In the spotlight: Marek Balicki
His proposal for changing the Drug Prevention Law as well as his health sector reform bill have stirred up a lot of controversy.
Balicki's current spell as the Health Minister (since July 2004) is not actually his first. Balicki previously held the post in Leszek Miller's government between January and July 2003. He was also the deputy Minister of Health from 1992-93. From 1998 to 2001 Balicki was a presidential advisor and gave his input on the healthcare system reforms initiated during that time.
Balicki is a specialist in anesthesia, intensive care and psychiatry. In 1999 he became the director of Szpital Bielański, the largest hospital in Warsaw. His two years in charge proved to be very successful, as the hospital's financial problems were cured and many new wards were created. The citizens of Warsaw rewarded Balicki by electing him to the Senate in 2001. He received 246,000 votes-the fourth-best result in the country. In 2002, he ran for the post of the President of Warsaw, upsetting Andrzej Olechowski in the first round, before losing to the current President in the second.
In the early 1980s Balicki was a member of Solidarność and was interned during martial law. After 1989, the current Health Minister was active in promoting the idea of local governments, before getting into prime-time politics. He is a founding member of the party Polish Social Democracy (SdPL).
Balicki's current spell as the Health Minister (since July 2004) is not actually his first. Balicki previously held the post in Leszek Miller's government between January and July 2003. He was also the deputy Minister of Health from 1992-93. From 1998 to 2001 Balicki was a presidential advisor and gave his input on the healthcare system reforms initiated during that time.
Balicki is a specialist in anesthesia, intensive care and psychiatry. In 1999 he became the director of Szpital Bielański, the largest hospital in Warsaw. His two years in charge proved to be very successful, as the hospital's financial problems were cured and many new wards were created. The citizens of Warsaw rewarded Balicki by electing him to the Senate in 2001. He received 246,000 votes-the fourth-best result in the country. In 2002, he ran for the post of the President of Warsaw, upsetting Andrzej Olechowski in the first round, before losing to the current President in the second.
In the early 1980s Balicki was a member of Solidarność and was interned during martial law. After 1989, the current Health Minister was active in promoting the idea of local governments, before getting into prime-time politics. He is a founding member of the party Polish Social Democracy (SdPL).
