Lech Walesa
One of the main figures responsible for the fall of European
communism, Lech Walesa began work as an electrician at the
Lenin Shipyard in Gdan´sk, Poland, in 1967. After
losing his job in 1976 for organizing against Poland's Communist
government, he climbed over the shipyard wall to join striking
workers, who elected him to lead negotiations. Walesa eventually
won the legalization of the ten-million-member national
union Solidarity, which he led. After a landslide victory,
Walesa served for five years as Poland's first noncommunist
prime minister in more than forty years. He received the
Nobel Peace Prize in 1983.
Resources for Teachers
and Students
Reflections on Working
Towards Peace