Aleksandra Wojdyla
Aleksandra Wojdyla | |
|---|---|
 Aleksandra Wojdyla at a parliamentary debate, 2016 | |
| 22nd Minister-President of West Miersa | |
| In office 23 June, 2013 – 3 October, 2016 | |
| President | Gerard Wojdyla |
| Preceded by | Gerard Wojdyla |
| Succeeded by | Adrian Rozak |
| Constituency | Gdawiec |
| MNA for Gdawiec | |
| In office 3 October, 1991 – 3 October, 2016 | |
| Preceded by | Zbigniew Wojdyla |
| Succeeded by | Klaudiusz Winarski |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Aleksandra Tomasz Wojdyla 15 April 1963 West Żobrodź, Żobrodź, West Miersa |
| Nationality | West Miersan |
| Political party | Miersan National Party |
| Spouse | Pafnucy Chojnowski |
| Children | 3 |
| Relatives | See Wojdyla family |
| Profession | Lawyer, politician |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Miersan National Army |
| Branch/service | Medical Corps |
| Years of service | 1979-1982 |
| Rank | Nurse |
Aleksandra Tomasz Wojdyla, also known as Aleksandra Tomasz Chojnowska, is a West Miersan politician, who is the current leader of the Miersan National Party, and who previously served as the twenty-second Minister-President of West Miersa from 2013 to 2016. She was the first woman to have ever served as Minister-President of the Miersan Sotirian Republic, and is the first woman to serve as leader of any of the major political parties in the country.
Born in 1963 in West Zobrodz to Zbigniew Wojdyla and Halina Wojdyla, she grew up in Gdawiec. She served as a nurse during the Miersan War for the Miersan National Army. Following the end of the Miersan War, she began to be involved in politics, assisting her father in the 1986 election campaign and helping him be the only member of the Miersan National Party to gain re-election that year. In 1991, after her father retired, she succeeded him as Member of the National Assembly of Gdawiec, serving until 2016. She was initially involved in protecting women's rights in the country, but after her cousin, Gerard Wojdyla, became parliamentary leader in 2003, Aleksandra Wojdyla would rise through the ranks of the party, becoming involved in education.
In the 2011 general elections, the Miersan National Party gained control of the National Assembly, leading to Gerard Wojdyla becoming Minister-President. She served as Education Minister from 2011 until 2013, when after a constitutional crisis relating to the cohabitation between a Miersan National-controlled National Assembly and a Naprzód-controlled Presidency forced Tomisław Sobolewski to resign, she was appointed Minister-President by Gerard Wojdyla.
As Minister-President, she faced substantial challenges, due to both her sex and the circumstances upon which she came into power. Despite these setbacks, she attempted to continue Sobolewski's policy of democratisation, and to make the judicial system more independent. However, these efforts proved fruitless, and in 2016, she lost her seat to her Naprzód challenger, while Naprzód itself took control of the National Assembly.
In 2017, she became the leader of the Miersan National Party, and under her leadership has become a vociferous critic of Sylwester Wrzesiński's government. In late 2020, following the passage of the third amendment to the West Miersan constitution, she established a "unity front" for the purpose of challenging Naprzód for the 2021 general elections.
Early life
Aleksandra Wojdyla was born on 15 April, 1963 to Zbigniew Wojdyla and Halina Wojdyla, as the youngest of four daughters, in West Zobrodz, West Miersa.
As her father was a member of the National Assembly, she would spend her childhood alternating between West Zobrodz and Gdawiec, in her father's constituency. Thus, when she began her schooling in 1969, she attended prestigious schools in Gdawiec, where she was described as a mediocre student in "feminine subjects," but an excellent student when it came to "masculine subjects."
In 1973, she was able to move on to a prestigious high school, where she became interested in politics. Despite her father discouraging her from entering politics, she became more determined to enter the political world. She became eligible to attend college in 1979, only for the Miersan War to force her to drop out from her studies.
During the Miersan War, she served as a nurse in the Miersan National Army, despite having no medical experience, as she wanted to "help my country." She served until the end of the end of the Miersan War, when she was honourably discharged.
The following year, she married her husband, Pafnucy Chojnowski, who she met during the war when she treated him in the aftermath of the Battle of Krada. Despite her marriage, she still remained determined to enter politics.
Political career
Early political career
Her opportunity came in 1986. With Zbigniew Wojdyla having served continuously from 1961 as a Member of the National Assembly, it was unclear that he would be able to secure another term, particularly due to the decreasing popularity of the Miersan National Party who had governed the Miersan Sotirian Republic since its independence from Soravia.
Aleksandra Wojdyla thus participated in her father's re-election campaign. During the campaign, she helped articulate her father's message and ensure his re-election to the National Assembly, with Aleksandra helping her father distance himself from Tadeusz Wojdyla's administration. While this would strain their relationships with much of the broader Wojdyla family, Aleksandra was able to help her father be re-elected against Naprzód candidate Mieczysław Lorbiecki, making him the only member of the National Assembly to be re-elected from the Miersan National Party, with the other 92 MNAs being previous appointees.
She would serve as her father's secretary until 1991, when Zbigniew announced his retirement from politics. Due to her interest in politics, the Miersan National Party nominated her to take over her father's seat, leading her to face off against Lorbiecki. During her election campaign, she pledged to represent the party as a "viable option for the new decade," and to "represent the people of Gdawiec well." Her strategy, combined with Lorbiecki being accused of not properly reporting his donors led to her victory.
Parliamentary career
On 3 October, 1991, she was sworn as Member of the National Assembly for the constituency of Gdawiec. Like her cousin, Gerard Wojdyla, she was a marginal figure in the National Assembly, due to her membership in the opposition Miersan National Party (as opposed to the governing Naprzód), and the presence of more senior members in the Wojdyla family in the National Assembly. However, her familial relations to Zbigniew Wojdyla helped benefit her career within the Miersan National Party, with some in the party seeing her as a potential cabinet minister.
She defended her seat in the 1996 general elections against Naprzód challenger Kazimierz Wielgus, defeating Wielgus with 62% of the vote in her constituency of Gdawiec. In her second term in the National Assembly, Aleksandra Wojdyla was appointed to the Committee on Women's Rights, giving Aleksandra Wojdyla her first exposure to the wider public eye outside of her constituency in Gdawiec. She advocated a "balanced approach" between "promoting the advancement of women in society" and "traditional Miersan culture."
In 2001, she secured a third term as Member of the National Assembly. Aleksandra Wojdyla won with 64% of the vote against Naprzód candidate Maurycjusz Sierakowski. Maintaining her role on the committee, Aleksandra Wojdyla would gain additional prominence in 2003 when her cousin, Gerard Wojdyla became the parliamentary leader of the Miersan National Party. Although at the time, she was, at best, expected to become Minister of Education in a future Miersan National Party government, Aleksandra Wojdyla was seen as a potential beneficiary of Gerard Wojdyla's leadership.
She would go on to win a fourth term in the 2006 general elections, defeating Naprzód challenger Bazyli Rybarski with 47% of the vote, with the decline in her results being attributable a spoiler result from the Green candidate Brygida Barylska, who gained 16% of the vote. Although pundits at the time of the 2006 election expected that if the Miersan National Party formed government, she would become Education Minister, the Naprzód majority meant that she was unable to become Minister of Education. However, Aleksandra Wojdyla participated in committees relating to West Miersan education, where she advocated for a preservation of the traditional Miersan education system, and opposing West Miersa joining the Concordance eucléenne, saying that it would "dumb our students down."
In 2011, she won with 53% of the vote against Naprzód candidate Budzisław Machon, allowing her to maintain her seat in Gdawiec. Although nationwide, the Miersan National Party won less votes than Naprzód, as they secured more seats in the National Assembly, it enabled her cousin to form government. Thus, on 3 October, 2011, she was appointed by Gerard Wojdyla as being Education Minister in Gerard's cabinet.
During her tenure as Education Minister, Aleksandra Wojdyla halted efforts at higher education reform by the preceding government, although she sought to improve "early childhood education," saying in 2012 that "our country's children would benefit more from investing in programs that will make their education better, than on education reform that makes our students more prone to eastern influences."
By 2013, as a constitutional crisis developed due to the cohabitation between the Miersan National Party, who controlled the legislature, and Naprzód, who controlled the Presidency, she was one of the earliest supporters of Gerard Wojdyla, saying that Tomisław Sobolewski had "proven time and time again that he wants to only let his cronies exercise power." When Gerard Wojdyla was asked to resign that May, he refused, with Aleksandra Wojdyla backing him.
Minister-President
After Tomisław Sobolewski resigned on 23 June, Gerard Wojdyla as the then-Minister-President automatically became Acting President of West Miersa, per the procedures outlined in the Constitution of West Miersa. On that day, he appointed Aleksandra Wojdyla to be Minister-President, making her the first woman to ever be the head of government in West Miersan history.
While Gerard Wojdyla was initially popular, Aleksandra Wojdyla was not popular, given both her sex, and her appointment due to family connections, leading to concerns that the Wojdyla family was trying to recentralize power in their family. Despite these allegations, Aleksandra Wojdyla was permitted by Acting President Gerard Wojdyla to exercise her powers assigned to the Minister-President under the West Miersan constitution.
During her term as Minister-President, she sought to reduce the government's involvement in the West Miersan judicial system, and to continue the democratisation of the Miersan Sotirian Republic set out by Tomisław Sobolewski during his first term. As well, she ended all privatisations that the previous Naprzód governments were planning, saying in 2013 that "it is essential that Miersan industries stay in the control of us Miersans, and not in the hands of some Gaullican who wants to exploit our resources like it was the Great War all over again."
While her efforts were somewhat successful, she was met with fierce opposition, with many in Naprzód saying that she was not a legitimate Minister-President, pointing out that she was appointed by her predecessor after Soravia supported Gerard Wojdyla against Sobolewski, making the entire government illegitimate in their eyes. Despite these setbacks, by 2015, the Miersan National Party confirmed her to be their nominee for the Minister-Presidency.
Unlike Gerard Wojdyla, whose support eventually improved by the time of the 2016 general elections, Aleksandra Wojdyla consistently was among the least popular politicians in the country. Thus, when campaigning began, she ran against Naprzód candidate Adrian Rozak for the Minister-Presidency, and against Naprzód candidate Klaudiusz Winarski for her constituency.
During the 2016 elections, Aleksandra Wojdyla faced an uphill battle for re-election, as Klaudiusz Winarski was more popular than she was, as voters in Gdawiec were persuaded by Winarski's rhetoric that she greatly benefitted from the "2013 coup d'etat" against Tomisław Sobolewski, and that she did not have their interests in mind, but only that of the Wojdyla family. This, combined with claims that her focus on politics over family led her to be a "terrible mother" meant that when the results came in, she lost Gdawiec, only garnering 32% of the vote to Winarski's 67% of the vote, and making it the first time since West Miersa's independence in 1936 that the Miersan National Party did not hold the seat.
Thus, on 3 October, 2016, she was succeeded by Adrian Rozak as Minister-President, and by Klaudiusz Winarski as Member of the National Assembly for Gdawiec.
Leader of the Miersan National Party
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Following Gerard Wojdyla's resignation from the party leadership, Aleksandra Wojdyla expressed her intention to succeed him, saying that "the Miersan National Party until my rule will govern for all Miersans, not just my family," and that her leadership will strike a balance between "progress and tradition that Naprzód simply lacks."
Her statements caused waves, with some traditionalist members of the Miersan National Party leaving the party, with many joining either Naprzód or the Agrarian Party. However, her support by the Wojdyla family meant that in 2017, she was confirmed to be party leader, while acting parliamentary leader Albin Satkowski became was chosen to serve as the official parliamentary leader of the Miersan National Party. Her selection as leader of the Miersan National Party, albeit criticised by many social conservatives, was supported by progressives who felt that her leadership was proof that "West Miersa is moving into the 21st century."
As leader of the Miersan National Party, Aleksandra Wojdyla was critical of Sylwester Wrzesiński for re-centralising power in the Presidency, saying in 2017 that "they claim that they want to protect democracy in the Miersan Sotirian Republic, and yet, Wrzesiński is objectively the most authoritarian President since Maksymilian Trzeciak," and criticised Adrian Rozak for "not standing up to the fact that his powers are being used by the President against the constitution." While she was initially concerned that Wrzesiński would pull West Miersa out of Samorspi, his statements that the interests of the Miersan Sotirian Republic "lie in Samorspi and Soravia, not in the Euclean Community and Gaullica" were taken by her to mean that West Miersa would stay in Samorspi.
In August 2020, Aleksandra Wojdyla opposed the wide-ranging amendment proposed by the West Miersan government which would make West Miersa a de-jure unitary presidential republic and increase the number of appointed seats from 92 to 159 seats. While she did secure a concession to reduce the number of appointed seats from the original 169 seats, by adding ten seats to represent the Miersan diaspora, she ultimately directed her party to vote against it. However, most of the voivodeships voted in favour, leading to the amendment coming into effect in October 2020.
That December, she announced her intention to form a unity front, inviting opposition parties to join together with the Miersan National Party "to ensure that we vanquish Naprzód," and "have a better chance of restoring Miersan democracy." Both Nowoczesność and Razem! agreed to participate in the unity front, while the Green Party leadership expressed interest in the idea, only for the proposal to be rejected by the Green Party membership. On 12 April, 2021, the three parties established Zjednoczeni to help fulfill Wojdyla's vision of a "unity front."
Personal life
Family
In 1983, she married her husband, Pafnucy Chojnowski. Together, they have three children: two sons, Zygmunt Chojnowski, born in 1984, and Tomisław Chojnowski, born in 1986, and a daughter, Bożena Zaborska, born in 1988.
As of 2020, she has nine grandchildren: three from Zygmunt Chojnowski, two from Chojnowski, and four from Bożena Zaborska.
While for her professional career, she maintains the use of her maiden name to emphasise her connections to the Wojdyla family, she legally uses the Chojnowska surname, and uses it for her personal life.
Language
Aleksandra Wojdyla speaks Miersan as a first language, but is also fluent in Soravian and Gaullican.
Religion
Aleksandra Wojdyla is a devout member of the Miersan Episemialist Church, having been given the baptismal name Tomasz, after Saint Thomas the Apostle.
She has stated that "without God, without Sotirianity as practiced in its true form, Miersa will not have achieved the great things that it did."
Political views
Her political views are largely similar to her cousin, Gerard Wojdyla, although she believes that women can and should "play a greater role in our society," saying in 2015 that "we are not just mothers, but we are also saints, teachers, politicians, actresses, and many many other things. Why should we hold ourselves back because our society, our culture, says so?"
She has expressed support for "potentially expanding abortion access to include socio-economic circumstances," but has opposed completely liberalising abortion access, saying that "while there are many reasons that one can and should get an abortion, selfishness is not one of them."
Honours
Domestic
- - Officer of the Order of the White Eagle, 2013