He was the co-founder and first chairman of the Solidarity trade union federation. He was named Time Magazine‘s Man of the Year in 1982. He was declared the Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1983. He is Lech Walesa, and the the former president of Poland is in the news again as he has joined the campaign to promote the country’s finalist in the New7Wonders competition. The Masurian Lakes are now supported by three Polish presidents: Aleksander Kwasniewski, Bronislaw Komorowski and Lech Walesa.
When Walesa met Jacek Palkiewicz, the Ambassador of Masuria, in Gdansk, the ex-president assumed honorary patronage of the “Mazury Cud Natury” campaign. In a letter he wrote to mark the occasion, Walesa stated:
“Taking into account the exceptional importance of the promotional campaign related to the international ‘New 7 Wonders of Nature’ competition, I am truly happy to inform you that I will assume honorary patronage over this unprecedented event.
I see this competition as a unique opportunity to draw attention to Poland as a particularly friendly place, and the fact that it is such a great location should boost our national pride.”