Full Text of HJR0058 097th General Assembly
HJ0058 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, His Excellency Lech Walesa, Former President of | 3 | | the Republic of Poland, helped lead his country to a new era of | 4 | | freedom; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Lech Walesa, the son of a carpenter, rose to | 6 | | become the first democratically-elected President of postwar | 7 | | Poland and helped to usher the country into the modern era by | 8 | | laying the foundation for Poland's eventual admission into | 9 | | NATO, and, as a free nation, into the United Nations; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Lech Walesa, Pope John Paul II, President Ronald | 11 | | Reagan, and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher are recognized as | 12 | | the Big Four, whose courage helped bring about the | 13 | | disintegration of the Eastern Bloc and the end of the Cold War; | 14 | | and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Lech Walesa's journey, from working in the massive | 16 | | Lenin shipyard at Gdansk, Poland to becoming the first | 17 | | democratically-elected President in Poland's postwar history, | 18 | | was an arduous one; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Lech Walesa was born on September 29, 1943 in | 20 | | Popowo, Poland; after graduating from vocational school, he | 21 | | worked as a car mechanic at a machine center from 1961 to 1965; |
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| 1 | | he served in the army for 2 years, where he rose to the rank of | 2 | | corporal; in 1967, he was employed in the Gdansk shipyards as | 3 | | an electrician; in 1969, he married Danuta Golos; together, | 4 | | they have 8 children; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, Working as an electrician in the shipyards in the | 6 | | early 1970s, Lech Walesa witnessed violent government | 7 | | crackdowns ordered by Poland's Communist Party leadership | 8 | | against its own citizens, which spurred him to take action and | 9 | | become recognized as a labor leader and activist; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, In 1976, as a result of his activities as a shop | 11 | | steward, Lech Walesa was fired and was forced to earn his | 12 | | living by taking temporary jobs; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, The Catholic Church supported the Polish workers | 14 | | movement; in January of 1981, Lech Walesa was cordially | 15 | | received by Pope John Paul II in the Vatican; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Lech Walesa regards his faith as a source of | 17 | | strength and inspiration; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, In recognition of his leadership, Lech Walesa was | 19 | | elected to serve as the first Solidarity Chairman at the First | 20 | | National Solidarity Congress in Gdansk in September of 1981; | 21 | | and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Lech Walesa is recognized for his raw courage as | 2 | | "the man who stood up"; he continued to lead after he was | 3 | | imprisoned during the imposition of martial law in communist | 4 | | Poland; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, In the fall of 1983, Lech Walesa was awarded the | 6 | | Nobel Peace Prize for his struggle to win workers' rights in | 7 | | Poland; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, When awarded the 1983 Nobel Peace Prize, the Nobel | 9 | | Committee stated: "...Walesa is an exponent of the active | 10 | | longing for peace and freedom which exists, in spite of unequal | 11 | | conditions, unconquered in all the peoples of the world. | 12 | | Furthermore the Committee believes that Walesa's attempt to | 13 | | find a peaceful solution to his country's problems will | 14 | | contribute to a relaxation of international tension."; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Lech Walesa's activities have been characterized | 16 | | by a determination to solve his country's problems through | 17 | | negotiation and cooperation, without resorting to violence; | 18 | | and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Lech Walesa served as President of the Republic of | 20 | | Poland from 1990 to 1995; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, During his presidency, Lech Walesa saw Poland | 2 | | through privatization and the transition to a free market | 3 | | economy, the nation's first completely free parliamentary | 4 | | elections in 1991, and a period of redefinition of Poland's | 5 | | foreign relations; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Lech Walesa successfully negotiated the | 7 | | withdrawal of Soviet troops from Polish soil and won a | 8 | | substantial reduction in Poland's foreign debts; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, President Lech Walesa was an instrumental force in | 10 | | ushering in Polish democracy, continued reforms, and national | 11 | | reconciliation; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, President Lech Walesa leaves a historic legacy of | 13 | | freedom that has changed the face of Poland, Europe and the | 14 | | world at large; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Lech Walesa was named by Time Magazine as one of | 16 | | the 100 most influential people of the past century; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, Lech Walesa continues to help people that fight | 18 | | for freedom around the world to believe that they are not alone | 19 | | in their struggle and that the world is not indifferent to | 20 | | their aspirations for freedom; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Lech Walesa has been granted many honorary degrees | 2 | | from prestigious universities, including Harvard University | 3 | | and the University of Paris; he has also been the recipient of | 4 | | the Medal of Freedom (Philadelphia, U.S.A.), the Award of Free | 5 | | World (Norway), and the European Award of Human Rights; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Lech Walesa is the founder of the "Lech Walesa | 7 | | Institute" Foundation in Gdansk, Poland; through this | 8 | | organization, he wishes to honor those people and institutions | 9 | | who are active for the cause of freedom and who promote the | 10 | | values which were at the basis of Polish "Solidarity"; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, President Lech Walesa is the recipient of the 2012 | 12 | | Lincoln Leadership Prize, awarded by the Abraham Lincoln | 13 | | Presidential Library Foundation on February 9, 2012; the | 14 | | Foundation celebrates Lincoln's legacy of leadership by | 15 | | honoring leaders of meritorious quality; the prize is awarded | 16 | | to exceptional men and women for a lifetime of service in the | 17 | | Lincoln tradition, marked by great strength of character, | 18 | | individual conscience, and an unwavering commitment to the | 19 | | defining principles of democracy; the prize recognizes those | 20 | | individuals who accept the responsibilities imposed by history | 21 | | and demanded by conscience; therefore, be it
| 22 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 23 | | NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE |
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| 1 | | SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we designate the date of | 2 | | February 9, 2012 as "Lech Walesa Day" in the State of Illinois | 3 | | in honor of former Polish President Lech Walesa and his work in | 4 | | promoting freedom and self-determination in Poland and | 5 | | throughout the world; and be it further
| 6 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 7 | | presented to Lech Walesa as a symbol of our esteem and respect.
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