Janusz Cieszyński

Janusz Cieszyński
Minister of Digital Affairs
In office
6 April 2023 – 27 November 2023
PresidentAndrzej Duda
Prime MinisterMateusz Morawiecki
Preceded byMarek Zagórski
Succeeded byKrzysztof Gawkowski
Personal details
Born (1988-05-06) 6 May 1988 (age 36)
Wrocław, Poland
Alma materSGH Warsaw School of Economics[1]

Janusz Antoni Cieszyński (born 6 May 1988) is a Polish politician who was Minister of Digital Affairs under Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in his second cabinet since 6 April 2023.[2][3][4]

Early life and education

Janusz Cieszyński was born on 6 May 1988 in Wrocław, Poland.[3] He graduated from SGH Warsaw School of Economics with a degree in finance and accounting.[5][6][1]

Career

From 2009 to 2014, Cieszyński worked at the Polish telecommunications company Orange Polska, in its finance and marketing departments.[5][1]

Cieszyński was an advisor to Mateusz Morawiecki, at the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Development, during the latter's time as Deputy Prime Minister from 2015 to 2017.[2][1] Cieszyński was also the head of the Department of Small and Medium Enterprises at the Ministry of Development from 2016 to 2017.[2][1] In addition, from 2016 to 2018, he served as the chairman of a board supervising a corporation that the state treasury established to support Polish export activities.[1]

On 17 January 2018, Cieszyński was appointed Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Health, responsible for computerizing the health sector and supervising the Centre for Health Care Information Systems.[2][1] At the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, in the middle of March, Cieszyński approved the purchase of 100,000 masks for 5 million PLN from a skiing instructor who was friends with Łukasz Szumowski, the minister of health at the time.[1] The masks were found to not meet any health standards and were deemed useless.[1] On 14 April 2020, Cieszyński completed a deal with a former arms trade company, purchasing over 1,200 ventilators for 200 million PLN.[1] The company only delivered some of the ventilators ordered, and although they were paid an advance of 154 million PLN, as of 2023, 70 million PLN of it had yet to be returned.[1] Facing criticism due to the ventilator purchase, Cieszyński resigned on 17 August 2020.[1]

Cieszyński was appointed Minister of Digital Affairs on 6 April 2023.[3][4]

Personal life

Janusz Cieszyński is married.[1]

References