Bronislaw Komorowski: Lech Kaczynski's Replacement After Crash

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Bronislaw Komorowski Replaces Lech Kaczynski After Tragic Death: Who is Bronislaw Komorowski?

Bronislaw Komorowski has become the acting President of Poland after the tragic death of President Lech Kaczynski and 95 others on Saturday April 10 2010. Komorowski was Poland's parliamentary speaker before the plane crash.

• Poland Declares Week of Mourning
  
• Ongoing List of the Dead
• Katyn Massacre History
• Tupolev 154: The President's Plane

In Pilsudski Square along with thousands of others Mr. Komorowski and his wife lit candles and laid flowers to remember the dead. He addressed the country on television:

He has declared a week of mourning for the victims and the country, and he told the AFP that the scale of this tragedy is unprecedented as so many high ranking officials all died at the same time.

Who is Bronislaw Komorowski?

Mr. Komorowski became acting president of Poland after Kaczynaki's death because he is the Marshal of the Sejm. He is also the former Polish Minister of National Defense and vice-chairman of the Civic Platform.

He was born in Oborniki Śląskie in southwestern Poland and he attended the University of Warsaw until 1977 when he obtained a degree in history. For three years after he graduated he was an editor at General Word.

He was elected to Parliament in 1991 and 1993, and in 1997 he was elected as a candidate of the Akcja Wyborcza Solidarność. From then until 2000 he was head of the National Defence Committee and then until 2001 served as the minister of national defence. It was after then that he began his career in the Sejm.

Bronislaw Komorowski and the Upcoming Elections

Mr. Komorowski has announced that he will speak with all the political parties and they will decide on the next presidential election. The announcement must come in the next 14 days, and then the elections must take place in the next 60 days after that.

Elections were scheduled to be held later in 2010 already but are now being sped up to be held in the next few months.

Bronislaw Komorowski is the favorite to win, although he may face opposition from Lech Kaczynski's twin brother Jaroslaw who has already been Prime Minister of Poland from July 2006 to November 2007.