Lech Walesa — "I have never been a communist. I have always been a Catholic and a patriot."
I have never been a communist. I have always been a Catholic and a patriot.
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More from Lech Walesa
"The greatest enemy of communism is not capitalism but freedom."
"The greatest weapon is dialogue."
"I am not afraid of challenges."
"History is made by people, not by governments."
"I am a man of faith. I believe in God and in Poland."
About Lech Walesa (born 1943)
Polish electrician who founded Solidarity in 1980, won the 1983 Nobel Peace Prize, and became the first post-communist president of Poland (1990-1995). Closely associated with Václav Havel (fellow Eastern-bloc dissident-turned-president) and Pope John Paul II (the Polish pope whose 1979 visit catalyzed Solidarity). For an intellectual contrast, see Wojciech Jaruzelski, Polish general and Communist leader — Jaruzelski imposed martial law in 1981, banned Solidarity, and interned Wałęsa. He represented the Soviet-backed institutional power Solidarity's nonviolent labor movement was organized to displace — they ultimately signed the 1989 Round Table Talks together that ended Polish communism.