Maria Kaczyńska
First Lady of Poland
In role
23 December 2005 – 10 April 2010
PresidentLech Kaczyński
Preceded byJolanta Kwaśniewska
Succeeded byAnna Komorowska
Personal details
Born
Maria Helena Mackiewicz

(1942-08-21)21 August 1942
Machava, Reichskommissariat Ostland (now Narach, Belarus)
Died10 April 2010(2010-04-10) (aged 67)
Smolensk, Russia
NationalityPolish
Political partyLaw and Justice
Spouse
​
(m. 1978)​
ChildrenMarta Dubieniecka
Parents
  • Lidia Piszczako
  • Czesław Mackiewicz
Alma materUniversity of Gdańsk
ProfessionEconomist

Maria Helena Kaczyńska (Polish pronunciation: [ˈmarja kaˈt͡ʂɨj̃ska]; née Mackiewicz [mat͡sˈkʲɛvit͡ʂ]; 21 August 1942[a] – 10 April 2010) was the First Lady of Poland from 2005 to 2010 as the wife of President Lech Kaczyński.[1][2] She and her husband died in a plane crash in the Russian city of Smolensk.

Early and personal life

Kaczyńska was born in Machava (near Kabylnik, now Belarus),[3][4] the daughter of Lidia and Czesław Mackiewicz.[5] Her father fought in the Vilnius Armia Krajowa (Home Army), while an uncle fought in the Polish II Corps of Gen. Władysław Anders at the Battle of Monte Cassino; another uncle was murdered by the NKVD (Soviet secret police)[6] at Katyń.[5]

Kaczyńska attended primary and secondary schools in Rabka Zdrój in southern Poland. She studied transport economics and foreign trade in Sopot at what is now the University of Gdańsk.[5] After graduating in 1966, she worked at the Maritime Institute in Gdańsk, where she met Lech Kaczyński in 1976. They married in 1978,[5] and had a daughter.[5] In addition to her native Polish, Maria Kaczyńska spoke four languages such as English, French and some Spanish and Russian.[5]

Death

On 10 April 2010, 10:41 MSD (06:41 UTC), Maria Kaczyńska, and her husband, Polish President Lech Kaczyński, both died when the Polish Air Force Tupolev Tu-154M they were aboard crashed while attempting to land at Smolensk-North Airport in the Russian city of Smolensk. All 89 passengers on board and the seven crew members were killed.[7] The Kaczyńskis were traveling with several senior government figures on a trip to mark the 70-year anniversary of the World War II Katyn Massacre, where thousands of Polish military officers were executed by the NKVD.[8]

She was buried along with her husband on 18 April 2010 in the Wawel Cathedral.[9] Her diary was found by her daughter after her death, sparking an interest among many publishers who desired to buy it and release it. However, Marta Kaczyńska-Dubieniecka said the diary was too precious for her to sell and also explained that she was not likely to reveal its content.[10]

Honours and awards

Grand Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (16 April 2010, posthumously)
Grand Cross of the Order of Vytautas the Great (15 April 2009, Lithuania)[11]
Xirka Ġieħ ir-Repubblika (26 January 2009, Malta)
Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Henry (1 September 2008, Portugal)
Dame Grand Cross of the Order pro merito Melitensi (14 May 2007)

Notes

a According to the list of passports of the Tu-154 flight.[12][13] Some media gives her date of birth as 21 August 1943.[2][14]

References

  1. ↑ "Maria Kaczyńska". Wirtualna Polska (in Polish). 10 April 2010. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
  2. 1 2 "Maria Kaczyńska". Gazeta.pl (in Polish). Polish Press Agency. 10 April 2010. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
  3. ↑ "Zostanę sobą" (in Polish). styl.pl (by Iza Komendołowicz). 2009. Archived from the original on 14 April 2010. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
  4. ↑ "Official site of The First Lady" (in Polish). 2005. Archived from the original on 13 April 2010. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Official Biography: Maria Kaczyńska". Republic of Poland. 10 April 2010. Archived from the original on 8 April 2010. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
  6. ↑ Fischer, Benjamin B., "The Katyn Controversy: Stalin's Killing Field". "Studies in Intelligence", Winter 1999–2000. Retrieved on 10 December 2005.
  7. ↑ "Polish President, 95 Others Killed in Plane Crash Archived 2010-04-13 at the Wayback Machine", VOA News, 10 April 2010, Retrieved 10 April 2010.
  8. ↑ "Polish president killed in plane crash". CNN. 10 April 2010. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
  9. ↑ "Presidential resting place". Polskie Radio. 16 April 2010. Retrieved 19 April 2010.
  10. ↑ "Sekrety pamiętników Marii Kaczyńskiej Więcej" (in Polish). plotek.pl. 5 August 2010.
  11. ↑ Lithuanian Presidency Archived 19 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine, Lithuanian Orders searching form
  12. ↑ Список погибших при авиакатастрофе Ту-154. L!FE NEWS (in Russian). LifeNews. 10 April 2010. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
  13. ↑ Список погибших в авиакатастрофе Ту-154 в Смоленской области. Ministry of Emergency Situations (in Russian). 10 April 2010. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 11 April 2010.
  14. ↑ "Maria Kaczyńska (1943 - 2010)". Wirtualna Polska (in Polish). 10 April 2010. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
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