I Zjazd NSZZ SOLIDARNOŚĆ w Gdańsku Oliwie wrzesień 1981
Lesław Andrzej Paga (1954 – 2003) was not only a witness but also an architect of Poland’s economic transformation. His work as an economist and advisor to the Ministry of Finance significantly influenced the shaping of the Polish capital market. As a co-creator of the Warsaw Stock Exchange and chairman of the Securities Commission, Paga laid the foundations for modern financial institutions.
As an authority in economics, both domestically and abroad, he became a symbol of a new phase in Poland’s economic history, open to the world.
Lesław Paga belonged to the small group of people who were ahead of their time. One is ahead of time by undertaking important tasks at times when it seems that the chance of their realization does not exist or is very slim. The way of commemorating Lesław Paga is the best possible, because it is an activity that serves to strengthen what Paga himself dealt with and to strengthen the values that were dear to him.
Leszek Balcerowicz
I remember that after his death, I was offered to make a film about his life. After a few meetings with the director, I came to the conclusion that his life lacked spectacular plot twists of the James Bond genre. The film was not made. But the memory of Lesław continues because he wove his life diligently, consistently, and remained in people’s memory as a good and wise man.
The Foundation I founded after my husband’s death is a continuation of the path we chose together at the beginning of our marriage.
Ewa Paga
He graduated from the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin, where he also obtained a doctorate in economic sciences. From 1977-1984, he was an assistant and then adjunct in the Faculty of Economics.
He was an activist of Solidarity, delegate of the central-eastern region at the 1st National Congress of NSZZ “Solidarność,” where he served as chairman of the proceedings. Interned from December 1981 to May 1982.
From 1984-1989, he was an adjunct in the Economic Section of the Catholic University of Lublin, and from 1987-1988, a Fulbright Foundation scholar at the Catholic University of America and then Cornell University. He was the president of the Board of the UMCS Alumni Association.
In 1989, he began working as an advisor to the Minister of Finance and then became the director of the department in the Ministry of Ownership Transformations. From 1991-1994, he co-created and was the first chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In 1994, he was appointed President of the Board of Deloitte & Touche Poland, and in 1999 of Deloitte & Touche Central Europe.
From 1995, Lesław A. Paga was the chairman of the Board of the Polish International Cooperation Development Foundation “Know How”. He was also a member of the Andrzej Bączkowski Award Chapter, awarded for achievements in the field of public activity for social dialogue and reforms in social policy.
In 1995, he was awarded by President Lech Wałęsa the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta, and in 2001 President Aleksander Kwaśniewski awarded him the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta.
Until 2002, he served as the President of the Board of Deloitte & Touche Central Europe.
He passed away after a severe illness in 2003.
