--- type: politician_profile lang: en canonical: https://www.politicaelectoral.com/en/poland/politicians/jaroslaw-kaczynski name: Jarosław Kaczyński partido: pis updated_at: 2026-05-03T12:55:40 data_crc: 43260fa1 --- Jarosław Kaczyński is the **leader of Law and Justice (PiS)** and one of the most influential figures in modern Polish politics. He is the party’s president and an MP. ## Political career Jarosław Kaczyński was born in **1949** in Warsaw. He studied law at the **University of Warsaw**, where he later built an academic and public profile as a legal scholar before turning fully to politics. His early public life was shaped by the democratic opposition to communist rule, and he became associated with the reformist and anti-communist milieu that developed in the late 1970s and 1980s. During the final years of communism and the transition period, Kaczyński gained national recognition through his role in the anti-communist opposition and later in the emerging democratic institutions of the Third Republic. In the 1980s he was close to the **Solidarity** movement, and after 1989 he moved into parliamentary politics. He later served in senior posts in the presidential administration of **Lech Wałęsa**, though his relationship with Wałęsa and with liberal elements of the post-1989 elite soon became strained. A major step in his political trajectory came with the creation of the twin-party project associated with the Kaczyński brothers. He co-founded **Law and Justice (PiS)** in 2001 and became its **president in 2003**, a position he has held continuously since then. PiS was built around themes of state strength, social conservatism, legal order and criticism of the liberal consensus that dominated Poland’s early post-communist years. Kaczyński became **Prime Minister of Poland** in **2006**, leading a coalition government during a turbulent political period marked by instability, coalition disputes and a combative approach to public life. His premiership lasted until **2007**. Although he has often preferred to operate behind the scenes rather than hold executive office, he remained the central strategist and power broker in PiS and in Polish politics more broadly. After PiS returned to power in 2015, Kaczyński did not take the premiership, but he was widely regarded as the government’s most powerful figure. From **2020 to 2022**, and again in **2023**, he served as **Deputy Prime Minister for Security**, reflecting his longstanding focus on the military, intelligence services and internal state authority. He continues to serve as **President of PiS** and as an **MP**. ## Relationship with the public Kaczyński is a highly polarising public figure. Among PiS supporters, he is often seen as the architect of a more assertive, socially protective and sovereign-minded Polish state. His supporters credit him with giving political voice to voters who felt left behind by market reforms, metropolitan liberal politics and post-communist elite continuity. His relationship with the broader electorate is more complex. He is respected by many conservative and older voters, as well as by those in smaller towns and rural areas, but is often viewed with hostility by liberal and centrist audiences. His style is considered disciplined, austere and distant, with a deliberate reluctance to cultivate a charismatic or media-friendly image. This has contributed to his reputation as a politician who prefers organisation and party control over broad personal popularity. His relationship with the media has been especially contentious. He and PiS have repeatedly accused parts of the press of ideological bias, while critics argue that his political style encourages pressure on public institutions and the public broadcaster. Civil society organisations, particularly those focused on judicial independence, LGBTQ rights, women’s rights and constitutional standards, have frequently clashed with the political direction associated with him. ## Positions and political profile Kaczyński is best known for championing **national sovereignty**, **strong state institutions**, **law and order**, **social conservatism** and a critical view of European federalisation. He has presented PiS as the defender of ordinary Poles against liberal elites, foreign capital, bureaucratic overreach and moral relativism. Economically, he has supported an interventionist state model with generous social transfers and family policy, most notably the expansion of child benefits under PiS governments. He has also been a decisive figure in the party’s emphasis on **historical memory**, especially in relation to the Second World War, communism and post-1989 transitions. PiS under his leadership has promoted a narrative of national dignity and institutional renewal, often framing domestic political struggles as a defence of Poland’s sovereignty and identity. Inside PiS, Kaczyński is seen as the party’s central authority and strategic arbiter. He is respected for discipline, loyalty and political instinct, but also regarded as highly demanding and unwilling to tolerate strong internal rivals. Outside the party, he is often described as the most consequential and controversial conservative politician in post-1989 Poland. Several moments define his political profile. The formation and consolidation of PiS established him as the main organiser of Poland’s right-wing camp. His 2006–2007 premiership demonstrated both his determination to reshape the state and the limits of coalition governance. His role after 2015, when PiS governed without him as prime minister, showed his continued influence even without holding the top executive office. His period as Deputy Prime Minister for Security underlined how closely he associates politics with questions of state capacity, national resilience and internal security. ## Frequently asked questions **Who is Jarosław Kaczyński?** Jarosław Kaczyński is the president of **Law and Justice (PiS)**, an MP, and one of the most powerful figures in Polish politics. He is widely regarded as the ideological and organisational centre of PiS. **What political party does he lead?** He leads **Law and Justice (Prawo i Sprawiedliwość, PiS)**, a conservative, national-conservative party that has dominated Polish politics for much of the past two decades. **Has Jarosław Kaczyński been Prime Minister of Poland?** Yes. He served as **Prime Minister from 2006 to 2007** during a short and politically turbulent PiS-led government. **What are his main political views?** He is associated with **social conservatism**, strong state authority, scepticism towards liberal elites, and a firm defence of Polish sovereignty in relations with the EU. **What role does he play now?** He is currently **President of PiS** and serves as an **MP**. Although he has not always held formal top executive office, he is still regarded as the party’s key decision-maker. **Why is he controversial?** He is controversial because supporters see him as defending national interests and social security, while critics argue that his politics have intensified polarisation and weakened liberal democratic norms.