Lech Walesa — "When you strike a match, you can light a fire, but you can also burn yourself."
When you strike a match, you can light a fire, but you can also burn yourself.
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More from Lech Walesa
"The future is in our hands."
"I have been in jail many times. It's not so bad. You meet interesting people."
"My job is to represent the people, not to be popular."
"I have eight children and two grandchildren. So I know about democracy."
"I have never been afraid of anything, except God."
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.