Krzysztof Putra

Krzysztof Putra
Born	(1957-07-04) 4 July 1957 Józefowo, Suwałki County, Poland
Died	10 April 2010(2010-04-10) (aged 52)
Occupation	Politician
Years active	1975–2010
Known for	Deputy Marshal of the Senate of the Republic of Poland (2005–2007), member of Sejm, Law and Justice party founder

Krzysztof Jakub Putra GCM (Polish pronunciation: [ˈkʂɨʂtɔf ˈputra], born 4 July 1957 – died 10 April 2010) was a Polish politician affiliated with the Law and Justice party (PiS). He held the position of Deputy Marshal of the Senate of the Republic of Poland from 27 October 2005 until 4 November 2007. Subsequently, he served as a member of the Sejm starting on 5 November and was a PiS nominee for the role of Sejm Marshal.

Biography

Putra’s birthplace was Józefowo, Suwałki County. He was the grandson of Aleksander Putra, who represented the Polish People's Party in the Sejm before World War II.

During the Communist era, Putra was active in the Solidarity movement. Between 1975 and 1994, he worked in Białystok. He also served as a Sejm member in the Contract Sejm from Solidarity between 1989 and 1991. Later, he secured election through the Centre Agreement party and played a key role as one of the founders of Law and Justice in 2001. Within his native Podlaskie Voivodeship, he was recognized as a leading figure of the party.

While acting as one of the Deputies to the Senate Marshal, he was widely regarded as the effective leader of the upper chamber.

Putra was chosen by Law and Justice as their candidate for Sejm Marshal; nevertheless, he was decisively defeated by Bronisław Komorowski, the nominee representing the majority from Civic Platform. His nomination was largely seen as symbolic; however, he was appointed Vice-Marshal shortly thereafter.

He was married to Elżbieta Putra and fathered eight children.

In recognition of his service, he received the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit in 2008.

Putra was among those listed on the passenger manifest aboard the 36th Special Aviation Regiment Tupolev Tu-154 flight which crashed near Smolensk North Airport, close to Pechersk near Smolensk, Russia on 10 April 2010. The accident resulted in the death of all passengers, including Polish President Lech Kaczyński.

On 16 April 2010, Putra received posthumously the Commander's Cross with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta. His burial took place on 20 April 2010 at St. Roch's Church in Białystok.