Quick Facts
Biography
Maria Helena Kaczyńska ([ˈmarja kaˈtʂɨj̃ska]; née Mackiewicz [matsˈkʲɛvitʂ]; 21 August 1942 – 10 April 2010) was the First Lady of Poland from 2005 to 2010 as the wife of President Lech Kaczyński.
Early and personal life
Kaczyńska was born in Machava (near Kabylnik, now Belarus), the daughter of Lidia and Czesław Mackiewicz. Her father fought in the Vilnius Armia Krajowa (Home Army), while an uncle fought in the Polish II Corps of Gen. Władysław Anders at the Battle of Monte Cassino; another uncle was murdered by theNKVD (Soviet secret police) at Katyń.
Kaczyńska attended primary and secondary schools in Rabka Zdrój in southern Poland. She studied transport economics and foreign trade in Sopot at what is now the University of Gdańsk. After graduating in 1966, she worked at the Maritime Institute in Gdańsk, where she met Lech Kaczyński in 1976. They married in 1978, and had a daughter. In addition to her native Polish, Maria Kaczyńska spoke English, French and some Spanish and Russian.
Death
On 10 April 2010, 10:41 MSD (06:41 UTC), Maria Kaczyńska, and her husband, Polish President Lech Kaczyński, both died when the Polish Air Force Tupolev Tu-154M they were aboard crashed while attempting to land at Smolensk-North Airport in the Russian city of Smolensk. All 89 passengers on board and the 7 crew members were killed.
The Kaczyńskis were traveling with several senior government figures on a trip to mark the 70th anniversary of the World War II Katyn Massacre, where thousands of Polish military officers were executed by the NKVD.
She was laid to rest alongside her husband on 18 April 2010 in the honorable royal crypt at the Wawel Cathedral.
Her diary was found by her daughter after her death, sparking an interest among many publishers who desired to buy it and release it. However, Marta Kaczyńska-Dubieniecka stated the diary was too precious for her to sell and also said that she was not likely to reveal its content.
Honours and awards
- Grand Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (16 April 2010, posthumously)
- Grand Cross of the Order of Vytautas the Great (15 April 2009, Lithuania)
- Xirka Ġieħ ir-Repubblika (26 January 2009, Malta)
- Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Henry (1 September 2008, Portugal)
- Dame Grand Cross of the Order pro merito Melitensi (14 May 2007)