VOICE’ S AWARD Chair of the Year: Previous winners
By Andrzej Jonas 29 January 2003
2001 - Adam Małysz
In that year the Voice decided to award the Chair of the Year to Polish ski jumper Adam Małysz. This 23-year-old highlander from a small town of Wisła has flown down innumerable hills, beating his rivals from all over the world with a somewhat shy smile. In that year, he was a good spirit that won the imagination and hearts of Poles, bringing back the hope and faith in the nation's strong points that can help Poles face difficulties; that Poles can fly as high and far, and beautifully.
2000 - Aleksander Kwaśniewski
The Chair of the Year 2000 was awarded to President Aleksander Kwaśniewski. His victory in the presidential elections was the result of consistent efforts to connect instead of dividing Polish society, to meet the expectations of voters who five years earlier entrusted him with the presidential mission. Kwaćniewski has participated in the historical success of furthering Poles' political awareness. One of its results was the return of the leftists as a modern European party overcoming the historical stigmas to become a full-fledged and accepted participant of Poland's political scene.
1999 - Bronisław Geremek
It was certainly a very difficult year. The long-awaited necessary reforms that, however, were difficult to implement, demonstrated their strong and weak sides. The political and social scene underwent many shocks. It was also a very important year on the international stage. Poland joined NATO and intensified negotiations with the European Union; other highlights included the Kosovo crisis, the war in Chechnya, the Moscow meanders and Belarusian issues.
The more difficult and complex issues appear, the bigger the need for clarity and credibility. That need was felt by Poles and people observing Poland. In the Voice's opinion, that need was met by the Polish foreign minister at the time, Bronisław Geremek.
1998 - Jerzy Buzek
The Chair of the Year 1998 went to Jerzy Buzek. In 1997 this Solidarity activist, who chaired the trade union's congresses but was unknown to a wider audience, became the prime minister after the parliamentary election victory of the Solidarity Election Action (AWS) and the Freedom Union (UW).
He considered the task of reforming the state his main goal. In his first year in office, the government and the Sejm adopted a program of key economic and administrative reforms and started their implementation.
1997 - Tadeusz Mazowiecki, Roman Kluska
The Chair of the Decade, marking the 10th anniversary of establishment of The Warsaw Voice, was a tie.
It was awarded to the politician who in a symbolic and practical way contributed the most to the process of changes in Poland. In the opinion of The Warsaw Voice, Tadeusz Mazowiecki was such a person. The first noncommunist prime minister of postwar Poland, Mazowiecki was also among the main creators of the new Constitution. At present he is chairman of the European Integration Committee in the Polish Sejm. A politician faithful to his principles and a former dissident, imprisoned under martial law, he has been a rational supporter of deep reforms based on Polish traditions and a consistent opponent of extreme measures that might produce conflicts in society. Mazowiecki was a UN special envoy to Bosnia; his reports on humanitarian issues shocked the world.
The award in 1997 was also handed to Roman Kluska, a manager who scored the biggest success in the Polish economy and became a European-scale entrepreneur. Under his leadership, the computer firm Optimus evolved from a small local company into a European business belonging to the group of the biggest computer companies. At present Optimus is the biggest Polish producer of computers. It has been listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange since August 1994 and its market value is estimated at zl.606 million.
1996
The passenger car market in 1996 turned out to be the most dynamic sector of the economy in Poland in that year. It also turned out that it was the fastest growing passenger car market in Europe. The award was handed to 10 companies that held the largest share in the Polish passenger car market in 1996.
1995
The Supreme Court's Chamber of Administration, Labor and Social Security received the Chair of the Year 1995 for proving that in a democratic state, law comes before politics, and judges come before politicians.
1994 - Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz
The award for Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz in that year was also a proof of the changes in Poland. For the second time, the chair of the year was awarded not to a politician, but to a person influencing economic policy. As president of the National Bank of Poland, Gronkiewicz-Waltz strengthened the position of the Polish currency. Under her rule, the zloty slowly emerged as the strongest and most stable currency in Central Europe. She efficiently managed the complex process of redenomination of the zloty.
1993 - Wiesław Rozłucki
The Chair of the Year 1993 went to Wiesław Rozłucki, president of the Warsaw Stock Exchange. This was the first Voice award for an institution and not an individual. In that year, the stock exchange was the subject of much discussion. This lasted many months, and the fortunes gained at it and bankruptcies it caused helped Poles understand-after many decades of a stock exchange absence from the country's economy-the free market system and the role of securities trade as some of the most important indicators of economic changes.
1992 - Hanna Suchocka
Hanna Suchocka, the laureate of the Chair of the Year 1992, received that award for efficient management of the government coalition that included the Democratic Union (UD) beside the Christian National Union (ZChN). As prime minister, Suchocka managed to ensure proper functioning of her Cabinet and continuation of the reform process, despite tensions in the ruling camp.
Under Suchocka's rule, Poland recorded economic growth for the first time since 1989. Suchocka also enjoyed a good reputation on the international arena.
1991 - The Cabinet of Jan Krzysztof Bielecki
The Cabinet of Jan Krzysztof Bielecki, the next laureate of the Voice award, was intended as a temporary government until the next parliamentary elections. In the opinion of the observers of changes in Poland, in 1991 it was easy to reverse the reforms and substantially hamper Poland's road to a free market. Fortunately, that did not happen, to a large extent owing to the attitude of the head of the government at that time.
1990 - Leszek Balcerowicz
After a politically turbulent year, the year was marked by intense economic change that is now called "controlled shock" in specialist publications in the West and East. It also received another widely recognized name, "Balcerowicz's plan". The Voice award went to the plan's creator, professor of economics Leszek Balcerowicz, the man who, despite strong criticism and protests, consistently implemented his plan of changes of Poland's economic system.
1989 - Lech Wałęsa
In 1989, when The Warsaw Voice initiated the tradition of awarding its Chair of the Year, there could be no doubts about the candidate. It had to be Lech Wałęsa, then the leader of the Solidarity trade union, which at that time united the entire democratic opposition in Poland. The system change in Poland took place under the leadership of Wałęsa. A day before the end of 1989, the official name of the Polish state was changed from the Polish People's Republic to the Republic of Poland.
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In that year the Voice decided to award the Chair of the Year to Polish ski jumper Adam Małysz. This 23-year-old highlander from a small town of Wisła has flown down innumerable hills, beating his rivals from all over the world with a somewhat shy smile. In that year, he was a good spirit that won the imagination and hearts of Poles, bringing back the hope and faith in the nation's strong points that can help Poles face difficulties; that Poles can fly as high and far, and beautifully.
The Chair of the Year 2000 was awarded to President Aleksander Kwaśniewski. His victory in the presidential elections was the result of consistent efforts to connect instead of dividing Polish society, to meet the expectations of voters who five years earlier entrusted him with the presidential mission. Kwaćniewski has participated in the historical success of furthering Poles' political awareness. One of its results was the return of the leftists as a modern European party overcoming the historical stigmas to become a full-fledged and accepted participant of Poland's political scene.
It was certainly a very difficult year. The long-awaited necessary reforms that, however, were difficult to implement, demonstrated their strong and weak sides. The political and social scene underwent many shocks. It was also a very important year on the international stage. Poland joined NATO and intensified negotiations with the European Union; other highlights included the Kosovo crisis, the war in Chechnya, the Moscow meanders and Belarusian issues.
The Chair of the Year 1998 went to Jerzy Buzek. In 1997 this Solidarity activist, who chaired the trade union's congresses but was unknown to a wider audience, became the prime minister after the parliamentary election victory of the Solidarity Election Action (AWS) and the Freedom Union (UW).
It was awarded to the politician who in a symbolic and practical way contributed the most to the process of changes in Poland. In the opinion of The Warsaw Voice, Tadeusz Mazowiecki was such a person. The first noncommunist prime minister of postwar Poland, Mazowiecki was also among the main creators of the new Constitution. At present he is chairman of the European Integration Committee in the Polish Sejm. A politician faithful to his principles and a former dissident, imprisoned under martial law, he has been a rational supporter of deep reforms based on Polish traditions and a consistent opponent of extreme measures that might produce conflicts in society. Mazowiecki was a UN special envoy to Bosnia; his reports on humanitarian issues shocked the world.
The award in 1997 was also handed to Roman Kluska, a manager who scored the biggest success in the Polish economy and became a European-scale entrepreneur. Under his leadership, the computer firm Optimus evolved from a small local company into a European business belonging to the group of the biggest computer companies. At present Optimus is the biggest Polish producer of computers. It has been listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange since August 1994 and its market value is estimated at zl.606 million.
The award for Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz in that year was also a proof of the changes in Poland. For the second time, the chair of the year was awarded not to a politician, but to a person influencing economic policy. As president of the National Bank of Poland, Gronkiewicz-Waltz strengthened the position of the Polish currency. Under her rule, the zloty slowly emerged as the strongest and most stable currency in Central Europe. She efficiently managed the complex process of redenomination of the zloty.
The Chair of the Year 1993 went to Wiesław Rozłucki, president of the Warsaw Stock Exchange. This was the first Voice award for an institution and not an individual. In that year, the stock exchange was the subject of much discussion. This lasted many months, and the fortunes gained at it and bankruptcies it caused helped Poles understand-after many decades of a stock exchange absence from the country's economy-the free market system and the role of securities trade as some of the most important indicators of economic changes.
Hanna Suchocka, the laureate of the Chair of the Year 1992, received that award for efficient management of the government coalition that included the Democratic Union (UD) beside the Christian National Union (ZChN). As prime minister, Suchocka managed to ensure proper functioning of her Cabinet and continuation of the reform process, despite tensions in the ruling camp.
The Cabinet of Jan Krzysztof Bielecki, the next laureate of the Voice award, was intended as a temporary government until the next parliamentary elections. In the opinion of the observers of changes in Poland, in 1991 it was easy to reverse the reforms and substantially hamper Poland's road to a free market. Fortunately, that did not happen, to a large extent owing to the attitude of the head of the government at that time.
After a politically turbulent year, the year was marked by intense economic change that is now called "controlled shock" in specialist publications in the West and East. It also received another widely recognized name, "Balcerowicz's plan". The Voice award went to the plan's creator, professor of economics Leszek Balcerowicz, the man who, despite strong criticism and protests, consistently implemented his plan of changes of Poland's economic system.
In 1989, when The Warsaw Voice initiated the tradition of awarding its Chair of the Year, there could be no doubts about the candidate. It had to be Lech Wałęsa, then the leader of the Solidarity trade union, which at that time united the entire democratic opposition in Poland. The system change in Poland took place under the leadership of Wałęsa. A day before the end of 1989, the official name of the Polish state was changed from the Polish People's Republic to the Republic of Poland.
