Donald Tusk
Donald Tusk's speech at the 2nd edition of the Annual NBP Conference on The Future of the European Economy Donald Franciszek Tusk ([ˈdɔnalt franˈt ɕiʂɛk ˈtusk] ( listen); born 22 April 1957) is a Polish politician who has been President of the European Council since 1 December 2014. Previously he was Prime Minister of Poland from 2007 to 2014, having also been co-founder and chairman of the Civic Platform (Platforma Obywatelska) party. Tusk was officially designated as Prime Minister on 9 November 2007 and took office on 16 November. His cabinet won a vote of confidence in the Sejm on 24 November 2007. He was the longest serving Prime Minister of the Third Republic of Poland. In October 2011, Tusk's Civic Platform won a plurality of seats in the Polish parliamentary election, meaning that Tusk became the first Prime Minister to be re-elected since the fall of communism in Poland. Tusk began his public career as an activist in his home town of Gdańsk, supporting Solidarity and organizing his fellow university students. With the exception of one four-year stretch, Tusk has served in the Third Republic parliament continuously since its first elections in 1991. He was Vice Marshal (deputy speaker) of the Senate from 1997 to 2001 and Vice Marshal of the Sejm from 2001 to 2005. On 30 August 2014, it was announced at an extraordinary EU Council meeting that Tusk would be the next President of the European Council. On 9 September, Tusk submitted his resignation as Prime Minister.