Andrzej Lepper

Andrzej Zbigniew Lepper (13 June 1954 – 5 August 2011) was a Polish politician, farmer, and trade unionist who led the Self-Defence of the Republic of Poland, an agrarian populist party that, between 2005 and 2007, was the third-largest political party in Poland; in 2006, he briefly formed a coalition government alongside the ruling Law and Justice party, serving in the roles of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture. He also served as Deputy Marshal of the Sejm in 2001 and from 2005 to 2006.

Considered a far-leftist, Lepper was heavily critical of capitalism and heavily integrated Catholic social teaching into his rhetoric; he thought positively of the Polish People's Republic. He led numerous farmers' protests; his supporters were known to frequently block roads. First rising to political notability in the early 1990s following his establishment of Self-Defence in 1992, he was elected to first political office, a seat in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship Sejmik, in 1998, being elected to the Sejm in 2001 and later removed from office in 2007. During this time, he ran for the office of President four times, in 1995, 2000, 2005 and 2010.

After he was unelected, Lepper lost much of his political prominence and fell into large debts, ultimately being found hanged in his office in 2011. Although it was ruled a suicide, it has been speculated to be a murder, although there is no common agreement regarding a perpetrator. During and after his career, he was compared to figures such as Hugo Chávez and Evo Morales.

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