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Elżbieta Bieńkowska
Elżbieta Bieńkowska
	Bieńkowska in 2016
European Commissioner for ; Internal Market and Services
	In office; 1 November 2014 – 30 November 2019
President	Jean-Claude Juncker
Preceded by	Michel Barnier
Succeeded by	Thierry Breton (Internal Market)
European Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship
	In office; 1 November 2014 – 30 November 2019
President	Jean-Claude Juncker
Preceded by	Ferdinando Nelli Feroci
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Deputy Prime Minister of Poland
	In office; 27 November 2013 – 22 September 2014
President	Bronisław Komorowski
Prime Minister	Donald Tusk
Preceded by	Jacek Rostowski
Succeeded by	Tomasz Siemoniak
Minister of Infrastructure and Development
	In office; 27 November 2013 – 22 September 2014
President	Bronisław Komorowski
Prime Minister	Donald Tusk
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Maria Wasiak
Minister of Regional Development
	In office; 16 November 2007 – 27 November 2013
President	Lech Kaczyński; Bronisław Komorowski (Acting); Bogdan Borusewicz (Acting); Grzegorz Schetyna (Acting); Bronisław Komorowski
Prime Minister	Donald Tusk
Preceded by	Grażyna Gęsicka
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Personal details
Born	4 February 1964 (age 60); Katowice, Poland
Political party	Civic Platform
Spouse	Artur Bieńkowski
Children	3
Education	Jagiellonian University; Polish National School of Public Administration; SGH Warsaw School of Economics

Elżbieta Ewa Bieńkowska (Polish pronunciation: [ɛlʐˈbʲiɛta bʲiɛɲˈkɔfska]; née Moycho; born on 4 February 1964) is a Polish politician who served as Poland's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Regional Development and Transport before becoming a European Commissioner in the team of Jean-Claude Juncker from 2014 to 2019.^[2]

Bieńkowska was Minister of Regional Development in Prime Minister Donald Tusk's Cabinet from 16 November 2007 until 27 November 2013,^[3] when she was appointed Deputy Prime Minister of Poland while continuing her previous responsibilities at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Development.

Education

Bieńkowska graduated from Jagiellonian University with a Master's degree in Oriental Philology in 1989.^[3] She has also received a post-graduate Diploma from the Polish National School of Public Administration and afterwards a postgraduate studies MBA from SGH Warsaw School of Economics.^[3]

Professional career

Bieńkowska's career in public administration started at Katowice City Council where she worked on regional contracts being promoted, in 1999, as head of Katowice's Department for Economy. Later that year, she was appointed Director of Regional Development for the Silesian Voivodeship, where she served until 2007.

Career in politics

Bieńkowska describes herself as a technocrat.^[4] She is not a party member, and was elected to the Senate of Poland in 2011 as an independent candidate, backed by the Civic Platform.^[5]

Minister for Infrastructure and Development, 2007–2013

In the government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Bieńkowska served as Minister for Infrastructure and Development for Poland, as well as Deputy Prime Minister from the end of 2013 until the end of September 2014.^[6] In this capacity, she was charge of allocating European Union funding and the country's transport infrastructure.^[7] Under her leadership, the ministry was Poland's second-largest department after the ministry of finance, with 1,600 employees and nine deputy ministers.^[5] In February 2013, she secured €105.8 billion from the EU budget for 2014-20.^[5]

Member of the European Commission, 2014–2019

On 3 September 2014, Bieńkowska was announced as the Polish nominee to the European Commission, in place of foreign affairs minister Radek Sikorski, who had been put forward in August in a bid to secure the post of High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.^[8]

On 10 September 2014, Juncker designated Bieńkowska as European Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, following which, on 1 November 2014, she took office in the Juncker Commission.

In her capacity as Commissioner, Bieńkowska was in charge of the industrial part of the EU’s defence and security strategy^[9] and chaired the European Commission's High-level Group of Personalities on Defence Research from 2015.^[10] In 2016, she proposed the European Defence Fund and the accompanying European Defense Industrial Development Program, as part of the response to Britain’s decision to leave the EU.^[11]^[12]

Also during her time in office, Bieńkowska pushed for the European Commission to have oversight powers to supervise national controls and tests for cars in the wake of the Volkswagen emissions scandal.^[13] In 2018, she called for investing Horizon Europe funds of €20 billion into artificial intelligence research.^[14]

Other activities

TuBerculosis Vaccine Initiative (TBVI), Member of the Governance Board^[15]
Una Europa Association, Member of the Advisory Board^[16]

Honours and decorations

- Commander (with Sash), Royal Norwegian Order of Merit
- Fire Service Medal (Gold), Katowice^[17]

Personal life

Bieńkowska is married and has three children.^[5]^[18]

References

^ "Elżbieta Bieńkowska: Nie jestem yorkiem ani bulterierem [WYWIAD WIDEO]". Retrieved 25 April 2015.
^ "Candidates for Ministers [BIOs]". Retrieved 25 April 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Elżbieta Bieńkowska". Ministry of Regional Development of the Republic of Poland. Archived from the original on 2009-11-18.
^ "Platforma Obywatelska - E. Bieńkowska: Jestem technokratą". platforma. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Annabelle Chapman (January 15, 2014), Elżbieta Bieńkowska – Hidden asset European Voice.
^ Christian Lowe and Karolina Slowikowska (20 November 2013), Poland names bank economist as new finance minister Reuters.
^ Marcin Sobczyk (February 13, 2014), Poland Sacks Roads Agency Head The Wall Street Journal.
^ Cynthia Kroet (September 3, 2014), Poland nominates Bieńkowska as Commission candidate European Voice.
^ Gabriela Baczynska and Robin Emmott (16 September 2016), EU's Bienkowska proposes joint defence bonds after Brexit Reuters.
^ Simon Taylor (30 March 2015), High-level group of personalities on defence research European Voice.
^ Gabriela Baczynska and Robin Emmott (16 September 2016), EU's Bienkowska proposes joint defence bonds after Brexit Reuters.
^ Paul Taylor (12 September 2019), [EU defense commissioner may face turf wars] Politico Europe.
^ Gernot Heller (5 November 2015), EU's Bienkowska says wants supervision powers over car tests Reuters.
^ Jennifer Rankin (25 April 2018), Artificial intelligence: €20bn investment call from EU commission The Guardian.
^ Governance Board: Elżbieta Bieńkowska TuBerculosis Vaccine Initiative (TBVI).
^ Advisory Board Una Europa Association.
^ Asia Kosma. "Złote medale "Za zasługi dla pożarnictwa"". Retrieved 25 April 2015.
^ Valentina Pop (August 9, 2015), In Juncker's European Commission, Dog Owners Outnumber Cat Lovers The Wall Street Journal.

External links

Political offices
Preceded by Grażyna Gęsicka	Minister of Regional Development 2007–2013	Position abolished
Preceded by Jacek Rostowski	Deputy Prime Minister of Poland 2013–2014	Succeeded by Tomasz Siemoniak
New office	Minister of Infrastructure and Development 2013–2014	Succeeded by Maria Wasiak
Preceded by Jacek Dominik	Polish European Commissioner 2014–2019	Succeeded by Janusz Wojciechowski
Preceded by Michel Barnier as European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services	European Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs 2014–2019	Succeeded by Thierry Breton
Preceded by Ferdinando Nelli Feroci as European Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship		Succeeded by Thierry Breton