Jerzy Buzek others. From 1997 to 2001, Buzek was a coalition Prime Minister of Poland. In 1998 he became the first laureate of the Grzegorz Palka Award and was nominated "European of the Year" by the European Union Business Chambers Forum. In 1998 he was named 'Person of the Year' by the influential Polish political weekly "Wprost". He won the award for a second time in 2009. On receiving the award again, as President of the European Parliament, he stressed that he was the first winner to be honoured for his work beyond the borders of Poland. He was the first Prime
Prime Minister of Poland series of reform laws passed through parliament, strengthening and centralizing the prime minister's prerogatives. These reforms would form the basis of the current 1997 Constitution. Significant changes included the ability for the prime minister to call a vote of confidence, the premier's exclusive right to allocate and reshuffle ministers, and also for the prime minister to solely determine the areas of competence for ministries. Many of the prime minister's new powers were gained at the expense of the presidency, which lost the rights to consult ministerial appointments, reject the prime minister's cabinet selection or reshuffles, chair the cabinet, and to