Wałęsa

American  

[vuh-wen-suh] / vəˈwɛn sə /

noun

1. Lech born 1943, Polish labor leader: a leader of Solidarity 1980; president 1990–96; Nobel Peace Prize 1983.

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Wałęsa British  

/ væˈwɛnsə /

noun

1. Lech (lɛç). born 1943, Polish statesman: president of Poland (1990–95); leader of the independent trade union Solidarity 1980–90; Nobel peace prize 1983

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Example Sentences

In Poland, Solidarity and Lech Wałęsa walked into the Round Table talks as the uncontested voice of the nation.

From The Wall Street Journal

A better future shimmers on the page when Lech Wałęsa climbs over a fence as an unemployed electrician, taps someone on the shoulder and becomes “the face of the Polish revolution.”

From Los Angeles Times

Its leader, Lech Wałęsa, never failed to summon the martyrs of Poland’s centurieslong quest for national independence, often in the same breath that he demanded political liberalization.

From Slate

Leaders like FDR, JFK, Wałęsa, and Nehru demonstrated that democrats can propound powerful liberal-national narratives.

From Slate

József Antall, an opposition leader and Hungary’s first post-Communist prime minister, called forth national pride in the service of democracy as Wałęsa did in Poland.

From Slate