Maria Kaczyńska

Maria Kaczyńska
Born	Maria Helena Mackiewicz Template:Birth date Machava, near Kabylnik, Belarus (present-day)
Died	April 10, 2010(2010-04-10) (aged 67) Smolensk, Russia
Occupation	First Lady of Poland
Years active	2005–2010
Known for	First Lady of Poland during Lech Kaczyński's presidency

"Kaczynska" redirects here. For other uses, see Kaczynska (disambiguation).

Maria Helena Kaczyńska (Polish pronunciation: [ˈmarja kaˈt͡ʂɨj̃ska]; born Mackiewicz [mat͡sˈkʲɛvit͡ʂ]; 21 August 1942 – 10 April 2010) served as the First Lady of Poland from 2005 until 2010, during the presidency of her husband, Lech Kaczyński. She tragically passed away alongside her husband in an aviation accident near Smolensk, Russia.

Early and personal life

Maria Kaczyńska was born in Machava, close to Kabylnik, a location now within the borders of Belarus. She was the daughter of Lidia and Czesław Mackiewicz. Her father was a member of the Vilnius branch of the Armia Krajowa (Home Army), while one uncle fought under General Władysław Anders with the Polish II Corps at the Battle of Monte Cassino during World War II’s Italian Campaign. Another uncle was a victim of the NKVD, falling in the Katyn Forest Massacre.

Kaczyńska completed her primary and secondary education in Rabka Zdrój, located in southern Poland. She pursued higher education in transport economics and foreign trade at the institution now known as the University of Gdańsk, situated in Sopot. After earning her degree in 1966, she joined the Maritime Institute in Gdańsk. It was there, in 1976, that she met Lech Kaczyński, whom she married two years later. The couple had one daughter. Fluent in Polish, Maria also communicated proficiently in English, French, and had knowledge of Spanish and Russian.

Death

Main articles: Smolensk air disaster and Death and state funeral of Lech and Maria Kaczyński

The crash site where Maria Kaczyńska and her spouse lost their lives

At 10:41 Moscow Daylight Time (06:41 UTC) on 10 April 2010, Maria Kaczyńska and her husband, the Polish President Lech Kaczyński, perished when the Polish Air Force Tupolev Tu-154M they were traveling in crashed during its landing attempt at Smolensk-North Airport, located in the Russian city of Smolensk. The tragedy claimed the lives of all 89 passengers alongside the seven crew members aboard. The couple was accompanied by numerous high-ranking officials on a mission to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the World War II Katyn Massacre, where thousands of Polish officers were executed by the NKVD.

Maria Kaczyńska was interred alongside her husband on 18 April 2010 at the Wawel Cathedral. Following her passing, her daughter discovered Maria’s personal diary, which attracted interest from various publishers eager to acquire and publish it. Nevertheless, Marta Kaczyńska-Dubieniecka expressed that the diary held immense sentimental value and indicated she was unlikely to disclose its contents.

Honours and awards

Posthumously awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (16 April 2010)

Recipient of the Grand Cross of the Order of Vytautas the Great (15 April 2009, Lithuania)

Awarded Xirka Ġieħ ir-Repubblika (26 January 2009, Malta)

Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Henry (1 September 2008, Portugal)

Dame Grand Cross of the Order pro merito Melitensi (14 May 2007)

Notes

Template:Note label Based on the passenger manifest for the Tu-154 flight. Some sources list her birth date as 21 August 1943.

External links

• Official website of the Polish First Lady
• English-language official biography of Maria Kaczyńska

Template:S-hon