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
Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz was also a member of the Solidarity movement and editor of underground press materials. In 1992 he became a State Secretary (formal name for deputy minister) in the Ministry of National Education. From 1999 to 2000 he was the cabinet chief for Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek. Following the victory of the Law and Justice party in the September 2005 Polish parliamentary elections, its prime ministerial candidate, party leader Jarosław Kaczyński decided against becoming prime minister so as not to damage the chances of his twin brother, Lech Kaczyński in the then-upcoming October presidential election. Instead the little-known Marcinkiewicz became PM,