Riad Haidar

Riad Haidar
Riad Haidar in 2020.
Member of the Sejm
In office 12 November 2019 – 25 May 2023
Constituency	No. 7
Member of the Lublin Voivodeship Sejmik
In office 2010–2019
Constituency	No. 3
Member of the City Council of Biała Podlaska
In office 2002–2010
Personal details
Born	(1951-08-01)1 August 1951 As-Suwayda, Syria
Died	25 May 2023(2023-05-25) (aged 72) Lublin, Poland
Resting place	Biała Podlaska, Poland
Citizenship	Poland • Syria
Political party	Democratic Left Alliance (2000–2019)
Other political affiliations	Nonpartisan (2019–2023)
Education	Medical University of Lublin Maria Curie-Skłodowska University University of Economics and Innovation
Occupation	Politician, Physician
Signature

Riad Haidar (1 August 1951 – 25 May 2023; Arabic: ریاض حیدر) was a Polish politician, physician, and social activist. From 2019 to 2023 he was a member of the Sejm of Poland, and from 2010 to 2019 he was a member of the Lublin Voivodeship Sejmik. From 1998 to 2019 he was the medical director of the Neonatology Ward of the Voivodeship Specialist Hospital in Biała Podlaska.

From 2000 to 2019 he was a member of the Democratic Left Alliance, and later was the nonpartisan politician aligned with the Civic Coalition electoral alliance, and informally aligned with the Polish Initiative.

Biography

Riad Haidar was born on 1 August 1951 in As-Suwayda, Syria, and was of Syrian descent.^[1][2] There he received the bachelor degree in physics and mathematics.^[3] In 1972, he moved to Lublin, Poland. In 1981, Haidar graduated from the Medical University of Lublin (then known as the Lublin Medical Academy), becoming a pediatrist.^[4][5] Following that, he moved to Syria for a short period, and later been working in the hospital in Bayda, Libya.^[4] Eventually he returned to Poland, and became Polish citizen in 1989.^[1] In 1991, he began working at the Neonatology Ward of the Voivodeship Specialist Hospital in Biała Podlaska,^[4] and in 1999, he became the ward's medical director.^[3] While working there, he became specialised in neonatology.^[4] In 2003, he finished postgraduate studies at the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin with a degree in healthcare project management, and in 2008, he graduated from the University of Economics and Innovation in Lublin with a degree in the healthcare service management and administration.^[4][2]

For many years he was a regional chief of staff of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity branch in Biała Podlaska.^[6] The ward that he was director of was named in his honour, the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity Neonatology Ward.^[3]

From 2000 to 2019, Haidar was a member of the Democratic Left Alliance.^[7] From 2002 to 2010, he was a member of the City Council of Biała Podlaska.^[3][8][9]

In 2010 he was elected to be a member of the Lublin Voivodeship Sejmik from the constituency no. 3. He received 13,982 votes (9.57% in the constituency).^[10] He was re-elected in 2014, with 13,133 votes (9.51% in the constituency),^[11] and in 2018, with 18,826 głosów (11.93% in the constituency).^[12]

In 2019, he unsuccessfully ran for the office of the member of the European Parliament from the Polish constituency no. 8 as the candidate of the European Coalition. He received 16,858 votes (2.28% in the constituency).^[13] Later, after the 2023 Polish parliamentary election, he would have had received a right to the seat left by Krzysztof Hetman, who has resigned to join the Sejm.^[14]

In 2019, Haidar left the Democratic Left Alliance, and run for the office of a member of the Sejm of Poland in the 2019 parliamentary election as a nonpartisan politician as part of the Civic Coalition electoral alliance. He ran for office in the constituency no. 7, which consists of the eastern half of the Lublin Voivodeship. He received the mandate in the election, with 21,483 votes (5.35% in the constituency).^[15][16]

On 31 December 2019, Haidar's contract with his hospital came to an end.^[17] Adam Chodziński, who was appointed as the hospital director in 2019, and who was a local councilor and a member of the rival Law and Justice party, offered Haidar to continue working in the hospital as the physician, but without remaining in the office of the ward director.^[18][19] Haidar refused the offer, as he believed the decision of the hospital director was motivated politically.^[20] On 2 January 2020, people organized a protest infronto the hospital in Biała Podlaska, in support of Haidar.^[17] His case was supported by, among others, senator and human rights activist Adam Bodnar,^[21] and journalist and social campaigner Jerzy Owsiak.^[22] The matter became a widely-commented controversy in the Polish-language media.^{[23][24][25][26]}

In November 2020, Haidar became involved in the organization of the local structures of the Polish Initiative party, while never formally joining it.^[27][28]

Haidar died on 25 May 2023 in Lublin, Poland, due to leukemia.^[29][5] The funeral was held in the Saint Cyril and Methodius Eastern Orthodox Church in Biała Podlaska, and organised like a state funeral. He was buried in the cemetery in Biała Podlaska.^[5]

On 1 June 2023, he was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta by the president of Poland, Andrzej Duda.^[5][30]

References

1. "Riad Haidar". mamprawowiedziec.pl (in Polish).
2. "Riad Haidar". sejm.gov.pl (in Polish).
3. "Riad Haidar odwiedzi Biłgoraj". gazetabilgoraj.pl (in Polish). 14 May 2019.
4. "Riad Haidar". sld.org.pl. 16 November 2017. Archived from the original on 22 July 2019.
5. Ewelina Burda (3 June 2023). "'Tato zawsze mnie uczył, by mówić prosto z serca'. Pogrzeb Riada Haidara". dziennikwschodni.pl (in Polish).
6. "Dary WOŚP pozwoliły na start hospicjum". 24wspolnota.pl (in Polish). 28 July 2017. Archived from the original on 16 October 2019.
7. Jacek Brzuszkiewicz (18 August 2019). "Riad Haidar: Przed czterema laty PiS zdobył władzę dzięki SLD. Teraz do tego dopuścić nie można. Odchodzę". lublin.wyborcza.pl.pl.
8. "Wybory samorządowe 2002". wybory2002.pkw.gov.pl (in Polish). 2002.
9. "Wybory samorządowe 2006". wybory2006.pkw.gov.pl (in Polish). 2006.
10. "Wybory samorządowe 2010". wybory2010.pkw.gov.pl (in Polish). 2010.
11. "Wybory samorządowe 2014". samorzad2014pkw.gov.pl (in Polish). 2014.
12. "Wybory samorządowe 2018". wybory2018.pkw.gov.pl (in Polish). 2018.
13. "Wybory do Parlamentu Europejskiego 2019". pe2019.pkw.gov.pl (in Polish). 2019.
14. Tilles, Daniel (8 November 2023). "Polish politician accused of corruption set to escape detention by taking up seat in EU Parliament". Notes From Poland. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
15. "Wybory do Sejmu – oficjalne wyniki z Zamościa i regionu". portalzamojski.pl (in Polish). 14 October 2019. Archived from the original on 14 October 2019.
16. "Wybory do Sejmu i Senatu Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej 2019". sejmsenat2019 pkw.gov.pl (in Polish). 2019.
17. Aleksandra Kaźmierczak (2 January 2020). "'Murem za Haidarem'. Protest przed szpitalem w Białej Podlaskiej". kurierlubelski.pl (in Polish).
18. Anna Dryjańska (2 January 2020). "Kim jest Adam Chodziński? To ten radny PiS pozbył się Riada Haidara". natemat.pl (in Polish).
19. Aleksandra Kaźmierczak (2 January 2020). "Protest 'Murem za Haidarem' przed szpitalem w Białej Podlaskiej. Zobacz zdjęcia". nto.pl (in Polish).
20. Agnieszka Sowa (1 January 2020). "Riad Haidar, zwolniony ordynator z opozycji: To zemsta polityczna". polityka.pl (in Polish).
21. "Riad Haidar pozbawiony funkcji ordynatora. Interweniuje RPO". rp.pl (in Polish). 1 January 2020.
22. Magdalena Nałęcz (2 February 2020). "Biała Podlaska. Riad Haidar zwolniony. Jerzy Owsiak żąda przywrócenia lekarza". wiadomosci.wp.pl (in Polish).
23. "'Murem za doktorem Haidarem', 'Jesteśmy z tobą'. Manifestacja w Białej Podlaskiej". tvn24.pl (in Polish). 2 February 2020.
24. "Odwołanie Riada Haidara. Protest pod szpitalem". fakt.pl (in Polish). 2 February 2020.
25. Bartosz Goluch (2 February 2020). "Riad Haidar z poparciem bialczan. Demonstracja 'Murem za Haidarem'". wiadomosci.wp.pl (in Polish).
26. "'Murem za Haidarem'. Protest przed szpitalem w Białej Podlaskiej". podlasie24.pl (in Polish). 2 January 2020.
27. Ewelina Burda (26 November 2020). "Haidar buduje struktury Inicjatywy Polskiej w Białej Podlaskiej. Ze współpracownikami prezyddziennikwschodni.plenta". dziennikwschodni.pl (in Polish).
28. "Riad Haidar. Poseł z Białej Podlaskiej już w partii Nowackiej, czy nadal bezpartyjny?". dziennikwschodni.pl (in Polish). 8 December 2020.
29. "Riad Haidar nie żyje". bp24.pl. 25 May 2023.
30. "Postanowienie Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z dnia 1 czerwca 2023 r. nr rej. 231/2023 o nadaniu orderów". isap.sejm.gov.pl (in Polish). 1 June 2023.