In the 1980s, Buzek was an activist of the
anti-communist movements, including the legal (1980–1981 and since 1989) and underground (1981–1989)
Solidarity trade union and political movement in
communist Poland. He was an active organiser of the trade union's regional and national underground authorities. He was also the chairman of the four national general meetings (1st, 4th, 5th, and 6th) when the Solidarity movement was allowed to participate in the political process again. Jerzy Buzek was a member of the
Solidarity Electoral Action (AWS) and co-author of the AWS's economic program. After the
1997 elections he was elected to the
Sejm, the lower house of the Polish Parliament, and was soon appointed
Prime Minister of Poland. In 1999 he became the chairman of the
AWS Social Movement (Ruch Społeczny AWS) and in 2001 he became the Chairman of the Solidarity Electoral Action coalition. AWS was defeated in the
2001 Polish parliamentary election. Buzek resigned as the chairman of AWS Social Movement and was replaced by
Mieczysław Janowski.
Polish Member of the European Parliament On 13 June 2004, in the
European Parliament election, 2004, Jerzy Buzek was elected a
Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from the
Silesian Voivodeship, basing his candidacy only on the popularity of his name and on direct contact with the voters. He received a record number of votes, 173,389 (22.14% of the total votes in the region). His current party affiliation is with the
Civic Platform, which is a member of the
European People's Party. In the 2004–2009 European Parliament, he was a member of the
Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, an alternate member of the
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, a member of the Delegation to the EU–
Ukraine Parliamentary Cooperation Committee, and an alternate delegate for the delegation for relations with the countries of Central America. He served as rapporteur on the EU's 7th Framework Programme for Research and Development, a multibillion-euro spending program for the years 2007–2013. On 7 June 2009, in the
European Parliament election, 2009, Buzek was re-elected as a Member of the
European Parliament from the
Silesian Voivodeship constituency. Just as in the previous election, Buzek received a record number of votes in Poland: 393,117 (over 42% of the total votes in the district). On 12 September 2018, he voted in favor of approving the controversial
Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market. In the 2014–2019 European Parliament he was the Chair of the
Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, responsible for industrial policy, EU research and innovation policy, space policy, energy policy and the application of new technologies. In the 2014–2019 European Parliament he remained a regular member of the Committee.
President of the European Parliament , at an
EPP summit in September 2010 On 14 July 2009, Buzek was elected
President of the European Parliament with 555 votes of the 644 votes cast, the largest majority ever, becoming the first person from the former
Eastern Bloc and the first former Prime Minister since
Pierre Pflimlin to gain that position. He succeeded the German
Christian Democrat MEP,
Hans-Gert Pöttering. In his inaugural address in Strasbourg, Buzek stated that among the greatest challenges faced by the European parliament were the economic crisis, European solidarity, human rights, and reform within the Parliament itself. Buzek also stated he would be committed to reform of the European economy, tackling rising unemployment, energy security, and climate change, strengthening European solidarity and integration and promoting equal opportunities for women. However, Buzek noted that the
Lisbon Treaty would be a prerequisite to any change "(so that the Union can be) well-organised and effective". On 8 December 2009 Buzek was awarded by the Ministerpräsident of
North Rhine-Westphalia, Dr.
Jürgen Rüttgers, the annual "Staatspreis award". The prize was awarded in honor of his lifetime achievements and highlighted the European Parliament as a "motor of integration." Affirming his commitment to the Eastern Partnership and "those who do not have the possibility to participate in our European integration project", Buzek announced that the prize money would be donated to the
European Humanities University (EHU), A Belarusian university in exile in Vilnius. The
Lisbon Treaty, which came into force on 1 December 2009 shortly after Buzek assumed office, brought a conclusion to nearly a decade of internal discussions and greatly boosted the democratic powers of the European Parliament. From very early on Buzek has been a vocal supporter of the treaty as part of a wider push for greater political integration in Europe. The rise in legislative powers under the treaty in fact represents almost a doubling in power. Since its introduction Parliament has equal rights with the
Council of Ministers over 40 new fields within the "co-decision" procedure, such as agriculture, energy security, immigration, justice and home affairs, health and structural funds. Welcoming the parliament's adoption of the legislation on 28 October 2011, Buzek stated: "The adoption of the six-pack by the whole European Parliament is good news for the European Union. We have a new economic rule-book. We have developed a powerful and resistant armour against any future crises. With the adoption of the six-pack, the EU significantly strengthens its budget discipline and moves towards true economic governance. We can not turn the clock back, but the package will ensure that Member States budgets will be credible." One of Buzek's major challenges as EP president was dealing with the allegations of corruption, illegal lobbying and mismanagement of public funds of which several members of the European Parliament have been accused in the wake of a cash-for-amendments scandal. On 7 July 2011, the
Conference of Presidents approved the first-ever code of conduct for MEPs and it was officially endorsed by the parliament on 1 December 2011. The code sets out rules and principles that MEPs should follow in their dealings with outside parties in order to avoid conflicts of interest. "Increased powers of the European Parliament must be accompanied by an increased transparency and accountability on behalf of its members" Buzek has said of the code. According to the code, MEPs have to provide clear declarations of their paid activities outside parliament, as well as the salary they receive. They also have to declare all other activities which might constitute a conflict of interest. The code contains an explicit ban on MEPs receiving payments or other rewards in exchange for influencing parliamentary decisions. It also sets out clear rules on the acceptance of gifts and on the issue of former MEPs working as
lobbyists. File:XX Economic Forum 08.jpg|Jerzy Buzek with President of the European Commission
José Manuel Barroso and Polish President
Bronisław Komorowski File:Barroso-Buzek_EPP_Summit.jpg|Jerzy Buzek and
Jose Manuel Barroso during an
EPP Summit in 2009 File:Buzek-van_rompuy-_barroso.jpg|European Big Three; Jerzy Buzek,
Herman Van Rompuy,
José Manuel Barroso File:Medvedev and Jerzy Buzek.jpg|Jerzy Buzek with Russian President
Dmitry Medvedev File:Flickr - europeanpeoplesparty - EPP Summit 29 October 2009 (12).jpg|Jerzy Buzek with
President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili File:Flickr - europeanpeoplesparty - EPP Sumiit 29 October 2009 (6).jpg|Jerzy Buzek with
Nicos Anastasiades File:Jerzy Buzek, Paweł Rogaliński (2012).jpg|Jerzy Buzek with Polish journalist
Paweł Rogaliński File:EPP Summit Helsinki 4 March 2011 (18).jpg|Jerzy Buzek with
Jyrki Katainen File:Flickr - europeanpeoplesparty - EPP Congress Bonn (64).jpg|Jerzy Buzek with
Mariano Rajoy File:Ontvangst Buzek in het Torentje.jpg|Jerzy Buzek with
Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte ==Career timeline==