Statement by Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, on the death of President Kaczyński
Lech Kaczyński (1949 - 2010)
© European Union, 2010
13/04/2010
On 10 April 2010, Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, made the following statement on the death of President Lech Kaczyński and several Polish representatives in a plane accident this morning while on their way to a memorial ceremony in Katyn:
"I am deeply upset by the news of the death of President Lech Kaczyński, his spouse and several senior Polish officials and representatives in a plane accident this morning. I knew President Kaczyński personally from several meetings in the European Council and in Warsaw and am saddened by his death. Poland lost a great patriot and head of state. His political commitment was to serve the Polish people.
This accident, which occurred while the Polish delegation was on its way to Russia for the commemoration of the Katyn tragedy, is a terrible loss for Poland. I want to express my heartfelt condolences to the families of the president and of the other victims, to Prime Minister Tusk and to the Polish people. I wish to convey to them the support of the European Union in these extremely painful circumstances."