Donald Tusk is a Polish politician who has served as leader of the Civic Platform party (PO) since 2021. He was a co-founder of the party and its leader from 2003 to 2014.
He served as the Prime Minister of Poland from 2007 to 2014 and president of the European Council from 2014 to 2019.
Tusk was also the president of the European People’s Party (EPP) from 2019 to 2022.
Donald Tusk has been involved in Polish politics since the early 1990s, having founded several political parties and held elected office almost continuously since 1991.
He was one of the co-founders of the free-market-orientated Liberal Democratic Congress party. He entered the Sejm (lower chamber of Poland’s parliament) in 1991, but lost his seat in the 1993 election which went badly for the Congress.
In 1994, the Congress merged with the Democratic Union to form the Freedom Union. In 1997, Tusk was elected to the Senate, and became its deputy speaker.
In 2001, he co-founded another centre-right liberal conservative party, Civic Platform (PO), and he was again elected to the Sejm, and became its deputy speaker.
Tusk was a candidate for president of Poland in the 2005 election, and was appointed Prime Minister in 2007.
With his party’s victory in the 2011 Polish parliamentary election, he became the first prime minister to be re-elected since the fall of communism in Poland.
In 2014, he became president of the European Council and was re-elected to this position in 2017.
He resigned as Polish Prime Minister to take the role, having been the longest-serving prime minister of the Third Polish Republic and the third longest-serving Prime Minister of Poland after Józef Cyrankiewicz and Piotr Jaroszewicz.
In a major comeback bid, Tusk has called for a rally in Warsaw. He and his long-time rival Jarosław Kaczyński, the highest ranked politicians on the Polish centre and the Polish right respectively, have both had negative approval ratings for over 15 years.
Who is Donald Tusk?
Donald Tusk, in full Donald Franciszek Tusk, was born April 22, 1957, Gdańsk, Poland.
He has Polish, German (maternal grandmother) and Polish-Kashubian (Donald Tusk call himself as a Pole, Kashubian and European) ancestry.
His father, Donald Tusk senior (1929–1972), was a carpenter whilst his mother, Ewa (née Dawidowska) Tusk (1934–2009), was a nurse. His maternal grandmother’s language was Danzig German.
His grandfather, Józef Tusk (1907–1987), was a railway official who was imprisoned at the Neuengamme concentration camp; later, as a former citizen of the Free City of Danzig, he was apparently conscripted by German authorities into the Wehrmacht.
Later on, he was successful in joining the Polish Armed Forces in the West.
Tusk credits his interest in politics to watching clashes between striking workers and riot police when he was a teenager.
He enrolled at the University of Gdańsk to study history, and graduated in 1980.
While studying, he was active in the Student Committee of Solidarity, a group that opposed Poland’s communist rule at the time.
Donald Tusk Parents
Donald Tusk’s parents were Donald Tusk senior and Ewa Tusk.
They were both slave labourers during the Nazi German occupation of Poland, Tusk has Polish, German, and Kashubian ancestry. He identifies himself as a Pole, Kashubian, and European.
About Donald Tusk father Donald Tusk senior
Donald Tusk’s father Donald Tusk senior was a carpenter who worked as a slave labourer during the Nazi German occupation of Poland.
He died of a heart attack when Donald Tusk was only 15 years old. His father’s death had a profound impact on Donald Tusk’s life and political views.
He said that his father taught him to be brave and to fight for freedom and democracy.
Donald Tusk mother Ewa Tusk
Donald Tusk’s mother is Ewa Tusk was a nurse who worked as a slave labourer during the Nazi German occupation of Poland.
She died in 2018 at the age of 881. She was very close to her son and supported his political career. She also had a strong influence on his views and values.
In his autobiography, ‘Szczerze’ (Sincerely), Donald Tusk revealed some personal details about his mother.
He wrote that she was a brave and resilient woman who endured many hardships and tragedies in her life. She lost her first husband, her parents, and her brother in the war. She also suffered from depression and attempted suicide twice.
Despite these challenges, she raised her two children with love and care. She also taught them to be tolerant and open-minded.
Donald Tusk Siblings
Donald Tusk has one sibling: a younger sister named Sonia Tusk.
About Donald Tusk sister Sonia Tusk
She was born in 1960 in Gdańsk, Poland. She is a teacher and a translator of German and English.
She has also been involved in some social and cultural projects, such as the European Solidarity Centre and the Kashubian Institute.
Sonia Tusk has been supportive of her brother’s political career, but she has also maintained her independence and privacy.
She has said that she does not want to be seen as just the sister of Donald Tusk, but as a person with her own identity and interests.
She has also expressed her admiration for her brother’s achievements and his role in the European Union.
About Donald Tusk Family
Donald Tusk has a large and supportive family. He is married to Małgorzata Tusk. They have two children: Michał Tusk and Katarzyna Tusk-Cudna.
He also has a younger sister named Sonia Tusk. His parents were Donald Tusk senior and Ewa Tusk, His grandmother, Stanisława Tusk, is still alive and is 97 years old.
Tusk’s family has been influenced by his political career, but they have also maintained their own identities and interests.
His wife, Małgorzata, prefers to stay out of the media spotlight and focus on her family and hobbies.
His children, Michał and Katarzyna, have followed their own professional paths and have not been very involved in politics, although they have expressed their support for their father on social media and in interviews.
His sister, Sonia, has been supportive of her brother’s political career, but she has also kept her independence and privacy.
His grandmother, Stanisława, has witnessed the history of Poland from the Second World War to the present day, and has been proud of her grandson’s achievements.
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