Labels:text | human face | man | person OCR: ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Walesa, Lech Lech Walesa A shipyard worker from the Baltic port of Gdansk, Lech Walesa achieved international fame as leader of Solidarity, the independent trade union that challenged the might of the Communist regime in Poland. Walesa eventually negotiated the elections that brought down the Communist government and created the new Polish democracy. A longtime activist on behalf of workers in the Gdansk shipyards, Walesa established Solidarity as a national protest movement, and became famous as its leader. During the eight-year Communist crackdown he remained active, protected by his international standing. Eventually, in 1988 a further wave of social unrest threatened to cripple the Polish economy, and the Communist government was forced to meet his demands. Lech Walesa, Polish labor leader The success of Solidarity in the resulting and politician, 1943 - elections destroyed the credibility of the Polish Communists, but the new era of free debate also divided their successors. After a bitter LLLL contest, Walesa was elected president of Poland, but his years in office were blighted by economic problems. CHRONOLOGY
