Jan Kułakowski, left, was an effective advocate for the union Solidarity in the west
Jan Kułakowski, who has died aged 80, was responsible for launching the negotiations that led to Poland's accession to the European Union in 2004. In his role as Poland's chief negotiator, he managed to close 17 out of 30 negotiation chapters, including those concerning social affairs and employment, energy, the EU's external relations and economic and monetary union. A reputable negotiator, he surrounded himself in office with a team of young people, for whom he was a mentor and a guide through EU politics. Later, many of them were to become Poland's first generation of eurocrats in Brussels.
His involvement in Poland's integration with the EU dated back to 1989, when he became the country's ambassador to the European Communities. During his term, Poland signed an association agreement with the EC, in 1991, and applied for membership of the EU three years later.
In the summer of 2004, when Poland and the other nine new member states participated in the European elections for the first time, Kułakowski secured a seat in the European parliament. He and three other Polish MEPs were elected on the ticket of the centre-right Unia Wolnosci (Union of Liberty) party and joined the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group.
Kułakowski was one of the most active MEPs from Poland, serving as vice-chair of the delegation to the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly in 2007-08. He was active on employment and social affairs, and promoted the opening of western labour markets to new member states.
He was born in Myszków, southern Poland, to a Polish father and a Belgian mother. The family later settled in Warsaw. In 1944 he participated in the Warsaw uprising, against German occupation, serving as a courier for the resistance. His father and sister were killed during the war, and in 1946 he and his mother emigrated to Belgium.
Kułakowski graduated from the Catholic University of Leuven with a degree in law in 1953. He became involved with the International Federation of Christian Trade Unions (IFCTU) and was appointed a member of its general secretariat in 1954. He later became secretary, and then secretary general, of the European organisation of the IFCTU. He served as secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation in the mid-1970s. From 1976 to 1989, he was secretary general of the World Confederation of Labour (WCL), as the IFCTU was renamed in 1968.
During his term at the helm of the WCL, Kułakowski approached the leaders of communist Poland's independent trade union Solidarity, who welcomed him as a spokesman for their cause. He negotiated with Latin American and African dictatorships to advocate Solidarity in the west. His flat in Brussels was dubbed the "little embassy" by Polish opposition members, as Kułakowski was effective in lobbying in favour of those seeking to make their voice heard in the west. One of these activists, Tadeusz Mazowiecki, became Poland's first democratic prime minister in 1989, after the Communist party and Solidarity launched talks.
When Mazowiecki asked him to become Poland's ambassador to the EC, Kułakowski agreed and renounced his Belgian citizenship. He headed the Polish representation in Brussels from 1990 to 1996. His profound knowledge of the EU was useful in 1998, when he was appointed secretary of state and chief negotiator with the EU by the prime minister, Jerzy Buzek. He served at this post until 2001, when the government lost the elections. The negotiations between Poland and the EU were concluded by the succeeding government, which built on Kułakowski's work.
Kułakowski did not seek re-election as an MEP in 2009, as his health was deteriorating rapidly. He is survived by his wife, Zofia, and his daughters, Elzbieta, Krystyna and Barbara.
• Jan Jerzy Kułakowski, politician and diplomat, born 25 August 1930; died 25 June 2011
His involvement in Poland's integration with the EU dated back to 1989, when he became the country's ambassador to the European Communities. During his term, Poland signed an association agreement with the EC, in 1991, and applied for membership of the EU three years later.
In the summer of 2004, when Poland and the other nine new member states participated in the European elections for the first time, Kułakowski secured a seat in the European parliament. He and three other Polish MEPs were elected on the ticket of the centre-right Unia Wolnosci (Union of Liberty) party and joined the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group.
Kułakowski was one of the most active MEPs from Poland, serving as vice-chair of the delegation to the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly in 2007-08. He was active on employment and social affairs, and promoted the opening of western labour markets to new member states.
He was born in Myszków, southern Poland, to a Polish father and a Belgian mother. The family later settled in Warsaw. In 1944 he participated in the Warsaw uprising, against German occupation, serving as a courier for the resistance. His father and sister were killed during the war, and in 1946 he and his mother emigrated to Belgium.
Kułakowski graduated from the Catholic University of Leuven with a degree in law in 1953. He became involved with the International Federation of Christian Trade Unions (IFCTU) and was appointed a member of its general secretariat in 1954. He later became secretary, and then secretary general, of the European organisation of the IFCTU. He served as secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation in the mid-1970s. From 1976 to 1989, he was secretary general of the World Confederation of Labour (WCL), as the IFCTU was renamed in 1968.
During his term at the helm of the WCL, Kułakowski approached the leaders of communist Poland's independent trade union Solidarity, who welcomed him as a spokesman for their cause. He negotiated with Latin American and African dictatorships to advocate Solidarity in the west. His flat in Brussels was dubbed the "little embassy" by Polish opposition members, as Kułakowski was effective in lobbying in favour of those seeking to make their voice heard in the west. One of these activists, Tadeusz Mazowiecki, became Poland's first democratic prime minister in 1989, after the Communist party and Solidarity launched talks.
When Mazowiecki asked him to become Poland's ambassador to the EC, Kułakowski agreed and renounced his Belgian citizenship. He headed the Polish representation in Brussels from 1990 to 1996. His profound knowledge of the EU was useful in 1998, when he was appointed secretary of state and chief negotiator with the EU by the prime minister, Jerzy Buzek. He served at this post until 2001, when the government lost the elections. The negotiations between Poland and the EU were concluded by the succeeding government, which built on Kułakowski's work.
Kułakowski did not seek re-election as an MEP in 2009, as his health was deteriorating rapidly. He is survived by his wife, Zofia, and his daughters, Elzbieta, Krystyna and Barbara.
• Jan Jerzy Kułakowski, politician and diplomat, born 25 August 1930; died 25 June 2011
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