2019 in Poland explained

Events of 2019 in Poland.

Incumbents

• President – Andrzej Duda (independent, supported by Law and Justice)
• Prime Minister – Mateusz Morawiecki (Law and Justice)
• Marshal of the Sejm – Marek Kuchciński (Law and Justice) (until 9 August), Elżbieta Witek (Law and Justice) (since 9 August)
• Marshal of the Senate – Stanisław Karczewski (Law and Justice) (until 11 November), Tomasz Grodzki (since 12 November)

Events

January

• January 4  - Koszalin escape room fire^[1]
• January 13  - Paweł Adamowicz, the mayor of Gdańsk, is stabbed during a live charity event in Gdańsk by a former inmate, who was released from prison a month prior to the assassination. Adamowicz dies the following day from his injuries, at the age of 53.

March

• March  - the town of Świdnik in eastern Poland passed a resolution rejecting "LGBT ideology".^[2]

April

• April 1 — Priests in Gdańsk burn Harry Potter books.
• April 8 — Polish teachers began a strike initiated by Polish Teachers' Union^[3]

May

• 23 May – 15 June  - The 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup took place

July

• 20 July: Białystok equality march attacked by thousands of members of far-right groups, hooligan football fans, and others.^[4] The New York Times, compared the publish shock to the reaction to the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville.^[5]

August

• August: the Archbishop of Kraków Marek Jędraszewski said the "LGBT ideology" were like a "rainbow plague" in a sermon commemorating the Warsaw uprising.^[6]

October

• 13 October: The governing Law and Justice (PiS) government wins Reelection, with an increased popular vote of 43%, the highest vote share by any party since Poland returned to democracy in 1989.

November

• 24 November: Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2019 is held in Gliwice. Poland's representative, Viki Gabor, also wins the event, making Poland the first country to win the competition twice in a row and the first host nation to win.

December

• 20 December: The governing Law and Justice (PiS) government passes the Polish Supreme Court Disciplinary Chamber law

Deaths

January

• 14 January – Paweł Adamowicz, mayor of Gdańsk (b. 1965).^[7]

February

• 1 February – Bożena Aksamit, Journalist (b. 1966)^[8]
• 7 February – Jan Olszewski, 3rd Prime Minister of Poland (b. 1930)^[9]

March

• 23 March – Maria Iwaszkiewicz, writer (b. 1924)

April

• 17 April – Ryszard Kaja, stage designer (b. 1962)^[10]

June

• 7 June – Ryszard Bugajski, film director (b. 1943)
• 17 June – Zbigniew Horbowy, glassware designer (b. 1935)

July

• 8 July –, writer (b. 1919)^[11]
• 20 July – Wiktor Jędrzejec, graphic designer, (b. 1961)

August

• 6 August – Krystyna Dańko, humanitarian (b. 1917)^[12]
• 18 August – Andrzej Buszewicz, actor (b. 1934)

September

• 18 September – Leszek Elektorowicz, poet (b. 1924)
• 28 September Jan Kobuszewski, actor (b. 1934)

October

• 14 October – Bohdan Butenko, cartoonist (b. 1931)
• 20 October – Andrzej Heidrich, graphic artist (b. 1928)

See also

• 2019 European Parliament election

Notes and References

1. Web site: Agence France-Presse . Five teenagers dead after fire in 'escape room' in Poland . The Guardian . 15 January 2019 . 4 January 2019.
2. News: Polish towns go 'LGBT free' ahead of bitter European election campaign. https://web.archive.org/web/20190521112252/https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-election-poland/polish-towns-go-lgbt-free-ahead-of-bitter-european-election-campaign-idUKKCN1SR0XV. dead. May 21, 2019. Reuters. Marcin. Goclowski. Anna. Wlodarczak-Semczuk. 21 May 2019.
3. News: Polish teachers go on strike over wages in dispute with government. Sieradzka. Monika. 8 April 2019. DW. 18 August 2019.
4. https://edition.cnn.com/2019/07/21/europe/bialystok-polish-lgbtq-pride-intl/index.html Polish city holds first LGBTQ pride parade despite far-right violence
5. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/27/world/europe/gay-pride-march-poland-violence.html Anti-Gay Brutality in a Polish Town Blamed on Poisonous Propaganda
6. News: Poland's Catholic Church says country is under siege from a 'rainbow plague' . New York Post . August 2, 2019.
7. Web site: Stabbed Polish mayor dies in hospital . BBC . 15 January 2019 . 14 January 2019.
8. News: December 30, 2019 . In Memoriam: Cultural Figures Who Passed Away in 2019 . culture.pl . November 12, 2022.
9. News: Poland's former prime minister Olszewski dies at 88: state TV . Reuters . 8 February 2019 . 2019-07-09 . 2019-05-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190514115914/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-poland-politics-olszewski/polands-former-prime-minister-olszewski-dies-at-88-state-tv-idUSKCN1PX0Q6 . live .
10. Web site: 17 April 2019 . Ryszard Kaja, grafik i malarz, nie żyje. "Wódka, cerata i śledzik to esencja Polski" - mówił autor słynnej serii plakatów z polskimi miastami . 13 November 2022 . wyborcza.pl.
11. Web site: Jej "Drewniany różaniec" był wstrząsem. Zmarła Natalia Rolleczek. https://web.archive.org/web/20190709182920/https://www.tvn24.pl/wiadomosci-z-kraju,3/natalia-rolleczek-nie-zyje-autorka-drewnianego-rozanca-miala-100-lat,951152.html. dead. July 9, 2019. TVN24.
12. Web site: Polish woman who saved adoptive Jewish family from Holocaust dies at 102 . . 2019-08-09 . 2022-11-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221114181251/https://www.timesofisrael.com/polish-woman-who-saved-adoptive-jewish-family-from-holocaust-dies-at-102/ . live .