In memoriam : Jolanta Szymanek-Deresz

15/04/2010

Jolanta Szymanek-Deresz was a highly regarded member of the PES Presidency.

She came from a family of lawyers and was indeed a lawyer herself. She had been politically active since 1979. In 2000 she was appointed by Prime Minister Aleksander Kwaśniewski as Junior Secretary of State in 2000 and served until 2005, when she was elected a member of the Polish Parliament (Sejm). Jolanta was re-elected in 2007, and in 2008 she became Vice-President of the SLD, with responsibility for foreign affairs.

Jolanta Szymanek-Deresz was a highly regarded member of the PES Presidency.

Her European involvement was illustrated by her candidacy for the European parliament in 2009. We will remember her speech during the PES rally in Toulouse last year where leaders, candidates and activists had gathered to launch our European-wide campaign.

video

Jolanta was a delegate to the PES Congress in Prague. Her many friends among the PES will remember her intelligence, enthusiasm and warmth.

Here is a video of Jolanta, at the European election launch in April 2009 in Toulouse, France.

Jerzy Szmajdziński was Vice-President of the SLD and our candidate for the Polish Presidential election scheduled for October. It was in this capacity and as Vice-Speaker of the Sejm that he accompanied President Kaczynski to pay tribute to the thousands who died in Katyn 70 years ago.

Izabela Jaruga-Nowacka, Member of the Polish Parliament and active member of SLD, was also among the victims of this tragic accident.

All our friends, who we have prematurely and tragically lost will be deeply missed at PES, like every single person lost with them will be missed by Poland, and by Europe.