Donald Franciszek Tusk (born April 22, 1957) is a prominent Polish politician, historian, and the current Prime Minister of Poland, a position he has held since December 2023. A central figure in Polish and European politics for over three decades, Tusk is widely recognized as a champion of liberal democratic values, pro-European integration, and free-market principles. He is the only individual to have served as both a multi-term Prime Minister of Poland and as President of the European Council. Born and raised in the port city of Gdańsk, Tusk is of Polish and Kashubian heritage. His early life was shaped by the geopolitical realities of communist-era Poland. As a teenager, he witnessed the violent suppression of striking workers in 1970, an event he has cited as a formative moment in his political awakening. He enrolled at the University of Gdańsk in 1976 to study history, where he emerged as a student activist against the communist regime. He was instrumental in founding the Independent Students' Association (NZS) and became a prominent figure within the Solidarity movement. During the period of martial law in the early 1980s, he operated underground, co-founding the periodical *Przegląd Polityczny* (Political Review), which advocated for economic liberalism and the principles of liberal democracy. Following the collapse of communism in 1989, Tusk’s career in formal politics began in the early 1990s. He co-founded the Liberal Democratic Congress (KLD), a pro-business party, and was first elected to the Sejm (the lower house of the Polish parliament) in 1991. After the KLD merged with the Democratic Union to form the Freedom Union, Tusk continued his parliamentary work, serving as Deputy Speaker of the Senate starting in 1997. In 2001, he co-founded the Civic Platform (PO), a centrist party that would become a dominant force in Polish politics. He served as the party’s leader from 2003 to 2014 and again from 2021 to 2025, ultimately merging the party into the Civic Coalition (KO). Tusk first ascended to the premiership in 2007, serving as Prime Minister of Poland until 2014. During this tenure, his government focused on economic stabilization, maintaining steady growth during the global financial crisis of 2008, and fostering closer ties with European Union partners. In 2011, he became the first Prime Minister of the Third Polish Republic to be re-elected, cementing his status as one of Poland's most significant political figures of the post-communist era. In 2014, Tusk resigned as Prime Minister to accept the presidency of the European Council. During his two terms in Brussels (2014–2019), he navigated the European Union through multiple crises, including the Greek debt crisis, the European migrant crisis, and the United Kingdom's decision to leave the EU. Following his tenure in Europe, he served as the President of the European People's Party (EPP) from 2019 to 2022. In 2021, Tusk returned to active Polish politics, assuming leadership of the Civic Platform to challenge the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party. In the 2023 parliamentary election, he successfully united opposition forces, leading to his appointment as Prime Minister for the third time in December 2023. His current administration has prioritized judicial reform, the restoration of rule-of-law standards, and the strengthening of Poland's position within the European Union. Tusk is married to Małgorzata Tusk, a historian, and they have two children, Michał and Katarzyna. His political legacy is characterized by his unwavering commitment to liberal conservatism and his efforts to integrate Poland firmly within the Western liberal order.