Son of Zenon and Jadwiga and a political scientist by education, Chmielewski defended his master's thesis entitled Cardinal
Stefan Wyszyński – selected issues from his political and social activities, written under the supervision of Col. Ryszard Wójcicki, PhD, in September 1984 at the Academy of Internal Affairs. Chmielewski began his service in the
Milicji Obywatelskiej in July 1976. He was a member of the
Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR), but was expelled from the party after his demotion. He was arrested on 26 October 1984. On 31 October of the same year, he was dismissed from service on disciplinary grounds and demoted to the rank of private. By a judgment of the court in
Toruń of 7 February 1985, he was sentenced to 14 years' imprisonment. Under an amnesty, the sentence was reduced to 4.5 years. After his release from prison on 24 April 1989, he changed his name. In 1993, he returned to prison for six months because it turned out that his sentence had been reduced without justification. == Orders and decorations ==