|
He was born in September of 1943 in Poland to a middle class family. In 1970, Lech Walesa spent a year in prison for "anti-social behavior" after riot police killed 80 striking workers that worked with him. When he was released, he worked at a shipyard as an electrician, but was fired from the shipyard in 1976 after wanting to build a memorial for the workers killed by police. Lech Walesa began to work underground and became the leader of the strike movement for fair labor. He became extremely well known throughout the world for standing up to communism. In 1990, Lech Walesa became President of Poland and held the office for the next five years. Lech Walesa received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983 for his work at shaking up communism. |
