Andrzej Duda, born on May sixteenth, nineteen seventy-two, in Kraków, is a prominent Polish lawyer and politician. He served as the sixth president of Poland from two thousand fifteen to two thousand twenty-five. Before ascending to the presidency, Duda was a Member of the Sejm from two thousand eleven to two thousand fourteen and represented Poland as a Member of the European Parliament from two thousand fourteen to two thousand fifteen.
In the two thousand fifteen presidential election, Duda emerged as the candidate for the Law and Justice party, achieving a remarkable upset against the incumbent president Bronisław Komorowski. Although he narrowly led in the first round, he ultimately secured victory in the second round with fifty-one point fifty-five percent of the vote. Following his election, Duda resigned from his party membership on May twenty-sixth, two thousand fifteen.
As president, Duda marked a significant political shift in Poland, facilitating the consolidation of power by the Law and Justice party after the two thousand fifteen parliamentary elections. His presidency has been characterized by a controversial approach to governance, often criticized for contributing to democratic backsliding.
In October two thousand nineteen, Duda received the backing of the Law and Justice party for his re-election campaign in two thousand twenty. He once again finished first in the initial round and triumphed over Rafał Trzaskowski in the runoff, garnering ten million four hundred forty thousand six hundred forty-eight votes, or fifty-one point zero three percent. Throughout both terms, Duda has closely aligned with the right-wing ideologies of the Law and Justice party and its leader, Jarosław Kaczyński.
In the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February two thousand twenty-two, Duda has played a crucial role in coordinating international efforts to bolster Ukraine's military support.