The news of Dorn’s passing was announced during a session of the Sejm, the lower house of Poland's parliament, on Thursday, the state PAP news agency reported.
House Speaker Elżbieta Witek said: “More sad news today. Ludwik Dorn, a former Sejm Speaker, MP, deputy prime minister, interior minister, co-founder and deputy leader of the Law and Justice (PiS) party, died today.”
‘I’m full of grief’: ruling party leader
Poland’s conservative leader Jarosław Kaczyński described Dorn as “a remarkably talented man” who “did a lot of good for the country.”
Speaking in an interview with broadcaster Radio Plus, the deputy prime minister and Law and Justice leader added that Dorn “passed away prematurely.”
“I’m full of grief,” Kaczyński said.
Many other top politicians, including President Andrzej Duda, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Deputy Prime Minister Piotr Gliński, also paid tribute to Dorn, expressing their sadness at his passing.
Born in 1954 in Warsaw, Dorn was a prominent opposition activist under communism, notably with the Committee for the Protection of the Workers (KOR) and the Solidarity trade union.
After the collapse of Poland's communist regime, he began a long-standing collaboration with Kaczyński, with whom he co-founded the Law and Justice party in 2001.
A seasoned lawmaker, Dorn served as a deputy prime minister and interior minister in two Law and Justice governments between 2005 and 2007. He then became lower-house Speaker. In November 2007, he resigned as deputy leader of the party and left Law and Justice in 2008.
In his later years, Dorn was active as a political columnist and commentator.
He is survived by his wife and four daughters.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP
