Witold Zembaczyński

Witold Zembaczyński
Zembaczyński in 2016
Member of the Sejm
Incumbent
Assumed office
12 November 2015
ConstituencyOpole
Personal details
Born (1980-12-28) 28 December 1980
Opole, Poland
PartyModern, Civic Coalition
Alma materUniversity of Opole
OccupationPolitician, entrepreneur
Awards
Honor and Glory White Cross (Ukraine)

Witold Maciej Zembaczyński (Polish: [ˈvitɔld-'mat͡siɛj-zɛmbaˈt͡szɨɲski]; born 28 December 1980) is a Polish politician, entrepreneur and former local government official. He has been a member of the Sejm since 2015, representing the Opole constituency. He was previously a city councillor in Opole.

Early life, education and professional career

Zembaczyński was born in Opole on 28 December 1980. He graduated in political science from the University of Opole.[1][2]

Before entering national politics, he worked in the sports sector and later ran his own business, including a crêperie. He also worked in sales management and, in 2015, as manager of the Wodna Nuta swimming pool in Opole.[2][3]

Zembaczyński is also a technical diver. He has written for the Polish monthly Magazyn Nurkowanie and in 2004 set a Polish record in closed-circuit technical diving, reaching a depth of 131 metres in the Small Giftun canyon in the Red Sea.[3]

Political career

Zembaczyński was active in Civic Platform and later became associated with the local association “Opole na Tak” (“Opole Yes”), serving as its vice-president and, from 2015 to 2017, as president.[2][4] In the 2014 Polish local elections, he was elected to the Opole City Council from the local electoral committee of Arkadiusz Wiśniewski. He subsequently became leader of that group’s council caucus.[2][5]

In the 2015 Polish parliamentary election, he ran for the Sejm from first place on the list of Modern in the Opole constituency and won a seat in the 8th term of the Sejm.[6] In July 2016, he became a member of the parliamentary investigative committee on the Amber Gold affair.[7]

In the 2019 Polish parliamentary election, he was re-elected from the first place on the Civic Coalition list in the Opole constituency, receiving 40,022 votes. Polish regional media reported that this was the highest individual result in the constituency since its creation in 2001.[8]

In the 2023 Polish parliamentary election, he won a third consecutive term, receiving 23,647 votes.[5][9] In January 2024, he was appointed to the parliamentary investigative committee on the use of Pegasus spyware by Polish state authorities. He told the Polish Press Agency that the committee should clarify responsibility for the affair and prepare a package of institutional reforms concerning the relationship between citizens and the security services.[10]

After the 2025 merger of Civic Platform, Modern and Polish Initiative into the Civic Coalition party, Zembaczyński became associated with the new party.[11]

Support for Ukraine

After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Zembaczyński became involved in humanitarian assistance for Ukraine. He organised aid convoys to Ukraine and evacuations of Ukrainian civilians to Poland. In April 2022, Super Express reported that he had helped evacuate hundreds of people from Ukraine using a bus bought by a group of volunteers.[12] Radio Doxa later reported that, according to Zembaczyński, his aid activities had helped evacuate almost a thousand people and had delivered humanitarian assistance worth around PLN 2 million.[13]

In January 2023, he took part in a humanitarian and military-aid mission to Bakhmut with other Polish opposition MPs and Martin Mycielski, organised by the Open Dialogue Foundation. The mission delivered assistance including reconnaissance drones, generators, food, medicine and dressings to Ukrainian forces and civilian institutions near the front line.[14][15]

For his support for Ukraine, Zembaczyński received the Ukrainian White Cross “Honor et Gloria” in 2023.[16][17]

Personal life

Zembaczyński is the son of Ryszard Zembaczyński, a former governor of Opole Voivodeship and mayor of Opole.[5][2] Part of his childhood was spent in Prudnik.[18]

References

  1. ↑ "Witold Zembaczyński". Sejm of the Republic of Poland (in Polish). Sejm of the Republic of Poland. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Witold Zembaczyński". MamPrawoWiedziec.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  3. 1 2 "Witold Zembaczyński, Nowoczesna [Nowi posłowie 2015]" [Witold Zembaczyński, Modern [New MPs 2015]]. Gazeta Wyborcza (in Polish). 2 November 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  4. ↑ Wróblewski, Tomasz (16 August 2015). "Witold Zembaczyński jedynką Nowoczesnej do Sejmu" [Witold Zembaczyński becomes Modern’s lead candidate for the Sejm]. Nowa Trybuna Opolska (in Polish). Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 "Poznajmy nowych posłów z Opolszczyzny" [Meet the new MPs from the Opole region]. Czas na Opole (in Polish). 17 October 2023. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  6. ↑ "Wybory do Sejmu i Senatu Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej 2015" [2015 election to the Sejm and Senate of the Republic of Poland]. National Electoral Commission (in Polish). Państwowa Komisja Wyborcza. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  7. ↑ "Wassermann, Suski i Grabowski na czele komisji ws. Amber Gold" [Wassermann, Suski and Grabowski at the head of the Amber Gold committee]. TVN24 (in Polish). 22 July 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  8. ↑ Guzik, Piotr (15 October 2019). "Wybory parlamentarne 2019. Witold Zembaczyński ujawnia, ile kosztowała jego kampania oraz pyta o finanse kampanii PiS" [2019 parliamentary election. Witold Zembaczyński reveals how much his campaign cost and asks about PiS campaign finances]. Nowa Trybuna Opolska (in Polish). Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  9. ↑ "ZEMBACZYŃSKI Witold Maciej, kandydat w wyborach do Sejmu i Senatu w 2023 r." [ZEMBACZYŃSKI Witold Maciej, candidate in the 2023 election to the Sejm and Senate]. National Electoral Commission (in Polish). Państwowa Komisja Wyborcza. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  10. ↑ Kania, Daria (26 January 2024). "Witold Zembaczyński: komisja śledcza ds. Pegasusa musi wyjaśnić aferę, trzeba sporządzić cały pakiet naprawczy" [Witold Zembaczyński: the Pegasus investigative committee must clarify the affair; a full repair package must be prepared]. Polish Press Agency (in Polish). Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  11. ↑ "PO, Nowoczesna oraz Inicjatywa Polska łączą się w jedną partię – Koalicję Obywatelską" [Civic Platform, Modern and Polish Initiative merge into one party – Civic Coalition]. Polskie Radio Koszalin (in Polish). 25 October 2025. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  12. ↑ Górecki, Michał (15 April 2022). "Witold Zembaczyński pomógł wywieźć z Ukrainy już setki osób! Opowiedział nam o piekle" [Witold Zembaczyński helped evacuate hundreds of people from Ukraine. He told us about the hell there]. Super Express (in Polish). Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  13. ↑ "Witold Zembaczyński o wsparciu walczącej Ukrainy oraz przygotowaniach do wyborów parlamentarnych" [Witold Zembaczyński on support for fighting Ukraine and preparations for the parliamentary election]. Radio Doxa (in Polish). 1 February 2023. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  14. ↑ Chołodowski, Maciej (4 February 2023). "Posłowie opozycji z misją pomocową dotarli na front aż do Bachmutu. Zostali odznaczeni" [Opposition MPs reached the front as far as Bakhmut on an aid mission. They were decorated]. Gazeta Wyborcza (in Polish). Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  15. ↑ "Summary of #OppositionForUkraine humanitarian aid mission to Bakhmut". Open Dialogue Foundation. 31 January 2023. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  16. ↑ Miszkiel, Fabian (1 February 2023). "Ukraińcy dziękują Witoldowi Zembaczyńskiemu za pomoc" [Ukrainians thank Witold Zembaczyński for his help]. Radio Doxa (in Polish). Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  17. ↑ "Rada Najwyższa Ukrainy nagrodzi posła Witolda Zembaczyńskiego za pomoc w czasie wojny" [The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine honoured MP Witold Zembaczyński for his help during the war]. Radio Opole (in Polish). 28 January 2023. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  18. ↑ Wołek, Adam (4 October 2025). "„Imponujący obiekt, to poziom europejski". Po remoncie otwarto stadion w Prudniku" [“An impressive facility, a European level.” Stadium in Prudnik opened after renovation]. Radio Opole (in Polish). Retrieved 2 July 2026.
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