Czesław Kiszczak dies aged 90

Czesław Kiszczak, the last communist Prime Minister and one of the masterminds behind the introduction of martial law in Poland in 1981 has passed away after a long illness. Kiszczak was born in Southern Poland in 1925. He joined the communist Polish Workers' Party in 1945. Since 1957 he served as the head of Counter-intelligence for the Navy, and in 1967 he became deputy head of counter-intelligence agency, the Military Internal Service. Subsequently, Kiszczak occupied top positions in the Polish military and secret services. In 1981, he became the Minister of Internal Affairs and took part in the preparation of martial law declared in December 1981. Kiszczak issued orders for the pacification of striking miners at the Wujek coal mine on December 16, which left nine miners dead. During the period of 1981-1983 he was a member of Military Council of National Salvation (WRON), a military dictatorship quasi-government that ruled Poland under martial law. Towards the end of communism he served briefly as the Prime Minister. After the fall of the communism, Kiszczak was judged for the massacre at the Wujek and sentenced to four years in prison. The sentence was later reduced to a two year suspended prison sentence.