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About
Grzegorz Juliusz Schetyna, born on February 18, 1963, is a prominent Polish politician primarily associated with Wrocław. His academic background includes studies at the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Wrocław from 1981 to 1983, followed by graduation with a degree in history in 1990. In the early 1990s, he co-founded the commercial broadcaster Radio Eska and served as chairman of the Śląsk Wrocław basketball team from 1994 to 1997. Schetyna entered politics in the early 1990s with the Liberal Democratic Congress (KLD), serving as its secretary-general from 1992 to 1994, and continued with the Freedom Union (UW) after its merger. He was first elected to the Sejm in 1997 representing the Wrocław district and has been re-elected multiple times. Schetyna co-founded the Civic Platform (PO) in 2001 and rose to key positions within the party and government. Following the 2007 elections, he served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior and Administration under Prime Minister Donald Tusk until a 2009 cabinet reshuffle amid internal party tensions. In 2010, he became Marshal of the Sejm and briefly Acting President of Poland after the Smolensk air disaster. He later served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2014 to 2015. From January 2016 to January 2020, he led Civic Platform as its president and the main opposition leader against the Law and Justice (PiS) government. Currently, Schetyna is a Senator in the Polish Senate, serving as Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. He has maintained influence in PO, including as interim head of its Lower Silesia structures in 2021. His career reflects involvement in domestic policy, such as infrastructure improvements, international relations, and strengthening Poland's EU presence, though he has also been linked to efforts promoting religious conservatism and nationalist movements within conservative Catholic circles in European politics.