Joanna Senyszyn
| Joanna Senyszyn | |
|---|---|
 | |
| vice-president of SLD, member of the European Parliament | |
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In office September 25, 2005 – ? | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1949 |
| Nationality | Polish |
| Political party | Democratic Left Alliance |
Joanna Senyszyn (Polish pronunciation: [jɔˈanna sɛˈnɨʂɨn]) née Raulin (born February 1, 1949 in Gdynia) is a Polish left-wing politician, vice-president of the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) and member of the European Parliament. She is known as a critic of Catholicism.
Political career
In the 1970s, Senyszyn was a member of the Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR), the governing party in the communist People's Republic of Poland. In 1980 she joined Solidarność, of which she continued to be a member until 1995. Later, she joined SLD and was a successful candidate in the 2001 parliamentary election from the Democratic Left Alliance-Labor Union (SLD-UP) list, becoming a member of the Sejm. She was also a candidate in the European Parliament election in 2004, but did not win a seat. In 2005, she secured herself another Sejm term in the election (getting 11925 votes in district 26 Gdynia) and became a vice-president of her party. Since 2009 she's a member of the European Parliament.
Media
Senyszyn's public appearances, both in the Sejm and on other occasions, are often marked by the use of provocative language and satire. She is credited with coining the term kaczyzm to describe her political opponents of the Law and Justice government.
She raised some controversy (and gained media attention) when she paraphrased the words of Pope John Paul II during the so-called Parada Równości, a demonstration promoting LGBT rights in Poland coupled with a gay pride parade.
Senyszyn frequently criticizes Roman Catholic Church in Poland, in her internet blog, she called it "impudent, spiritless, rich, unpunished and brazen". In return, bishop Tadeusz Pieronek said that she should be pasturing cattle instead.
Other
Joanna Senyszyn holds the academic rank of Professor ordinarius and holds the chair in market research at the University of Gdańsk, where she also served as the Dean of the Faculty of Business Administration before being elected to the Sejm.
Personal life
Senyszyn's husband, Bolesław Senyszyn, is a lawyer from Gdynia.