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Szymon Hołownia

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Szymon Hołownia
Hołownia in 2022
Marshal of the Sejm
Assumed office
13 November 2023
PresidentAndrzej Duda
Deputy
Preceded byElżbieta Witek
Member of the Sejm
Assumed office
13 November 2023
Constituency24 – Białystok
Personal details
Born (1976-09-03) 3 September 1976 (age 48)
Białystok, Poland
Political partyPoland 2050 (2020–present)
Other political
affiliations
Third Way (2023–present)
SpouseUrszula Brzezińska
Children2

Szymon Franciszek Hołownia (Polish: [ˈʂɨmɔn xɔˈwɔvɲa]; born 3 September 1976) is a Polish politician and television personality currently serving as Marshal of the Sejm since 13 November 2023. From 2008 to 2019 he co-hosted Mam talent!, the Polish version of Got Talent, together with Marcin Prokop. He was an independent presidential candidate in the 2020 elections, coming in third place in the first round of the elections. He is the leader of the Poland 2050 political party.

In the 2023 Polish parliamentary election, he was elected to the Sejm from Białystok as a member of Third Way.

Journalist

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From 1997 to 2000, he worked as an editor of Gazeta Wyborcza, and from 2001 to 2004 as a columnist and editor of Newsweek Polska. From April[1] to July 2005[2] he was the deputy editor-in-chief of Ozon magazine. From September 2005 to 2006, he worked for Rzeczpospolita daily as an editor of the Plus Minus appendix.[3] He published - among others - in Kultura Popularna, Machina, Przewodnik Katolicki, Tygodnik Powszechny and Więź.[1] In the years 2006–2012 he was again a columnist for Newsweek Polska. From September 2012 to April 2013 he was a columnist for the Wprost weekly. From 2015 he is a regular columnist for Tygodnik Powszechny.[4]

He hosted programs in Radio Białystok, Radio Vox FM, cooperated with Radio PiN.[5][1]

He has authored twenty books on social issues and religion.[6]

Television

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Szymon Hołownia in 2017

Together with Marcin Prokop he co-hosted the Polish edition of Got Talent on TVN (2008–2019).[7] In 2006, he was the host of the program "Po prostu pytam" (pl. "I just ask") on TVP1.[6] In the years 2007–2012 he was the program director of Religia.tv.[6] In this station he hosted an ethical talk show "Między sklepami" (pl. "Between Stores") broadcast from the Złote Tarasy shopping mall in Warsaw,[8] the program "Bóg w wielkim mieście" (pl. "God in the Big City")[9] and numerous other programmes.

He was a host of press review in morning show Dzień Dobry TVN.[10]

Humanitarian work

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Portrait picture of Szymon Hołownia in 2012
Szymon Hołownia in 2012

He founded the Białystok branch of the "Pomoc Maltańska" foundation.[11] In April 2013, he founded the "Kasisi" foundation,[12] and in the following year he established the "Dobra Fabryka" foundation.[12]

As part of the "Dobra Fabryka", aid organized by Hołownia reached, among others, residents of Bangladesh, Mauritania, Rwanda, Burkina Faso and Senegal. In total, the foundation helps around 40,000 people on a yearly basis.[13] The "Kasisi" foundation focuses on running the largest orphanage in Zambia, where more than two hundred children live permanently.[14]

He acts for the children's rights.[15] At the end of 2019, he organized a fundraiser on Facebook, which gathered PLN 2 million (including over PLN 1.5 million paid by Kulczyk Foundation) for further functioning of the telephone helpline for children and youth, run by the "Dajemy Dzieciom Siłę" foundation. The support let the line to operate for another year (24 hours a day), though its rejection by the Ministry of National Education.[16] He is a co-initiator of the Pomocni.info website, addressed to people in a difficult life situation.[17][18][19][20]

He was an ambassador of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.[21]

Political activity

[edit]

Hołownia announced his candidacy for in the 2020 Polish presidential election on 8 December 2019 from the Gdańsk Shakespeare Theatre.[22] On 7 February 2020, he issued a manifesto focused on four aspects: national security, environmental protection, solidarity and activity of the local governments.[23] The chief of his electoral staff is Jacek Cichocki. He was supported, among others, by Janina Ochojska.[24][25] He based his campaign almost entirely on volunteers operating at the local offices in 16 major Polish cities and on assets from a public fundraiser.[26][27][28] Hołownia drummed up 10-20% of support for his candidature.[29]

In 2020 Polish presidential election he received 2,693,397 votes, which was 13.9% of total votes, coming third out of eleven candidates.[30] After the election, he announced the formation of a new political movement called Poland 2050 Movement (Polish: Ruch Polska 2050).[31]

Political views

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Hołownia and Jacek Żakowski in Warsaw, 2023

Hołownia has expressed support for the core political principles of Poland, such as parliamentary democracy, sovereignty, rule of law, civil society, separation of powers and political pluralism. He emphasizes the importance of the country's political transformation after 1989, though considers some of its effects to be negative. He emphasizes the role of local governments.[32] He regards the Constitution of Poland as the supreme and indisputable legal act on which the president's conduct is based.[33] He is critical towards the First Cabinet of Mateusz Morawiecki and Second Cabinet of Mateusz Morawiecki. He disapproves of the long-term impacts of the Constitutional Court crisis and considers changes in the judiciary carried out by Law and Justice to be unconstitutional.[34] He does not want to be associated with any of political currents (left, right or other), assuming that agreements and common goals can be found with representatives of all views.[35][36] He positively assesses Poland's membership in NATO, European Union and Weimar Triangle. He supports Poland's good relations with Ukraine.[37][38]

He proposes a referendum on increasing the health premium in order to repair health care in Poland. According to Hołownia, Poland should allocate 7% of GDP for this purpose. He points out the need to make the doctors' work lighter and to expand telemedicine services. He suggests handing over hospitals with their revenues to the Voivodeship (sub-national) governments in order to improve the quality and availability of services, as elected councillors would be responsible for them.[39] In his opinion, a National Climate Council should be set up to develop a plan for Poland to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 under the European Green Deal, including a move away from coal energy.[40] He considers the water crisis as one of the main ecological problems of Poland. He is a supporter of renewable energy.[41]

He has expressed opposition to legalising gay marriage, but also stated that his movement would follow "a rule of voting according to one's conscience" if such question was brought up. Hołownia regards the creation of same-sex "civil partnerships" with similar rights (a long-time proposal in Polish politics) as more rational.[42]

Private life

[edit]

His wife, Urszula Brzezińska-Hołownia, is a MiG-29 jet fighter pilot and a first lieutenant in the Polish Air Force.[43] They have two daughters (as of 2022).[44] He graduated from the Social High School in Bialystok. He studied psychology at the Warsaw School of Social Psychology but did not complete his degree.[45]

He is a Roman Catholic. Before getting married, Hołownia had been in the Dominican Order twice and was about to take the monastic ordination.[46] In January 2020 he was denied communion by a priest of the Carmelite Church of Warsaw due to his political views; Hołownia denounced the event on Facebook, leading the Archdiocese of Warsaw to issue an official apology, stating that the priest had broken Church regulations.[47]

He is a vegetarian.[48]

Awards

[edit]

He won the Grand Press award twice: 2006 in the Interview category for his conversation with the theologian, rev. Jerzy Szymik, titled „Heaven for pigeons”[49] and in 2007 in the Specialist Journalism category for the interview with the ethicist and philosopher dr. Kazimierz Szałata.[50]

In 2004, he was awarded the Business Center Club Press Prize.[51] In 2007, he was awarded the Ślad Award.[52] In 2011, he received the Wiktor award in the Wiktor Audience category for 2010, he was previously nominated for the Wiktor award in 2008 in the category The Greatest Television Discovery.[53] In 2008, he was awarded the MediaTory award by students of journalism from all over Poland in the NawigaTOR category.[54] In 2016, he was awarded the Honorary Medal by the Ombudsman for Children for Merit for the Protection of Children's Rights.[55]

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "'Ozon' nadciąga". www.wirtualnemedia.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  2. ^ "Ewakuacja z tygodnika 'Ozon'?". www.wirtualnemedia.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  3. ^ "Hołownia w 'Rzeczpospolitej'". www.wirtualnemedia.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  4. ^ "Tygodnik Powszechny". www.tygodnikpowszechny.pl. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  5. ^ "Ruszyła nowa sieć radiowa - VOX FM". www.wirtualnemedia.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  6. ^ a b c "Szymon Hołownia w niedzielę ma ogłosić start w wyborach prezydenckich". www.wirtualnemedia.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  7. ^ ""A już w sobotę - po raz ostatni..." Szymon Hołownia odchodzi z "Mam Talent"". Onet Kultura (in Polish). 29 November 2019. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  8. ^ "Religia.tv z 11 własnymi programami". www.wirtualnemedia.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  9. ^ "Bóg w wielkim mieście - program online, Oglądaj na Player.pl". Player.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  10. ^ "Pieńkowska z Jagielskim obudzą widzów jako pierwsi". www.wirtualnemedia.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  11. ^ Redakcja (5 February 2011). "Szymon Hołownia w Pile. Zdjęcia". Piła Nasze Miasto (in Polish). Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  12. ^ a b "Wyborcza.pl". wyborcza.pl. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  13. ^ "Archiwum Gdzie działamy". Dobra Fabryka (in Polish). Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  14. ^ "Fundacja". Fundacja Kasisi (in Polish). Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  15. ^ "Szymon Hołownia. Program wyborczy kandydata w wyborach prezydenckich". Onet Wiadomości (in Polish). 20 April 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  16. ^ "Telefon Zaufania Fundacji Dajemy Dzieciom Siłę ma już 2 mln zł. Będzie działał non stop". oko.press. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  17. ^ "Prezydent Gniezna kojarzony z PO poparł oficjalnie Szymona Hołownię". radiopoznan.fm (in Polish). Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  18. ^ Dąbkowski, Błażej (23 May 2020). "Szymon Hołownia odwiedził Wielkopolskę i Poznań. Poparcia udzielił mu prezydent Gniezna". Głos Wielkopolski (in Polish). Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  19. ^ "Szymon Hołownia w Poznaniu. Wcześniej poparł go prezydent Gniezna". epoznan.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  20. ^ "Wyborcza.pl". poznan.wyborcza.pl. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  21. ^ "Prelekcja Szymona Hołowni | Poznań University of Economics and Business". Prelekcja Szymona Hołowni | Poznań University of Economics and Business. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  22. ^ "Szymon Hołownia ogłosił swój start w wyborach prezydenckich". Onet Wiadomości (in Polish). 8 December 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  23. ^ Rudziński, Leszek (7 February 2020). "Wybory prezydenckie 2020. Szymon Hołownia przedstawił program wyborczy. "Nie zamierzam składać pustych obietnic"". Polska Times (in Polish). Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  24. ^ "PROGRAM WYBORCZY Szymona Hołowni: wybory 2020 [POGLĄDY, POSTULATY] - Radio ZET". www.radiozet.pl (in Polish). 17 June 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  25. ^ "Janina Ochojska wsparła Szymona Hołownię w wyścigu o fotel prezydenta". Onet Wiadomości (in Polish). 10 February 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  26. ^ "Wyborcza.pl". szczecin.wyborcza.pl. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  27. ^ "Szymon Hołownia przedstawił swój sztab wyborczy. Chce zebrać od 5 do 10 mln zł na kampanię". Wprost (in Polish). 14 February 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  28. ^ "Hołownia podsumowuje zbiórkę podpisów i pieniędzy". wpolityce.pl. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  29. ^ "Sondaże prezydenckie". Ewybory.eu (in Polish). Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  30. ^ "Wybory Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej w 2020 R".
  31. ^ "Szymon Hołownia: Ruch Polska 2050 wystartuje w najbliższych wyborach".
  32. ^ "Hołownia: Samorządy jedną z rzeczy, które udały się najlepiej - Polityka i Społeczeństwo". www.portalsamorzadowy.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  33. ^ "Hołownia: Prezydent bierze ślub z konstytucją [#RigamontiRazy2]". wiadomosci.dziennik.pl (in Polish). 13 March 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  34. ^ "Prezydentura według Szymona Hołowni. Wskazuje na 4 filary - ludzie". wnp.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  35. ^ "Szymon Hołownia: Wprowadzę zielone weto". www.rp.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  36. ^ "Szymon Hołownia: List do ludzi lewicy". KrytykaPolityczna.pl (in Polish). 4 May 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  37. ^ "Hołownia pokazał "wizję prezydentury". Chce mieć "pomysł na inteligentne i wrażliwe państwo"". gazetapl (in Polish). Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  38. ^ "Szymon Hołownia ogłasza program wyborczy. Zapowiada "Wielkie sprzątanie"". Newsweek.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  39. ^ "Hołownia: powinniśmy przeznaczać 7 proc. PKB na publiczny system ochrony zdrowia - Polityka zdrowotna". www.rynekzdrowia.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  40. ^ "RAPORT: Europejski Zielony Ład idzie naprzód pomimo koronawirusa". BiznesAlert.pl. 4 April 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  41. ^ "Hołownia: do 2050 r. Polska gospodarka może być w 75% oparta na OZE - Energetyka24". www.energetyka24.com. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  42. ^ ""Głosowałbym przeciw". Zaskakująca deklaracja Hołowni ws. małżeństw osób jednopłciowych". naTemat.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  43. ^ "Urszula Brzezińska-Hołownia. Kim jest żona Szymona Hołowni?". 26 June 2020.
  44. ^ "Kim jest żona Szymona Hołowni? Co ona wyrabia! Mamy dwa filmy". www.fakt.pl. 3 December 2019. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  45. ^ "Hołownia przyznał, że nie ma wyższego wykształcenia. Przy okazji wbił szpilę Dudzie". www.natemat.pl (in Polish). 7 February 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  46. ^ Inferos), Marcin Lómendil Morawski (a Descensu Ad (5 November 2011). "Undómë ar tindómë: Niedoszły dominikanin". Undómë ar tindómë. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  47. ^ "Ksiądz odmówił sakramentu komunii Szymonowi Hołowni. „Sumienie mi nie pozwala"". Wprost (in Polish). 15 January 2020.
  48. ^ "Szymon Hołownia: nie znalazłem powodów, żeby w XXI wieku nadal musieć jeść mięso [WYWIAD]". Onet Kultura (in Polish). 20 December 2018. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  49. ^ "Grand Press 2006 w kategorii wywiad". www.old.grandpress.press.pl. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  50. ^ "Grand Press 2007 w kategorii dziennikarstwo specjalistyczne". www.old.grandpress.press.pl. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  51. ^ "Dziennikarze nagrodzeni". www.wirtualnemedia.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  52. ^ KAI, Katolicka Agencja Informacyjna. "eKAI". eKAI. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  53. ^ "Kinga Rusin, Tomasz Lis, Monika Olejnik i Szymon Majewski walczą o Wiktory". www.wirtualnemedia.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  54. ^ CodeSite. "Laureaci 2008". MediaTory - Studenckie Nagrody Dziennikarskie (in Polish). Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  55. ^ "Odznaka Honorowa Rzecznika". Rzecznik Praw Dziecka (in Polish). Retrieved 5 December 2019.
Political offices
Preceded by Marshal of the Sejm
2023–present
Incumbent
Order of precedence
Preceded byas President Order of precedence of Poland
as Marshal of the Sejm
Succeeded byas Marshal of the Senate