warsaw School of Economics in 1971.

Henryka Bochniarz was awarded a Fulbright scholarship and spent two years doing research and teaching at the University of Minnesota.

Between 1971 and 1990, Henryka Bochniarz was an academic lecturer and researcher at the Institute for Business Cycles and Prices at the Main School for Planning and Statistics.

In 1990, Henryka Bochniarz founded Nicom Consulting, one of the first consulting companies in Poland.

In 1991, Prime Minister Jan Krzysztof Bielecki invited Henryka Bochniarz to become the Minister of Industry and Trade consolidating two previously separated ministries.

In 1996, Henryka Bochniarz was elected as the chair of the Polish Business Roundtable.

In 2002, Henryka Bochniarz became Deputy Chair of the Tripartite Commission.

Henryka Bochniarz has played an active role in the dialogue between government, employers' associations and trade union bodies.

In 2005, Henryka Bochniarz was the Polish Democratic Party's candidate in an unsuccessful bid to become President of Poland.

Currently Henryka Bochniarz serves as a member of the Council of Presidents of BUSINESSEUROPE, the biggest employers' organization in the European Union.

Henryka Bochniarz is a member of the European Commission Enterprise and Industry Advisory Group, a consultative committee established by the commissioner Antonio Tajani.

Henryka Bochniarz is a former member of the Enterprise Policy Group at the European Commission, advising on the economic policy of the European Union.

Dr Henryka Bochniarz participated in the works of BIAC - The Business and Industry Advisory Committee, an advisory organisation to OECD, which represents groups of entrepreneurs from OECD member states.

Henryka Bochniarz is the originator of the European Forum for New Ideas, an international congress of business communities, economists and experts devoted to seeking meaningful solutions to the most fundamental economic problems facing Europe.

Henryka Bochniarz has established and donated the initial endowment for the 'Prymus' Foundation promoting and providing equal educational opportunities for children in rural areas.

Henryka Bochniarz participated in the works of the Junior Achievement Foundation, established to prepare children and youth to live in the conditions of market economy and civil society.

At the 20th anniversary of democratic transformation in Poland, Henryka Bochniarz co-founded the Congress of Women, which became an important social movement and initiated the parity legislation in Poland.

Henryka Bochniarz is a laureate of the Andrzej Baczkowski Award for extraordinary contribution to the development of social dialogue in Poland and activities beyond political differences; Kisiel Prize for independent thinking and entrepreneurship.

Henryka Bochniarz was decorated with the Japanese Order of the Rising Sun, Golden and Silver Star.