Andrzej Lepper

Andrzej Zbigniew Lepper (Polish pronunciation: [ˈandʐɛj ˈzbiɡɲɛf ˈlɛppɛr] ^ⓘ; 13 June 1954 – 5 August 2011) was a Polish politician, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Agriculture, and the leader of Self-Defence of the Republic of Poland. Known for his radical rhetoric and aggressive farmers' protests, Lepper was considered a far-left populist and an agrarian social-traditionalist, compared to left-wing figures such as José Bové, Hugo Chávez, Evo Morales, and Juan Perón. He left a long-lasting impact on Polish politics, emerging as the "defender of the oppressed and (...) all working people, the weak, and the needy." He was particularly known for his Balcerowicz must go (Polish: Balcerowicz musi odejść) slogan, which he coined to protest the neoliberal Balcerowicz Plan that had deregulated and privatized the Polish economy. Lepper considered the capitalist transition "economic genocide".

He was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development in the cabinet of Jarosław Kaczyński once from 5 May 2006 and 22 September 2006, and again from 16 October 2006 to 9 July 2007. Prior to entering politics, he was a professional farmer in the village of Zielnowo, Pomerania. Lepper entered Polish politics in 1991 as the leader of farmer protests, and founded Self-Defence as a political party and trade union in 1992. His first political office was as councillor of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship Sejmik, which he was elected to in the 1998 Polish local elections as part of the Social Alliance coalition. He was a candidate in the Polish presidential election in 1995, 2000, 2005 and 2010. He was also a candidate in the Polish parliamentary elections between 1991 Polish parliamentary election and 2007, becoming elected in 2001 and then in 2005.

Lepper became a polarizing figure towards the end of his career after accusations of harassment and corruption, which he denied. His party collapsed in the 2007 parliamentary election, losing all of its 56 seats. On 5 August 2011, Lepper's hanged body was found in his office, and it was ruled that he committed suicide the same day. However, doubts emerged following the discovery of a lack of fingerprints on the tools used in his death, and his acquaintances denying that he had any motivation to commit suicide. Further speculation arose after it was found there had been a scaffolding placed directly outside of the window of his office which had been fully opened, and all CCTV cameras in the area had malfunctioned. Popular opinion among Poles across the political spectrum, and some high-ranking officials such as former Prime Minister Leszek Miller, usually agrees on his death being caused by an unidentified third party, with theories ranging wildly from Belarusian KGB to an inside job by the Polish PiS party and special services. Lepper had acted erratically prior to his death and claimed to fear for his life and to be invigilated by drones and wiretaps. Some reporters dealing with the death of Lepper pointed out the deaths, including suicides, of three of his close co-workers and party members having preceded it: Róża Żarska, Ryszard Kuciński, and Wiesław Podgórski.