born July 6, 1923, Kurow, Pol.
Polish army general and chief of state (1981–89) and president (1989–90) of Poland.
He rose through the ranks of the army and the Communist Party to be elected premier and first secretary of the party in 1981 as Poland came under increasing pressure from the Solidarity movement. He declared martial law (1981–83), carrying out mass arrests of dissidents. Unable to restore Poland's stagnant economy, he began negotiations in 1988 with Solidarity, culminating in agreements to reform Poland's political system. Elected president in 1989, he resigned his posts in the Communist Party. In 1990 Lech Wałesa was elected president, and Jaruzelski relinquished the last of communist power in Poland.