Historian, boxer and possibly pimp: Who is Karol Nawrocki, Poland's new president

A boxer, a football fan and possibly a pimp

Karol Nawrocki was born on March 3, 1983, in Gdansk. Most of the politician's life is connected with this city: here he received his higher education in history and worked at the local World War II museum.

Little is known about Nawrocki's youth, but recently, previously unknown pages from his biography have begun appearing in Polish media. For instance, Onet reported that before his political career, young Karol, while working as a security guard at a hotel in Sopot, allegedly helped clients order prostitutes.

According to media sources, hotel guests would select prostitutes on escort websites with the help of security guards right across from the reception desk. Then Nawrocki or one of his colleagues would call a "coordinator" who would bring women to the hotel.

However, Nawrocki denied this and even threatened Onet with a lawsuit.

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Nawrocki is also known for his love of sports: he boxed at an amateur level for several years. Against this backdrop, the media reported that the politician participated in soccer fan fights.

Nawrocki himself confirmed this during a broadcast with Sławomir Mentzen, who mentioned a 2009 fight between fans of Poznan's Lech and Gdansk's Lechia that involved 140 people total.

Mentzen expressed his admiration for Nawrocki, but he responded modestly: "I participated in various sporting and noble fights, but I didn't always emerge victorious."

The historian wanted by Russia

In 2009, Karol Nawrocki began working at the Polish Institute of National Remembrance (IPN), where he continues to work today. During this time, he has done much to preserve Poland's historical memory.

In particular, he worked on identifying victims of repression and was active in publishing. According to the Polish Institute of National Remembrance, under Nawrocki's leadership, they have created 596 new memorial sites, conducted 75 restoration projects, and conducted over 100 exhumations since 2016.

They also demolished monuments erected in honor of the Soviet Red Army. For this, Russia placed Nawrocki on a national wanted list in February 2024, opening a criminal case against him.

Although the politician is indeed known for his open hostility toward Russia, the new Polish leader has been accused of secretly traveling to Moscow in 2018.

According to Polish MEP Krzysztof Brejza, Nawrocki allegedly spent 22,500 zlotys ($6,035) on this trip. However, the politician says he was "just doing his job."

On the other hand, Newsweek claims that the politician misused funds and hired his old friends to work at the Institute.

From historian to president

Nawrocki officially became a candidate for president of Poland on November 25, 2024. He was supported by the Law and Justice party (PiS), from which the previous president Andrzej Duda came.

PiS leaders, including party chairman Jaroslaw Kaczynski, hoped Nawrocki would become "the new Duda." Symbolically, even the announcement of his intention to run for president took place in the same building where Duda once declared his candidacy.

In his views, Nawrocki adheres to right-wing conservative positions. Euronews describes him as a pro-Christian, pro-NATO politician who sympathizes with American leader Donald Trump. In fact, he met with Trump before the first round of elections.

Nawrocki criticized the Polish education system, believing it is controlled by a "post-communist party environment." He actively opposed removing crosses from government buildings and criticized his opponent, Rafal Trzaskowski, on this issue.

The new Polish president has a less-than-friendly attitude toward Ukraine. Even before his election campaign, Nawrocki was remembered for calling Galicia "Eastern Lesser Poland" when commenting on the exhumation of Volyn tragedy victims.

Later, he mentioned this tragedy again, saying that Ukraine "has no place in either NATO or the EU if it does not answer for 'crimes' in Volyn."

Besides Ukraine, Nawrocki also expressed grievances toward Germany, stating that it should pay reparations to Poland for damages caused during World War II.

"We are not some homeless people from Hamburg, Berlin, or Dortmund who can be told: 'Here, take these payments and forget about World War II,'" Nawrocki stated.

His election campaign was filled with scandals and controversial events. In particular, the media reported that in 2021, he received an apartment through a care agreement, but did not include it in his declaration. The previous 80-year-old apartment owner, who was supposed to receive help from Nawrocki, allegedly never received it and was left with nothing.

After the first round of elections, Nawrocki was accused of using snus during debates with Trzaskowski, although he claimed he was "reaching for gum." Eventually, the politician stated that he took a drug test, which showed a negative result.

What can Ukraine expect?

Former Ukrainian Ambassador to Poland Andriy Deshchytsia told hromadske that Karol Nawrocki's victory means relations between Ukraine and Poland will become tougher.

The former official believes that in his policy toward Ukraine, Poland's new president will consider the position of the EU and NATO, but only if such a position is firm and consistent.

"Issues of historical policy, particularly the Volyn tragedy, will definitely be on the agenda in relations between Ukraine and Poland. However, I think we will be able to convince Nawrocki to support Ukraine, as was the case with the Law and Justice party in 2022, which was not very friendly to us before that," the former diplomat said.

Additionally, Andrii Deshchytsia points out that Karol Nawrocki's victory will worsen relations between the Polish President's Office and the government, currently headed by opposition Civic Platform leader Donald Tusk.

"Nawrocki will block government activities and hinder the implementation of its programs. Ultimately, this could lead to early parliamentary elections," he believes.

Journalist and publicist Vitaliy Portnikov also believes that Nawrocki's victory could cause a major political crisis and a comeback of far-right forces, which, according to the expert, will now be forced to rely on the support of even more extreme right-wing radicals.

This could pose a threat both to Ukrainian-Polish relations and to Warsaw's European orientation as a whole.