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
"I have always believed in the power of the people."
"I am not rich. I am a simple man."
"We must never forget where we came from."
"I am not a man of great words, but a man of great deeds."
"The most important thing is to have faith in God and in yourself."
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.