Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz

Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz
Born	Hanna Beata Gronkiewicz-Waltz (1952-11-04) November 4, 1952 Warsaw, Poland
Occupation(s)	Lawyer, politician, professor of jurisprudence
Years active	1992–present
Known for	Mayor of Warsaw (2006–2018), Chairperson of National Bank of Poland (1992–2000)

Hanna Beata Gronkiewicz-Waltz (, born 4 November 1952) is a distinguished Polish lawyer, politician, and Professor of Jurisprudence. She held the office of mayor of Warsaw from 2006 until 2018, marking her as the first and only female to occupy this role.

Life and career

From 1992 through 2000, she led the National Bank of Poland, serving as its chairperson. Subsequently, between 2001 and 2004, she was the deputy chair at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. On 25 September 2005, Gronkiewicz-Waltz secured a seat in the Sejm representing Warsaw’s 19th district with 137,280 votes on the Civic Platform ticket. During the 2006 municipal elections, she was Civic Platform’s nominee for Warsaw mayor. On 12 November, she received 34.23% of votes, placing second behind former prime minister and Law and Justice candidate Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz. In the subsequent runoff held on 26 November, she prevailed with 53.18%.

In early 2007, controversy emerged regarding her delay in submitting her spouse’s financial disclosure, a requirement under a 2005 statute mandating transparency for mayors and their partners. The ruling Law and Justice party argued that this breach nullified her mandate and demanded new elections. Civic Platform contested the prime minister’s authority to enforce such a decision, while legal analysts highlighted constitutional issues due to overlapping deadlines. The party promised to re-nominate her if a repeat election was necessary. Ultimately, on 13 March 2007, Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal invalidated the law, thereby safeguarding her tenure.

Regarding LGBT rights, Gronkiewicz-Waltz shifted from her predecessor’s approach by endorsing the Equality Parade in Warsaw. She referenced a judgment by the European Court of Human Rights declaring bans on such events unlawful and discriminatory.

She was re-elected as mayor in the 2010 municipal elections, securing 53.67% of votes in the initial round. In 2024, she began serving as a Member of the European Parliament, aligning with the European People's Party Group.

Additionally, Gronkiewicz-Waltz holds a fellowship at Collegium Invisibile as a professor specializing in economics.

Selected awards

• Silver Cross of Merit (Poland, 1990)
• Officer rank of the Legion of Honour (France, 2008)
• Commander's Cross with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta (Poland, 2010)
• Recipient of the Order of the Polar Star (Sweden, 2011)
• Awarded the Order of the Crown (Belgium, 2011)

See also

• Members of Polish Sejm 2005–2007

External links

• Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz – parliamentary profile – includes declarations of interest, voting records, and speech transcripts
• Official website of Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz