Fun Facts About Lech Wałęsa
- Lech Wałęsa inspired Bono to write U2's first hit single, "New Year's Day", and by coincidence Poland lifted martial law on 1 January 1983, the day the single was released.[3]
- Wałęsa did not collect his 1983 Nobel Peace Prize in person: his wife received it, because he worried the authorities would not let him return to Poland.[3]
- Wałęsa was an electrician at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk, and after losing the 1995 election he announced he would go back to work there as an electrician, before choosing a world lecture circuit.[3]
- Wałęsa ran for president in 1990 with the slogan "I don't want to, but I have to", and won to become the first Polish president ever elected by popular vote.[3]
- In 1989 Wałęsa became the first foreign non-head of state to address a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress, and he was named an honorary karate black belt.[3]
- Gdańsk's airport was renamed Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport in 2004, and his signature was worked into the airport's logo.[3]
- Lech Wałęsa was alive at the same time as Joseph Stalin — their lives overlapped for 10 years (1943–1953).[1][2][4][5]
- Lech Wałęsa shares a birthday with Miguel de Cervantes: both were born on September 29.[1][2][6][7]
Lech Wałęsa is a Polish statesman, dissident and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who served as the president of Poland between 1990 and 1995. After winning the 1990 election, Wałęsa became the first democratically elected president of Poland since 1922 and the first-ever Polish president elected by popular vote. An electrician by trade, Wałęsa became the leader of the opposition Solidarity movement and led a successful pro-democratic effort, which in 1989 ended Communist rule in Poland and ushered in the end of the Cold War.[1]
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Questions About Lech Wałęsa
When was Lech Wałęsa born?
Lech Wałęsa was born on September 29, 1943, and is alive today.
How old is Lech Wałęsa?
Lech Wałęsa was born on September 29, 1943, and turned 83 on September 29, 2026.
What is Lech Wałęsa known for?
Lech Wałęsa is known for: Solidarity leader and president of Poland. Lech Wałęsa is a Polish statesman, dissident and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who served as the president of Poland between 1990 and 1995. After winning the 1990 election, Wałęsa became the first democratically elected president of Poland since 1922 and the first-ever Polish president elected by popular vote. An electrician by trade, Wałęsa became the leader of the opposition Solidarity movement and led a successful pro-democratic effort, which in 1989 ended Communist rule in Poland and ushered in the end of the Cold War.
Who was alive at the same time as Lech Wałęsa?
Lech Wałęsa's closest contemporary was Noam Chomsky. Their lives overlapped for 83 years.
Sources
- Lech Wałęsa — Wikipedia. Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0
- Lech Wałęsa (Q444) — Wikidata
- Lech Wałęsa — Wikipedia
- Joseph Stalin — Wikipedia
- Joseph Stalin (Q855) — Wikidata
- Miguel de Cervantes — Wikipedia
- Miguel de Cervantes (Q5682) — Wikidata
- Portrait: Wałęsa EU 1991 (cropped).png — Wikimedia Commons. © European Union, European Parliament