Wojciech Witold Jaruzelski was a Polish military officer and communist politician. He was the last communist leader of the Polish People's Republic, served as First Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party from 1981 to 1989, Prime Minister from 1981 to 1985 and the country's head of state from 1985 to 1990. He was also the last commander-in-chief of the Polish People's Army. He resigned from power after the Polish Round Table Agreement in 1989 which led to democratic elections in Poland. Jaruzelski was chiefly responsible for the imposition of martial law in Poland on 13 December 1981 in an attempt to crush the pro-democracy movements, which included Solidarity, the first non-Communist trade union in Warsaw Pact history. Thousands of journalists were silenced and opposition activists interned without charge; some people lost their lives during the events. The resulting socio-economic crisis led to the rationing of basic foods including materials and consumer products, while the median income of the population fell by as much as 40%. During Jaruzelski's rule from 1981 to 1989, around 700,000 people left the country. 

July 6th, 1923 in Kurów  /  Died:   May 25th, 2014