Jaruzelski, Wojciech Witold (1923– )

Polish army general, appointed first secretary of the Polish United Workers Party (PUWP) in 1981. He was responsible for the imposition of martial law in Poland in December 1981. He was prime minister 1981–85 and president 1985–90. During martial law he attempted to suppress the Solidarity trade union, interning its leaders and political dissidents. In 1989 he approved the ‘Round Table’ talks with the opposition that led to partially free parliamentary elections and to the appointment of a coalition government under a noncommunist prime minister, Tadeusz Mazowiecki.

Jaruzelski was deported to the USSR during World War II. In 1943 he joined the Polish Kościuszko Division formed in the USSR. In 1947 he became a member of the Polish Workers Party (PWP). From 1968 he was minister of defence and entered the central committee of the party in 1971. He remained a professional soldier throughout his career, simultaneously holding party functions. In 1987 he introduced a four-point plan for the demilitarization of Central Europe – the so-called Jaruzelski Plan. In December 1990 he resigned from all official posts. In May 2001, he was put on trial accused of ordering soldiers to fire on shipyard workers in 1970, when he was defence minister.