Magdalena Agnieszka Biejat [ˈmaɡdalɛna ˈbiɛjat] (born 11 January 1982)[1] is a Polish politician and translator of Spanish-language literature. She was a member of the Sejm for Warsaw I between 2019 and 2023, when she was elected to Senate for the 45th district (Western Warsaw). Since 13 November 2023, she has served as a Deputy Marshal of the Senate. She is currently one of the leaders of The Left coalition, and was one of the co-leaders of Left Together[2] until her departure from the party in October 2024.[3]

Magdalena Biejat
Official portrait, 2023
Deputy Marshal of the Senate
Assumed office
13 November 2023
Serving with See list
MarshalMałgorzata Kidawa-Błońska
Member of the Senate
Assumed office
13 November 2023
Constituency45-Warsaw
Co-chair of Left Together
In office
27 November 2022 – 24 October 2024
Serving with Adrian Zandberg
Member of the Sejm
In office
12 November 2019 – 12 November 2023
Constituency19-Warsaw
Personal details
Born (1982-01-11) 11 January 1982 (age 42)
Warsaw, Poland
Political partyLeft Together (2015–2024)
Other political
affiliations
The Left (since 2019)
OccupationPolitician
Biejat in 2023

Career

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Magdalena Biejat studied sociology at the University of Granada and Complutense University of Madrid. Professionally she was a translator of Spanish-language literature. She is also associated with non-governmental organizations, including the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (Poland) [pl].

Politics

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In 2015, she joined Left Together and sat on the council of the Warsaw district.

In 2019, she became deputy chairman of The Left political alliance.[1]

She has participated in multiple strikes against the tightening of the Polish abortion law and in Polish Pride Parades. On 19 November 2020, during one of the protests, she was attacked with tear gas by a policeman, despite not posing any threat and despite showing her MP ID. The worrying situation raised concerns about the brutality of the Polish police during street protests.[4]

In 2022, she became a co-leader of Left Together alongside Adrian Zandberg.[2] In the 2023 election she successfully ran for one of the Warsaw seats (45th district) in the Senate.[5] Biejat was endorsed by the Senate Pact.[6]

In early 2024 she was announced as The Left's candidate for the mayor of Warsaw in the upcoming local elections. The campaign has also been endorsed by her native Left Together, New Left, The City Is Ours, Labour Union and Polish Socialist Party.[7] Biejat received 12.86% of overall votes placing her third after Trzaskowski (KO) and Bocheński (PiS).[8][9]

In October 2024, Left Together split from The Left in disagreement of the latter's support for the incumbent Tusk government. In response, Biejat and a number of other MPs departed from Left Together.[3]

Personal life

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Biejat lives in the Praga district of Warsaw. She is married and has two children.[10][11] She declared being vegetarian.[12]

Election results

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Election results
Election Body Committee Votes (%) Constituency Elected?
2018 Praga-Północ district council Jan Śpiewak [pl] Committee – Wygra Warszawa 147 (1.49%)[13] Northeastern Praga-Północ (no. 1) No
2019 European Parliament Left Together 616 (0.04%)[14] Warsaw (no. 4) No
2019 Sejm The Left[a] 19,501 (1.41%)[15] Warsaw I (no. 19) Yes
2023 Senat The Left[b] (endorsed by the Senate Pact) 204,934 (72.40%)[16] Western Warsaw (no. 45) Yes
2024 Mayor of Warsaw The Left 99,442 (12.86%) No (#3)

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Formally registered as SLD candidate.
  2. ^ Formally registered as NL candidate.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Magdalena Biejat". sejm.gov.pl. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Magdalena Biejat i Adrian Zandberg nowymi współprzewodniczącymi Partii Razem". wydarzenia.interia.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  3. ^ a b Waluś, Monika (24 October 2024). "Wielki rozłam w partii Razem. Grupa polityczek opuszcza szeregi" [A major split in the Left Together party. A group of female politicians are leaving the ranks]. Onet.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 29 October 2024.
  4. ^ "Policja użyła gazu wobec posłanki Biejat i demonstrujących". partiarazem.pl. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  5. ^ "Okręg wyborczy numer 45 w wyborach do Senatu w 2023 r." wybory.gov.pl (in Polish). Państwowa Komisja Wyborcza. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  6. ^ "Zaskakujący ruch Razem. Znana posłanka nie wystartuje w wyborach do Sejmu!" (in Polish). naTemat.pl. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  7. ^ "Magdalena Biejat kandydatką Lewicy i stowarzyszenia Miasto Jest Nasze w Warszawie" (in Polish). Rzeczpospolita. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  8. ^ "Rafał Trzaskowski zwyciężył w Warszawie. Oficjalne wyniki wyborów". TVN24.pl. TVN. 8 April 2024. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  9. ^ "Wyniki w wyborach Prezydenta m. st. Warszawy". wybory.gov.pl. National Electoral Commission. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  10. ^ Aleksandra Pawlicka (8 December 2019). "Magdalena Biejat. "Serce po lewej stronie mam po pradziadku"" (in Polish). newsweek.pl. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  11. ^ Anna Sobańda (23 September 2022). "Magdalena Biejat o byciu mamą i posłanką: W domu bawimy się w Sejm, syn jest marszałkiem i uwala wszystkie moje poprawki" (in Polish). TOK FM. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  12. ^ Jakub Chełmiński (14 October 2019). "Adrian Zandberg i dwie posłanki Lewicy z Warszawy" (in Polish). wyborcza.pl. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  13. ^ "Dzielnica Praga-Północ M. St. Warszawy Okręg nr 1". wybory2018.pkw.gov.pl. Państwowa Komisja Wyborcza. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  14. ^ "Okręg wyborczy nr 4". pe2019.pkw.gov.pl (in Polish). Państwowa Komisja Wyborcza. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  15. ^ "BIEJAT Magdalena Agnieszka". sejmsenat2019.pkw.gov.pl (in Polish). Państwowa Komisja Wyborcza. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  16. ^ "Senacki Okręg Wyborczy nr 45". wybory.gov.pl (in Polish). Państwowa Komisja Wyborcza. Retrieved 31 October 2023.