Jump to content

Andrzej Lepper

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Andrzej Lepper
Deputy Prime Minister of Poland
In office
5 May 2006 – 22 September 2006
Prime MinisterKazimierz Marcinkiewicz
Jarosław Kaczyński
Preceded byZyta Gilowska
Succeeded byLudwik Dorn
In office
16 October 2006 – 9 July 2007
Prime MinisterJarosław Kaczyński
Preceded byLudwik Dorn
Succeeded byPrzemysław Gosiewski
Minister of Agriculture
In office
5 May 2006 – 22 September 2006
Prime MinisterKazimierz Marcinkiewicz
Jarosław Kaczyński
Preceded byKrzysztof Jurgiel
Succeeded byJarosław Kaczyński (acting)
In office
16 October 2006 – 9 July 2007
Prime MinisterJarosław Kaczyński
Preceded byJarosław Kaczyński (acting)
Succeeded byWojciech Mojzesowicz
Deputy Marshal of the Sejm
In office
26 October 2005 – 9 May 2006
Preceded byMarek Borowski
Succeeded byGenowefa Wiśniowska
Personal details
Born
Andrzej Zbigniew Lepper

(1954-06-13)13 June 1954
Stowięcino, Poland
Died5 August 2011(2011-08-05) (aged 57)
Warsaw, Poland
Political partySamoobrona RP
Part of a series on
Agrarianism in Poland
Ideologies
Principles
History
Intellectuals
Politicians
Parties
Active

Defunct

Andrzej Zbigniew Lepper (Polish pronunciation: [ˈandʐɛj ˈzbiɡɲɛf ˈlɛppɛr] ⓘ; 13 June 1954 – 5 August 2011) was a Polish politician, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Agriculture, and the leader of Self-Defence of the Republic of Poland. Known for his radical rhetoric and aggressive protests, Lepper was considered a far-left populist,[1] compared to left-wing figures such as José Bové,[2] Hugo Chávez,[3] Evo Morales,[4] and Juan Perón.[5] He left a long-lasting impact on the Polish politics, emerging as the "defender of the oppressed and (...) all working people, the weak, and the needy."[6] He was particularly known for his Balcerowicz must go (Polish: Balcerowicz musi odejść) slogan, which he coined to protest the neoliberal Balcerowicz Plan that deregulated and privatized Polish economy.[7] Lepper considered the capitalist transition "economic genocide".[8]

He was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development between 5 May 2006 and 22 September 2006, and again from 16 October 2006 to 9 July 2007, in the cabinet of Jarosław Kaczyński. Prior to entering politics he was a professional farmer in the village of Zielnowo, Pomerania. 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.[9] His first political office was a councillor of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship Sejmik, when he became elected in the 1998 Polish local elections as part of the Social Alliance coalition.[10] He was a candidate in the Polish presidential election in 1995, 2000, 2005 and 2010. He was also a candidate in the Polish parliamentary elections between 1991 Polish parliamentary election and 2007, becoming elected in 2001 and then in 2005.

Early life

[edit]

Lepper was born in Stowięcino, a tiny hamlet of roughly 200 people.[11] Formerly a thriving community, it became a place of socio-cultural impoverishment and economic struggle since Poland's transformation into a market-based economy. During this transition period his farm, just like majority of small businesses in Poland, found itself on a verge of bankruptcy, but survived.

A farmer by trade, Lepper completed all course-work required at the State Agricultural Technical School in Sypniewo, yet did not undertake the final qualifying exam. He also had no formal higher education,[11] but was presented with several doctor honoris causa awards, including by the University of Kyiv (Ukraine) in recognition of his work, commitment and outreach.[11]

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

Political career

[edit]

For two years (1978–1980) he was a member of the Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR), Poland's equivalent of a formal communist party during the Polish People's Republic (PRL; 1947–1989). In 1992 Lepper formed his own political party, an organisation of economically struggling farmers like himself, naming it Samoobrona (lit. 'self-defence'; SO).[11] 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.[12]

As a party leader, he challenged Aleksander Kwaśniewski in the 1995 presidential election, receiving 1.3% of the vote. In 2000, SO organised campaigns blocking major roads[11] to bring public and mass media attention to the growing impoverishment of Polish agriculture. Lepper won 3.05% of the vote in the 2000 presidential election. In the 2001 parliamentary election, Lepper's party entered the lower chamber of the Polish Parliament (Sejm).[11] Lepper was elected from the Koszalin constituency.[12]

Lepper's party received 11.4% of the vote and 56 seats in the September 2005 parliamentary election, making it the third biggest party in the Sejm. Andrzej Lepper stood in the October 2005 presidential election as the party's candidate and received 15% of the vote, the third highest result.[12]

Lepper led the SO party to form a majority coalition with the Law and Justice (PiS) party in May 2006, assuming the office of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture. His tenure was abruptly terminated in September 2006, but he was invited to rejoin Jarosław Kaczyński's cabinet on 16 October 2006.[12]

Commenting on Lepper's political career, Polish historians Jerzy Łukowski and Hubert Zawadzki note that the Lepper won the support of those who had lost out from the post-communist changes since 1989 and became known as the protector of the poor against the "thieving elites" of Poland. On the other hand, Lepper alienated many by his blatant disregard for parliamentary procedures, its abusive behaviour in the Sejm, and its aggressive demonstrations and blockades across the country.[13]

Political style and views

[edit]

Samoobrona (SRP) and 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. Lepper presented himself and his party as the “the only one in Poland, which speaks in the name of all people”, and made it his goal to “defend pure and unemployed people, honest and enterprising, but disadvantaged by the economical system”.[14] 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. This was achieved at the price of massive unemployment, layoffs and a 40% decline in real wages, as well as large expansion of income inequality and slashed welfare. Polish political scientist Jarosław Tomasiewicz notes that Lepper showed that while internationally the Polish capitalist transformation was celeberated as successful, in reality it "took place against a backdrop of repression of the workers, kidnappings and arrests of trade unionists, violent clashes with protesters or a mass exodus of desperate workers".[15] Lepper's popularity only grew even as the plan brought economic growth by 2000, as this growth did not trickle down to the impoverished masses.[16]

Lepper was classified as a far-left populist,[1][2] and was dubbed "Polish Chávez" by the international media.[3] He has also been compared to figures such as José Bové,[2] Evo Morales,[4] and Juan Perón in that regard.[5] He was known for his anti-capitalist rhetoric, and the pamphlets distributed by this party included declarations such as: "Capitalism is by no means an immutable constant. It must eventually make way for new forms of human relations and a new environmental morality. The new post-capitalist era is already emerging."[17] Lepper also called for the return of socialism in Poland, arguing that it had "not yet reached full maturity".[18] Lepper promoted socialism on the basis of the 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.[19]

The political rhetoric of Lepper was also full of nostalgic references to the communist Polish People's Republic, especially in regards to the rule of reformist Edward Gierek. Lepper's main electorate became former communists as well as former employees of socialist rural cooperatives known as State Agricultural Farms. He 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 financial politics" and were plunged into poverty by the neoliberal shock therapy reforms.[20]

Lepper's communist background was also visible in his stances regarding foreign policy - he was critical of the European Union and favoured a pro-Eastern alignment of Poland. He accused pro-European parties of trying "to transform Poland into an outlet for the West's surplus production." He was a staunch opponent of the sentiment that Polish issues can be solved by integration with the West and the European Union, which he dubbed "a fashion for foreignness". Lepper argued that any arrangements with the West will be inequal for Poland and make Poland exploited as an economically inferior country; he warned that Pland would be "economically erased from the map of the world."[21] In reference to neoliberal policies such as privatization and austerity, Lepper considered them "economic genocide".[8]

Referring to his membership in the PZPR (Polish communist party), Lepper said: "I have no regrets and absolutely no reason to be ashamed of being in the party". He defended Communist Poland as overall positive, noting that despite problems such as the overgrowth of the bureucracy 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". Lepper praised socialsim as a "a system which put man first" and which was "in line with the commandments of the Church". He also 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".[22] Lepper and his party were considered Catholic socialist,[23] as well as agrarian socialist.[24]

Using strongly populist messages and committing acts of civil disobedience, he managed to gain nationwide publicity and a strong following in the countryside, where he was regarded as a common man. He also protested against the sale of Polish land to foreigners. Lepper and SO opposed Poland joining the European Union, but stopped short of running a fully fledged "no" campaign, on account of popular support for Polish membership in the EU.[25]

Lepper's anti-EU stance was based in part on nationalism, but also on the presumed detrimental economic effect that accession would have on Polish agriculture. Lepper remained a Eurosceptic, but later toned down his position. During his tenure as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture, Lepper worked to support Polish agriculture within European structures and on his departure was described by EU officials as pragmatic and professional.[25]

Lepper was one of the few high-profile politicians that consistently opposed Poland's involvement in American global military operations. He was involved in promoting close relations with the country's eastern neighbours: Ukraine, Russia and Belarus.

The core of Lepper's views was opposition to globalization, capitalism and neoliberalism, which Lepper considered epitomised by Leszek Balcerowicz. Lepper's party stressed the primacy of man before capital, and used slogans such as "Man, Family, Work - a life of dignity". It called for a kind of socialism characterized by "respect for life in all its forms, recognition of the role of family, nation, moral tradition, social benevolence and solidarity". The party explicitly tied itself to the Catholic social teaching, declaring: "The Self-Defence of the Republic of Poland is guided by the social teaching of the Church and fully shares the indications contained in the encyclicals of the greatest moral authority of our time, as we recognise Pope John Paul II." However, Lepper himself criticized the Catholic hierarchy for what he considered siding with the rich and passively approving of capitalism. At the same time, Lepper considered the Church a moral authority and adopted the Church's stance on social issues such as abortion, euthanasia or death penalty.[26]

Some of his many infamous quotes include "It is impossible to rape a prostitute",[27] or "I see myself as a positive dictator".[28] He also stated: "If the law works against people and generally accepted notions of legality then it isn’t law. The only thing to do is to break it for the sake of the majority".[29] Lepper himself appeared to be a restless man, not easily placated and not inclined to settle down as an officeholder, as his participation in Kaczyński's government showed. With the votes of the left-wing majority in the Sejm, in 2001 he was elected as Vice-Speaker of the Sejm (Wicemarszałek Sejmu), but after violating time constraints in debates he was dismissed. Among Lepper and SO's undertakings in parliament were such incidents as the use of their own loudspeakers in the Sejm and claims that Robert Smoktunowicz of the liberal Civic Platform (Platforma Obywatelska) engaged in the gemstone trade with the Taliban.

Criminal charges

[edit]
Andrzej Lepper in 2007

Lepper was charged with criminal offenses, including assault, blocking roads and dumping grain on railroad tracks in the course of anti-government demonstrations (The New York Times, 2006).[30]

In May 2001 Lepper was sentenced to sixteen months in prison.[citation needed] In May 2006 Polish students protested against the coalition government and also mocked Lepper's recent criminal conviction for slander, chanting "Lepper to prison".[31]

As of 2007 Lepper faced criminal charges for slander and levelling corruption accusations against ministers and members of parliament (Financial Times, 2002).[32]

Sex crimes

[edit]

In December 2006 a female party member claimed that Lepper and party deputy Stanisław Łyżwiński had demanded sexual favours in exchange for a job in a regional SO party office. After the publication of these claims in the Gazeta Wyborcza,[33] several other women came forward with similar accusations. Poland's chief prosecutor Janusz Kaczmarek later launched an investigation into the abuse allegations against both men. In February 2010 Andrzej Lepper was sentenced to two years and three months in jail after being found guilty of demanding and accepting sexual favours from female members of his SO party. The district court in central Poland also sentenced former SO party deputy Stanisław Łyżwiński to five years for rape and taking sexual advantage of female members of his party. Lepper said that the entire case against him was "imagined", and that he would appeal the decision.[34][35]

In 2011, the court overturned the verdict against Lepper, citing procedural errors such as failure to take into account Lepper's alibi. At the same time, Stanisław Łyżwiński's sentence was reduced from five years to three years and six months.[36]

Controversy

[edit]

The Interregional Academy of Personnel Management in Kyiv, a private institution which actively promotes antisemitism[37] awarded Lepper with two honorary doctorates[38] and an honorary professorship. The Anti-Defamation League strongly condemned Lepper for accepting these titles.[39]

2007 political developments

[edit]

On 9 July 2007, Prime Minister Kaczyński dismissed Lepper from the government, which Kaczyński said was due to suspicions that Lepper was involved in corruption. On 10 July, Lepper said that Samoobrona would withdraw from the ruling coalition, but later on the same day said that the party would remain in the coalition conditionally.[40] 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. This was one of the conditions put to PiS in return for SO remaining within the coalition.[citation needed]

On 16 July 2007, Lepper, together with Roman Giertych, chairman of another junior coalition partner League of Polish Families, announced a merger of their parties, to be called League and Self-Defense (LiS). On August 5, the party quit the ruling coalition, leaving it without a majority.[41]

Early parliamentary elections for both houses of parliament (Sejm and Senat) were held on 21 October 2007, after the Sejm voted for its own dissolution on 7 September.[citation needed]

The party suffered huge voter backlash, and failed to cross the 5% electoral threshold for Sejm representation. Consequently, it lost all its seats. Lepper was a candidate in the 2010 Polish presidential election, but received just 1.28% of the votes and so did not proceed to the second round.[citation needed]

Death

[edit]

Lepper was found dead in his Warsaw office on 5 August 2011. Police said that he likely committed suicide.[42] The public prosecutor's office conducted a year-long investigation to determine possible motives for his suicide. Lepper hanged himself from a ceiling hook for a punching bag. After his autopsy, foul play was ruled out, and the investigation ended in late 2012. It was determined that Lepper suffered from crushing depression due to his enormous debts on all fronts including at his farm, his political defeat and sex scandals.[43]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Polish rightist presidential rivals face run-off". Times of Malta. 10 October 2005. Far-left populist Andrzej Lepper, feared by the financial markets, came third with around 13 per cent of the vote.
  2. ^ a b c "Miller's Tale". Wall Street Journal. 20 February 2004. In the meantime, Poles have grown fed up, turning to extremists. In the poll, 23% supported Self-Defense, a farmers group led by Andrzej Lepper, a far-left populist in the José Bové mold. Two far-right parties got just over 10%.
  3. ^ a b Wos, Rafal (20 July 2007). "Der polnische Chavez". stern.de (in German).
  4. ^ a b Piotr Kuligowski; Łukasz Moll; Jarosław Tomasiewicz; Jarosław Urbański; Aleksandra Bilewicz; Andrzej Leder; Remigiusz Okraska; Rafał Woś; Krzysztof Król; Stanisław Chankowski (28 November 2023). "Andrzej Lepper: kryzys transformacji i polityka populizmu". Praktyka Teoretyczna (in Polish). 48 (2): 143. doi:10.19195/prt.2023.2.1. Andrzej Lepper jest jedną z pięciu najważniejszych postaci politycznych III RP. To przykład polityka, który jako jeden z pierwszych sięgał po narzędzia populizmu. A ten populizm z natury jest lewicowy. Jego krytyka socjalna była pierwszą po ofercie antyokrągłostołowej (Kaczyński, Olszewski) krytyką III RP. Był pionierem nie tylko w skali Polski. To postać z tej samej półki, co wtedy Hugo Chávez i Evo Morales. [Andrzej Lepper is one of the five most important political figures of the Third Republic of Poland. He is an example of a politician who was one of the first to reach for the tools of populism. And this populism is inherently left-wing. His social criticism was the first criticism of the Third Republic after the anti-circle offer (Kaczyński, Olszewski). He was a pioneer not only in Poland. He is a figure on the same shelf as Hugo Chávez and Evo Morales at the time.]
  5. ^ a b Przyłęcki, Paweł (2012). Populizm w polskiej polityce: Analiza dyskursu polityki (in Polish). Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Sejmowe. p. 149. ISBN 9788376661858.
  6. ^ Moroska, Aleksandra; Zuba, Krzysztof (2010). "Two faces of Polish populism: the causes of the success and fall of Self Defence and the League of Polish Families". Totalitarismus und Demokratie. 7 (1). Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht: 129–138. ISSN 1612-9008.
  7. ^ Kania-Lundholm, Magdalena (2012). Re-Branding A Nation Online: Discourses on Polish Nationalism and Patriotism. Uppsala. p. 105. ISBN 978-91-506-2302-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  8. ^ a b Beichelt, Timm (27 March 2003). "Nationalism and anti-EU mobilization in postsocialist Europe" (PDF). Frankfurt an der Oder: European University Viadrina Frankfurt Oder. p. 5.
  9. ^ Fillieule, Olivier; Neveu, Erik (2019). Activists Forever? Long-Term Impacts of Political Activism. Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781108690928. ISBN 978-1-108-42872-9.
  10. ^ Drozd-Piasecka, Mirosława (2001). "Andrzej Lepper - chłopski przywódca charyzmatyczny? Wizerunek medialny przewodniczącego "Samoobrony"". Etnografia Polska (in Polish). 45 (1–2): 54. ISSN 0071-1861.
  11. ^ a b c d e f Araloff, Simon (3 October 2005). "Poland's Elections: Andrzej Zbigniew Lepper – Peasantry's Iron Fist". Axis Information and Analysis. Archived from the original on 10 March 2007. Retrieved 23 February 2007.
  12. ^ a b c d Jean Blondel; Jean-Louis Thiebault (2009). Political Leadership, Parties and Citizens: The personalisation of leadership. The career of Andrzej Lepper: from local protest leader to Deputy Prime Minister. Routledge. pp. 316–318. ISBN 978-1-135-17921-2.
  13. ^ Lukowski, Jerzy; Zawadzki, Hubert (2019). A Concise History of Poland. Cambridge University Press. pp. 410–449. doi:10.1017/9781108333993.012. ISBN 9781108333993.
  14. ^ Mesežnikov, Grigorij; Gyárfášová, Oľga; Smilov, Daniel (2008). "Populist Politics and Liberal Democracy in Central and Eastern Europe" (PDF). Working Papers. 8. Bratislava: Institute for Public Affairs: 77–98.
  15. ^ Piotr Kuligowski; Łukasz Moll; Jarosław Tomasiewicz; Jarosław Urbański; Aleksandra Bilewicz; Andrzej Leder; Remigiusz Okraska; Rafał Woś; Krzysztof Król; Stanisław Chankowski (28 November 2023). "Andrzej Lepper: kryzys transformacji i polityka populizmu". Praktyka Teoretyczna (in Polish). 48 (2): 9–30. doi:10.19195/prt.2023.2.1.
  16. ^ Feffer, John (2017). Aftershock: A Journey into Eastern Europe's Broken Dreams. Zed Books Ltd. p. 202. ISBN 978-1-78360-950-5.
  17. ^ Szcześniak, Magda (2021). ""Populus Means the People, Ladies and Gentlemen." A Visual Archive of Peasant Protests during the Post-Socialist Transition". View. Theories and Practices of Visual Culture. 31. Translated by Jan Szelągiewicz. doi:10.36854/widok/2021.31.2471.
  18. ^ Gabriele Lesser (3 February 1999). "Polens radikaler Bauernführer". taz.de (in German).
  19. ^ Amelie Kutter (25 August 1999). "Lepper, der Bauernfänger". jungle.world (in German).
  20. ^ Zarycki, Tomasz; Kolankiewicz, George (2003). Regional Issues in Polish Politics. SSEES Occasional Papers. London: School of Slavonic and East European Studies. p. 247. ISBN 0903425718.
  21. ^ Ray Taras (2003). "Poland's Accession into the European Union: Parties, Policies and Paradoxes". The Polish Review. 48 (1): 3–19. JSTOR 25779367. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  22. ^ Tomasiewicz, Jarosław [in Polish] (2023). "Populiści w poszukiwaniu tożsamości – ideologiczne inspiracje Samoobrony (1991–2007)". Praktyka Teoretyczna (in Polish). 48 (2): 54–55. doi:10.19195/prt.2023.2.2.
  23. ^ Igor Guardiancich (October 2009). Pension Reforms in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe. From Post-Socialist Transition to the Global Financial Crisis (PDF). Florence: Taylor & Francis Ltd. p. 133. doi:10.2870/1700. ISBN 978-0415688987.
  24. ^ Gerrit Voerman [in Dutch]; Dirk Strijker; Ida Terluin (2015). "Contemporary Populism, the Agrarian and the Rural in Central Eastern and Western Europe". In Sarah de Lange [in Dutch] (ed.). Rural Protest Groups and Populist Political Parties. Wageningen Academic Publishers. p. 172. doi:10.3920/978-90-8686-807-0. ISBN 9789086862597.
  25. ^ a b Jaroslaw Adamowski (25 August 2011). "Andrzej Lepper obituary". Former Polish deputy premier tainted by sleaze and graft claims. The Guardian. Self-Defense was ousted from the cabinet, over allegations that Lepper had accepted bribes for altering the legal status of farm land to residential land. However, an investigation by the anti-corruption bureau failed to produce any evidence for these claims.
  26. ^ Kowalczyk, Krzysztof (2015). "Stanowiska polskich partii politycznych wobec religii i Kościoła. Propozycja typologii". Studia Politicae Universitatis Silesiensis. 15 (1): 185. ISSN 2353-9747.
  27. ^ Sexual harassment allegations plague Poland's deputy PM. The Raw Story; retrieved 7 September 2013.
  28. ^ Seite 2 von 2|polen: Ich, der Diktator|ZEIT ONLINE, Zeit.de (17 June 2004); retrieved 7 September 2013.
  29. ^ Cas Mudde (22 September 2009). Populist Radical Right Parties in Europe. Cambridge University Press. p. 154. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511492037.002. ISBN 9780511339738.
  30. ^ Gelb, Leslie H. (30 August 2013) The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia, International Herald Tribune; retrieved 7 September 2013.
  31. ^ Polish Students March in Warsaw, Protest Coalition Government Archived 2009-06-26 at the Wayback Machine, bloomberg.com; accessed 13 June 2016.
  32. ^ The Institute for Ethics and Economic Policy (IEEP) at Fordham University, Fordham.edu; retrieved 7 September 2013.
  33. ^ Kącki, Marcin (4 December 2006). "Praca za seks w Samoobronie". Gazeta Wyborcza (in Polish). Archived from the original on 23 February 2007. Retrieved 23 February 2007.
  34. ^ "Earth Times: Show/308717,polands-former-deputy-prime-minister-jailed-for-sex-for-favours.HTML". Archived from the original on 2012-09-13. Retrieved 2010-02-11.
  35. ^ Ex-deputy PM jailed for sex crimes, AFP (The Australian reprint), 12 Feb 2010
  36. ^ "Seksafera: Lepper wygrywa - sąd uchyla wyrok szefowi Samoobrony, zmniejsza Łyżwińskiemu (ZDJĘCIA)". Gazeta Prawna (in Polish). 30 March 2011.
  37. ^ Professorship for Lepper Archived March 17, 2007, at the Wayback Machine Science and Scholarship in Poland Information Service; retrieved 23 February 2007.
  38. ^ "Lepper odebrał w Moskwie doktorat honoris causa". Gazeta Wyborcza (in Polish). 12 February 2007. Archived from the original on 21 February 2007. Retrieved 23 February 2007.
  39. ^ ADL Condemns Polish Deputy PM for Accepting Honor from Anti-Semitic University. Anti-Defamation League; retrieved 23 February 2007.
  40. ^ Judy Dempsey, "Polish leader considers early elections", International Herald Tribune, 10 July 2007.
  41. ^ Dorota Bartyzel and Marta Waldoch, "Polish Self Defense Party Quits Coalition; Early Elections Loom" Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine, Bloomberg.com, 5 August 2007.
  42. ^ BBC News – Poland's Andrzej Lepper dead
  43. ^ Marcin Kącki (19 December 2012). "Prokuratura ustaliła, dlaczego Andrzej Lepper popełnił samobójstwo (The public prosecutor's office determined suicide motives)". Kraj (in Polish). Gazeta Wyborcza. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
[edit]
Political offices
Preceded by Deputy Prime Minister of Poland
2006 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of Agriculture
2006–2007 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Deputy Prime Minister of Poland
2006–2007 		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by
None
 Leader of Self-Defence of the Republic of Poland
1992–2011 		Succeeded by
Jerzy Piasecki
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Andrzej_Lepper&oldid=1237140750"