Born in 1954 in Poznan, he is a graduate of the University of Warsaw where he lectured in the Department of Polish Culture for many years. He has been involved in the ‘Solidarity’ underground movement since 1980. He has been a member of the national authorities of ‘Solidarity’ since 1989 and in 1990, became Chairman of the Mazowsze Region Management Board. He was the Minister of Labour and Social Policy in 1991 and from 1992 to 1993, he held the position of Secretary of State in the same ministry where he was responsible, inter alia, for labour market policy. From 1998 to 2001, he was the Chief Advisor to the Minister of Labour and Social Policy. He was the Head of Strategic Advisors to the Prime Minister Donald Tusk from 2008 and Minister of Administration and Digitisation of Poland from 2011 till 2013. MEP since 2014.