| Róża Maria Gräfin von Thun und Hohenstein | |
|---|---|
| Member of the European Parliament for Lesser Poland and Świętokrzyskie |
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 14 July 2009 |
|
| Majority | 153,966 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 13 April 1954 Kraków, Poland |
| Nationality | Polish |
| Political party | Civic Platform |
| Alma mater | Jagiellonian University |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Website | http://www.rozathun.pl |
Róża Maria Gräfin von Thun und Hohenstein[1] (née Woźniakowska, born 13 April 1954), usually shortened to Róża Thun, is a European Parliament Member (MEP) from Poland. A member of the Civic Platform, she started her term in 2009. Róża Thun was a involved in two anti-communist organizations (the Student Committee of Solidarity and the Workers' Defence Committee) in the People's Republic of Poland. After the fall of Communism, she was the chairwoman of the Polish Robert Schuman Foundation, a non-governmental organization promoting European integration. Thun was also the head of the European Commission representation to Poland between 2005 and 2009.
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Róża Woźniakowska was born on 13 April 1954 in Kraków, Poland.[1][2] Her father, Jacek Woźniakowski, was a professor at the Catholic University of Lublin (he also served as the mayor of Kraków between 1990 and 1991).[2] Her mother was a biologist specializing in bats.[2]
In 1981, she married Franz Graf von Thun und Hohenstein, who is a count of Bohemian and Austrian nobility. Upon marriage she received her last name "Gräfin von Thun und Hohenstein", whereby the German word Gräfin means "countess". They have four children together: son Christoph and daughters Marynia, Sophie and Jadwiga.[2]
In 1979, Woźniakowska graduated from the Jagiellonian University with a master's degree in English philology.[1][2] She became a member, and later spokesperson, of the of Student Committee of Solidarity in Kraków.[1] Between 1977 and 1980, she was also associated with the Workers' Defence Committee[1] (an organization aiding political prisoners and their families).
Between 1992 and 2005, Thun was the general director and chairwoman of the Polish Robert Schuman Foundation (Polish: Polska Fundacja imienia Roberta Schumana),[1] a non-governmental organization promoting European integration.[2] From 1998 to 2000, she was a member of the Warsaw City Council.[1] Between 2005 to 2009, Thun was the head of the European Commission representation to Poland.[1]
Thun became a European Parliament Member (MEP) following the elections of 2009. She gathered some 150,000 votes in the Lesser Poland and Świętokrzyskie constituency.[3] Although Thun ran from the Civic Platform list, she only joined the party after the elections.[3]
As a MEP, Thun is a member of the committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, the delegation for relations with Israel and the delegation to the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly.[1]
On 15 September, 2010 Thun supported the new initiative Spinelli Group formed in the European Parliament, which was founded to reinvigorate the strive for federalisation of the European Union (EU). Other prominent supporters are: Jacques Delors, Daniel Cohn-Bendit, Guy Verhofstadt, Andrew Duff, Elmar Brok.
On 26 April 2009 – less than two months before the European elections – Ryszard Czarnecki, a Polish MEP of the Law and Justice party, wrote a blog entry, describing Thun's "troubles" with the Polish National Electoral Commission.[4] According to Czarnecki, the Civic Platform wanted to register its candidate under the name "Róża just Thun",[4] but the Commission refused, stating that according to the law, the candidates must appear under their full names on the ballots.[4] "And so, the voters will see Róża Maria Gräfin von Thun und Hohenstein in her full grace",[4] Czarnecki wrote. He later added that "a Gräfin with a German-sounding name might do harm to the Civic Platform".[5][6]
On 20 May 2009, it was revealed that Czarnecki himself will appear on the ballots not under the name Ryszard Henryk, but as Richard Henry, as he was born in the United Kingdom.[6][7] Czarnecki stated that his situation in different, as he didn't choose his names, while Thun chose her surname by marrying her husband.[7] Róża Thun responded that she did it out of love,[7] adding "I pity Richard Henry Czarnecki".[7]