Karol Nawrocki

About

Karol Tadeusz Nawrocki (born 3 March 1983) is a Polish historian and politician who has served as the 7th president of Poland since 2025. He served as the director of the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) from 2021 to 2025, and was the director of the Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk from 2017 to 2021.
Born in Gdańsk, Nawrocki studied history at the University of Gdańsk, earning a PhD in 2013 with a dissertation on anti-communist activities in the former Polish People’s Republic. His academic work centres on themes such as anti-communist resistance in Poland, organised crime, and the history of sports, a subject related to his own background as an active youth athlete, particularly in football and boxing. Nawrocki’s early professional career was closely aligned with institutions dedicated to preserving and promoting Poland’s historical memory. He joined the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) in 2009 and gained recognition for reorienting Poland’s historical institutions toward a patriotic and anti-communist narrative. In the 2025 presidential election, Nawrocki was chosen as the presidential candidate of the populist Law and Justice (PiS) party, ran as a nonpartisan…