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Jacek Karnowski

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Jacek Karnowski
Karnowski in 2023
Minister of State of the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy
Incumbent
Assumed office
25 June 2024
Mayor of Sopot
In office
1998–2023
Preceded byJan Kozłowski [pl]
Succeeded byLucjan Brudzyński [pl]
Personal details
Born (1963-08-16) August 16, 1963 (age 61)
Gdańsk, Poland
Political partyCivic Platform (since 2001)
Other political
affiliations		Solidarity Electoral Action (1998–2001)
Conservative People's Party (1997–1998)
Conservative Party (1992–1997)
Republican Coalition (1991–1992)
Alma materGdańsk University of Technology

Jacek Krzysztof Karnowski (born 16 August 1963) is a Polish politican who has been serving as Minister of State of the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy since 25 June 2024 and served as Mayor of Sopot from 1998 to 2023. He has also been the chairman of Yes! For Poland since 2021 and a member of the Sejm since 2023.

Life and career

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Jacek Krzysztof Karnowski was born on 16 August 1963 in Gdańsk.[1] His father was a worker at the Railway Directorate in Gdańsk [pl].[2] In 1988, he graduated from the Land Construction Department of the Gdańsk University of Technology.[3]

During his studies, Karnowski became involved with the Movement of Young Poland [pl]. From 1990 to 1998, he was deputy mayor of Sopot.[4] He was an active member of various parties in the 1990s, including the Conservative Party and Conservative People's Party, and was re-elected in 1998 on the ticket of Solidarity Electoral Action, becoming mayor shortly after. He would later join the Civic Platform.[2]

In July 2008, Stanisław Julke, an entrepreneur, informed the local procuratorate of a reported illegal dealing involving Karnowski, wherein the mayor wanted compensation in the form of two flats in exchange for adding a floor to a historic tenement, beginning the so-called "Sopot affair" (Polish: afera sopocka).[5] Karnowski disagreed and stated that the entrepreneur wanted to renovate the historic building, but was sent to a conservator-restorer.[6] After a recording of a conversation he had on the matter was revealed to the public,[7] he suspended his Civic Platform membership[8] and then resigned from the party.[9]

In January 2009, he was accused of eight corruption-related charges by a procurator, intending to put him in pre-trial detention, but this was dismissed by the court.[10] Karnowski then proposed a referendum that would decide whether he would be removed from the mayoral role. A request signed by 4,500 people was submitted to the Electoral Committee in Gdańsk, and the vote was scheduled for 17 May 2009.[11] Voter turnout, around 40%, was enough to make the referendum valid, and 62% of voters voted not to remove Karnowski.[12]

In June 2010, the procurator of the appeal procuratorate in Gdańsk indicted Karnowski of six of the eight original charges.[13][14] In September, a court of first instance rejected the charges, as there was not enough evidence to prove the mayor's guilt.[15] In December 2011, the same procuratorate indicted Karnowski of four charges.[16] They were progressively dismissed by courts until, in 2015, the Sopot Regional Court of First Instance cleared Karnowski of a majority of them, which was upheld by a court in Gdańsk in 2016.[17][18]

Jacek won re-election in 2006, 2010,[19] 2014,[20] and 2018.[21] In 2021, he became the chairman of Yes! For Poland.[22] In the 2023 Polish parliamentary election, he was successfully elected to the Sejm as a member of the Civic Coalition.[23] As a result, he stopped being mayor of Sopot. He was succeeded by Polish Scouting and Guiding Association leader Lucjan Brudzyński [pl] and then the former deputy mayor, Magdalena Czarzyńska-Jachim.[24][25] On 26 June 2024, he became the Secretary of State of the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy[26] and rejoined the Civic Platform on 5 June 2025.[27]

Honours

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In 2003, Karnowski was awarded with the Silver Cross of Merit.[28] He also received the Honourary Medal for Service to Territorial Governance [pl] in 2015.[29]

See also

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Reference

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  1. ^ "Dane osoby z katalogu". Biuletyn Informacji Publicznej. Archived from the original on 6 September 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  2. ^ a b Głembin, Rajmund (2016). Poczet ojców miasta Sopot. Cieszyn: Offset Druk i Media. ISBN 978-83-943511-3-7.
  3. ^ Weltrowski, Piotr (21 April 2008). "Prezydent doktor Karnowski". Dziennik Bałtycki.
  4. ^ Pelka, Małgorzata (22 November 2023). "Od prezydenta Sopotu do posła KO. Kim jest Jacek Karnowski?". Radio Zet Wiadomości. Radio Zet. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  5. ^ "Sopocki przedsiębiorca informował premiera o sprawie Karnowskiego". gazeta.pl. 15 July 2008. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  6. ^ "Prezydent Sopotu domagał się łapówki?". wp.pl. Wirtualna Polska. 11 July 2008. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  7. ^ "Karnowski: Ja bym w to nie wchodził, tylko moja mama..." gazeta.pl. 12 July 2008. Archived from the original on 11 June 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  8. ^ Fandrejewska, Aleksandra (28 August 2011). "Miliardy w szarej strefie". Rzeczpospolita. Rzeczpospolita. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  9. ^ "Karnowski zrezygnował z członkostwa w PO". wp.pl. Wirtualna Polska. 21 July 2008. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  10. ^ "Karnowski nie został aresztowany". gazeta.pl. 29 January 2009. Archived from the original on 17 December 2013. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  11. ^ "Jest wniosek o referendum". Nasz Dziennik. Nasz Dziennik. 5 March 2009. Archived from the original on 6 May 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  12. ^ Chrzan, Mikołaj (18 May 2009). "Oficjalne wyniki sopockiego referendum". gazeta.pl. Gazeta Wyborcza. Archived from the original on 21 July 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  13. ^ "Prezydent Sopotu Jacek Karnowski oskarżony o korupcję". wyborcza.pl. Gazeta Wyborcza. 16 June 2010. Archived from the original on 15 July 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  14. ^ "Karnowski coraz mniej podejrzany". tvn24.pl. TVN. 1 May 2010. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  15. ^ "Sąd w sprawie Karnowskiego: "unicestwia akt oskarżenia"". money.pl. 14 September 2010. Archived from the original on 29 September 2010. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  16. ^ Wittman, Piotr (30 December 2011). "Prokuratura ponownie oskarża Karnowskiego". Rzeczpospolita. Rzeczpospolita. Archived from the original on 9 September 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  17. ^ Kaługa, Kuba (16 October 2015). "Jacek Karnowski uniewinniony w aferze sopockiej". RMF24. RMF FM. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  18. ^ "Afera sopocka. Prezydent Karnowski uniewinniony od zarzutów korupcji". gazeta.pl. 7 October 2016. Archived from the original on 31 October 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  19. ^ "Wybory Samorządowe 2010 - Państwowa Komisja Wyborcza". Państwowa Komisja Wyborcza. National Electoral Commission. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  20. ^ "Jacek Karnowski po raz piąty prezydentem Sopotu". Interia Wydarzenia. 17 November 2014. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  21. ^ "Wybory Samorządowe 2018". Państwowa Komisja Wyborcza. National Electoral Commission. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  22. ^ "Powołano największe stowarzyszenie polskich samorządowców „Tak! Dla Polski"". Serwis Samorządowy PAP. Polska Agencja Prasowa. 15 December 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  23. ^ "KOALICYJNY KOMITET WYBORCZY KOALICJA OBYWATELSKA PO .N IPL ZIELONI w wyborach do Sejmu i Senatu w 2023 r." Wybory do Sejmu i Senatu Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej 15 października 2023. National Electoral Commission. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  24. ^ Weltrowski, Piotr (15 November 2023). "Lucjan Brudzyński został komisarzem Sopotu". trojmiasto.pl. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  25. ^ "Sopot ma nowego komisarza; premier powołał Magdalenę Czarzyńską-Jachim". Serwis Samorządowy PAP. Polska Agencja Prasowa. 22 December 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  26. ^ "Jacek Karnowski nowym wiceministrem funduszy i polityki regionalnej". gov.pl. 26 June 2024. Archived from the original on 26 May 2025. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  27. ^ Dziubka, Kamil (5 June 2025). "Jacek Karnowski ponownie członkiem Platformy Obywatelskiej. "Stąd moja decyzja"". Onet Wiadomości. Onet. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  28. ^ M.P. 2003 nr 45 poz. 671. President of Poland. 14 May 2003. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  29. ^ "38 samorządowców z województwa pomorskiego wyróżnionych Odznaką Honorową za Zasługi dla Samorządu Terytorialnego". Strona archiwalna Ministerstwa Administracji i Cyfryzacji. 3 September 2015. Archived from the original on 4 April 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
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