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Daniel Obajtek

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Daniel Obajtek
MEP
Member of the European Parliament
Incumbent
Assumed office
16 July 2024
Preceded byTomasz Poręba
Constituency9 - Subcarpathia
Executive Chairman of Orlen
In office
5 February 2018 – 5 February 2024
Preceded byWojciech Jasiński
Succeeded byWitold Literacki
Chief Executive Officer of Energa
In office
2 March 2017 – 5 February 2018
Preceded byJacek Kościelniak
Succeeded byAlicja Klimiuk
Wójt of Pcim
In office
2006–2015
Personal details
Born (1976-01-02) 2 January 1976 (age 48)
Myślenice, Poland
Political partyLaw and Justice

Daniel Obajtek (born 2 January 1976) is a Polish politician and executive manager who has been serving as a member of the European Parliament since 2024. From 2006 to 2015, he was the mayor (wójt) of Gmina Pcim.[1] Obajtek has been involved in Polish local and national politics since the early 2000s, having held various positions in local government and state agencies.

Early life

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Obajtek was born on 2 January 1976 to Jan and Halina.[2][3] Daniel Obajtek attended a veterinary vocational school in the Agricultural Schools Complex in Nowy Targ, from which he was expelled, moving to an agricultural vocational school in the Schools Complex in Myślenice, which he graduated from in 1995.[4] In 1995, he was employed as a chemical machinery operator at the Elektroplast company in Stróża, run by his uncles Józef and Roman Lis,[2] which produced installation equipment.

Career

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From 2002 to 2006, he served as a member of the Pcim commune's council, before becoming the mayor (wójt) of the commune from 2006 to 2015.[note 1][5][6] During this time, he served as the chairman of the committee for physical culture and sports, health, education, and social affairs.[7] In 2014, he completed his studies at the Private University of Environmental Sciences in Radom in the field of environmental protection.[8] In 2019, he completed an Executive MBA program in Polish.[9][10]

In the subsequent 2006 Polish local elections, he was elected as the head of Pcim commune, receiving over 55% of the votes and defeating his opponent, Andrzej Padlikowski, in a landslide. At that time, neither candidate belonged to any political party and ran from independent lists.[11] During his first term as the commune mayor, Daniel Obajtek led to the implementation of, among others, a comprehensive project to rebuild and modernize the commune center, which included modernizing roads and sidewalks, installing lighting, a mezzanine, an illuminated footbridge, and erecting a monument dedicated to the soldiers of the Warsaw Uprising. A playground was also built.[12]

In the 2010 Polish local elections, now running from the list of Law and Justice, he achieved an electoral result of 86.6%.[13] In the 2014 local elections, Obajtek repeated his success from the previous elections, achieving a result of 84.8%.[14]

He resigned from the position of commune head in 2015, due to becoming entrusted with the duties of the president of the Agency for Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture.[15]

Activity in state-owned companies

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On November 27, 2015, Daniel Obajtek was entrusted with the duties of the president of the Agency for Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture,[8] and on January 13, 2016, he was appointed to this position.[16] In July 2016, he was appointed as the chairman of the supervisory board of Lotos Biopaliwa Sp. z o.o. At the same time, he served as the chairman of the supervisory board of the state-owned company Dalmor S.A.[17] On March 2, 2017, he was appointed as the president of the management board of the energy group Energa S.A..[18] On February 5, 2018, he was appointed as the president of the management board of Orlen company[19] (he took office on February 6, 2018[20]), replacing Wojciech Jasiński. In February 2024, he was dismissed from the position of Orlen's president[21] (he ended his term on February 5, 2024[22]). Since 2018, he has served as the chairman of the council of the Polish Olympic Committee.[23] In the same year, he became a member of the program council of the Economic Forum in Krynica.[24]

Electoral history

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2002 Polish local elections, Gmina Pcim council
Party Candidate Votes %
Independent Daniel Obajtek 137 34.86
Independent Roman Lis 136 34.61
Independent Józef Loch 67 17.05
2006 Polish local elections, Gmina Pcim mayor
Party Candidate Votes %
Independent Daniel Obajtek 2,377 55.76
Independent Andrzej Padlikowski 1,886 44.24
Total votes 4,263 100.00
2010 Polish local elections, Gmina Pcim mayor
Party Candidate Votes %
PiS Daniel Obajtek 4,178 86.61
None of the above 646 13.39
Total votes 4,824 100.00
2014 Polish local elections, Gmina Pcim mayor
Party Candidate Votes %
PiS Daniel Obajtek 4,088 84.78
Independent Edyta Olesik 734 15.22
Total votes 4,822 100.00


2024 European Parliament election in Poland, Subcarpathia constituency
Party Candidate Votes %
PiS Daniel Obajtek 171,689 27.14
Total votes 632,626 100.00

Controversy

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The staff reduction carried out in ARiMR resulted in several dozen lawsuits lost by ARiMR in labor courts and the necessity to pay compensation due to violations of labor law.[25]

Criminal proceedings

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On April 15, 2013, Daniel Obajtek was detained by the Central Bureau of Investigation of the Police (CBŚP) on charges including accepting a financial benefit of 50,000 PLN. The prosecutor's office requested arrest, but the court ordered the mayor to be released. According to reports from the daily newspaper "Gazeta Krakowska", the District Prosecutor's Office in Ostrów Wielkopolski charged him with "collaborating with an organized criminal group led by Maciej C. 'The President', embezzling 1.4 million PLN from the Elektroplast company in Stróża and sharing this amount with criminals, as well as accepting a 50,000 PLN bribe as the mayor of Pcim".[26][27]

On October 30, 2013, an indictment was filed with the District Court in Sieradz against eight people operating in the "President's" group, among whom was Daniel Obajtek.[4] The indictment included charges of: accepting a financial benefit of 50,000 zlotys and twice misleading the owners of the Elektroplast plant in Stróża regarding the quantity of goods delivered, for amounts of 315,000 zlotys and at least 1,075,847.62 zlotys respectively.[28] For almost three years, the trial could not begin.[28] The District Prosecutor's Office in Piotrków Trybunalski withdrew the indictment in September 2016.[29] In mid-February 2017, the investigation involving Daniel Obajtek was taken over from the prosecutor's office in Piotrków Trybunalski by the National Prosecutor's Office and transferred to the Małopolska branch office of the National Prosecutor's Office. In September 2017, the investigation against Daniel Obajtek was discontinued.[30]

Obajtek tapes

[edit]

On February 26, 2021, the daily newspaper "Gazeta Wyborcza" revealed recordings containing telephone conversations of Obajtek from 2009, i.e., from the time he held the office of mayor of Pcim commune.[31][32][33] The extensive material contained the content of hours-long telephone conversations between Obajtek and his business partners, which were supposed to prove that he had made false depositions regarding the division of his functions as mayor and managing the TT Plast company.[31][34] In the following days, "Gazeta Wyborcza" published an article presenting Obajtek's family and social connections with several people, including Zofia Paryła, who became the president of the oil company Grupa Lotos in 2020; Obajtek and Paryła worked together at the Elektroplast company in Stróża.[35][2]

The publications concerning Obajtek sparked a series of comments in public and media debates.[36][37][38][39] Civic Coalition MPs submitted a request to the prosecutor's office regarding Obajtek's assets,[40] and to the Supreme Audit Office they directed a request to investigate the subsidies that companies associated with Obajtek allegedly obtained from public funds.[41][42] The Left MPs demanded that the Minister of Justice and Prosecutor General Zbigniew Ziobro initiate ex officio proceedings against Daniel Obajtek,[40] and in order to investigate potential irregularities related to Obajtek's assets and financial activities, they submitted a request to the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau.[41] They also appealed to Obajtek to disclose his own asset declarations.[43] Politicians from the ruling PiS camp spoke in defense of Daniel Obajtek[39] as well as the spokesman for President Andrzej Duda.[34] The information contained in Gazeta Wyborcza's publications was denied by PKN Orlen, as the published content concerned, among other things, alleged property connections between PKN Orlen, Prowbud company, and Daniel Obajtek, which according to PKN Orlen was untrue and put in a bad light the Company's activity of supporting athletes, which is one of the most important elements of the Company's CSR. The reports of Gazeta Wyborcza were also denied by Prowbud company and the Football Academy Beniaminek Krosno, which were also slandered in Wyborcza's article.[44]

In a segment of Wiadomości on TVP, the vulgarities and insults used by Obajtek in the recorded conversations were justified by Tourette syndrome, which Daniel Obajtek allegedly suffered from.[45][46] In response, the Board of the Polish Tourette Syndrome Association issued a statement critical of the TVP material, stating: "we do not agree to the use and manipulation of the image of people suffering from Tourettes".[46][47]

In March 2021, in response to a series of articles suggesting illegal origins of his assets and unclear business dealings, Daniel Obajtek decided to disclose his financial documents for the years 1998-2020 and make them available for inspection by interested journalists.[48]

On June 8, 2021, the court in Warsaw fully dismissed Obajtek's demands for Gazeta Wyborcza to cease publishing information about his multi-million assets and informal arrangements with developers sponsored by PKN Orlen. The court found that public interest and press freedom are arguments for disclosing such information.[49] In February 2022, the Court of Appeal in Warsaw dismissed with final effect Daniel Obajtek's lawsuit for the publication of a correction to the article "Obajtek's Tapes...".[50]

2024 recordings

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In March 2024, Onet reported that it had a recording from a wiretap that the CBA had placed on the then-president of Orlen. The tape contained a conversation between Obajtek and investigative journalist Piotr Nisztor, who is seen asking the president for a job for his wife and father, revealing he has blackmail material on PiS regarding the GetBack scandal.[51] Commenting on these reports, Nisztor stated that he had heard that his conversations with Obajtek might have been recorded, but he does not know whether the recordings are credible or manipulated. For his part, Obajtek, in a post on Twitter, claimed that both recording him and passing on these recordings is 'pathological' and announced that he would file a complaint with the prosecutor's office regarding the ordeal.[52]

Onet previously released a transcript of a phone conversation between Obajtek and Adam Burak, a former Orlen executive board member. The call was intercepted by the CBA between 2020 and 2021. According to Onet, Obajtek, then CEO of Orlen, exploited the COVID-19 pandemic to create internal conflict within PiS and enhance his own image. Despite Poland's shortage of medical supplies, Orlen reportedly distributed over 3 million zlotys worth of disinfectants, masks, and hazmat suits to the Vatican City to achieve this goal.[53][54][55]

Personal life

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Daniel Obajtek has a brother, Bartłomiej, the former Regional Director of State Forests in Gdańsk.[56][57]

A divorcee, Daniel was married to Agnieszka, the mother of his son Piotr Obajtek.[3][58]

Notes

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  1. ^ Elected in the first round - obtaining 55.76% of votes in the 2006 local government elections, 86.61% of votes in 2010, and 84.78% of votes in 2014. He held the position until November 27, 2015.

References

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  1. ^ "PKN Orlen has a new president. Who is Daniel Obajtek", Business Insider (in Polish), 2018-02-06, retrieved 2018-05-16
  2. ^ a b c Sepioło, Mariusz (January 1, 2021). "Prymus z Pcimia". Polityka. 1–2 (3294): 36–38. (subscription required)
  3. ^ a b "Daniel Obajtek podarował działki synowi. Zostawił sobie prawo użytkowania". WP.pl. 2023-12-01. Retrieved 2023-12-02.
  4. ^ a b Leszek Konarski (April 3, 2018). "Obajtek wszystko może". Tygodnik Przegląd. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
  5. ^ Electoral geography - Local government elections - National Election Commission, wybory2006.pkw.gov.pl, retrieved 2021-01-31, Local Government Elections 2010 - Electoral geography - Małopolskie Province - Myślenice County - Pcim commune, wybory2010.pkw.gov.pl, retrieved 2021-01-31, NEC | Local Government 2014, samorzad2014.pkw.gov.pl, retrieved 2021-01-31
  6. ^ National Election Commission: Local government elections, wybory2002.pkw.gov.pl, retrieved 2020-11-18
  7. ^ Who is Daniel Obajtek? - Finance and law (in Polish), www.farmer.pl, 27 November 2015, retrieved 2022-06-04
  8. ^ a b Who is Daniel Obajtek? - Finance and law (in Polish), farmer.pl, 27 November 2015, retrieved 2020-11-18
  9. ^ Company Management - PKN Orlen, orlen.pl, retrieved 2020-11-18
  10. ^ Paweł Orlikowski (16 March 2021), Obajtek's education. He finished his studies "at home" (in Polish), www.money.pl, retrieved 2021-03-16
  11. ^ Electoral geography - Local government elections - National Election Commission, wybory2006.pkw.gov.pl, retrieved 2022-06-04
  12. ^ New center of Pcim, gazeta.myslenice.pl, retrieved 2022-06-04
  13. ^ Local Government Elections 2010 - Electoral geography - Małopolskie Province - Myślenice County - Pcim commune, wybory2010.pkw.gov.pl, retrieved 2022-06-04
  14. ^ Local government elections 2014: Daniel Obajtek the head of Pcim commune (in Polish), Miasto-Info.pl, retrieved 2022-06-04
  15. ^ Editorial (2016-04-07), Head of commune Daniel Obajtek: from Pcim to the capital. Some praise him, hundreds cry because of him (in Polish), Gazeta Krakowska, retrieved 2022-06-11
  16. ^ ARiMR President Daniel Obajtek | Agency for Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture, 2016-10-24, archived from the original on 2016-10-24, retrieved 2020-11-18
  17. ^ Supervisory board - Dalmor S.A.,Gdynia, KRS 0000020227, krs.infoveriti, retrieved 2020-11-18
  18. ^ Daniel Obajtek was the head of Pcim commune and the head of ARiMR. He became the president of Energa (in Polish), newsweek.pl, 10 February 2017, retrieved 2020-11-18
  19. ^ Earthquake in the state giant. Dismissed president of Orlen (in Polish), tvn24.pl, 5 February 2018, retrieved 2020-11-18
  20. ^ "Daniel Obajtek".
  21. ^ Official: Daniel Obajtek dismissed from the position of Orlen's president (in Polish), businessinsider.com.pl, February 2024, retrieved 2024-02-01
  22. ^ Orlen's president Daniel Obajtek dismissed from the position. "This is a matter of honor" - rp.pl (in Polish), rp.pl, retrieved 2024-04-22
  23. ^ PKN Orlen President Daniel Obajtek became the Chairman of the Polish Olympic Committee Council (in Polish), swiato-podglad.pl, 13 January 2024, archived from the original on 27 September 2018, retrieved 2024-04-22
  24. ^ Program Council (in Polish), retrieved 2020-11-18
  25. ^ Obajtek's staff purge costs a lot. Those dismissed from ARiMR are winning in courts |, agropolska.pl, 19 April 2018, retrieved 2021-02-05
  26. ^ "Is the mayor of Pcim a bribe-taker or a victim?". gazetakrakowska.pl. 15 March 2014. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
  27. ^ "The new head of ARiMR is being pursued by the prosecutor. Daniel Obajtek and his corruption charges". dziennik.pl. 27 November 2015. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
  28. ^ a b "The president of the Agency for Restructuring and Modernization of Agriculture will not avoid trial. Charges: corruption and fraud". www.money.pl. 9 February 2016. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
  29. ^ "Who is Daniel Obajtek, the new president of PKN Orlen?". polityka.pl. 5 February 2018. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
  30. ^ "Investigation against Energa's president Daniel Obajtek discontinued. "I never swept the matter under the rug"". dziennik.pl. 14 June 2017. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
  31. ^ a b Paweł Figurski, Jarosław Sidorowicz (February 26, 2021). "Obajtek's Tapes". Gazeta Wyborcza. 47 (9631): 1.
  32. ^ Robert Kędzierski (2021-02-26). "Obajtek's Tapes. Orlen defends the president, although the recordings do not concern his activities in the company". next.gazeta.pl. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  33. ^ Paweł Figurski; Jarosław Sidorowicz (2021-02-26), Obajtek's Tapes. Dirty business in the dizzying career of Orlen's president, Wyborcza, ISSN 0860-908X, OCLC 225759598, retrieved 2021-02-26{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  34. ^ a b "About the uncle who wasn't an uncle: Spychalski defends Obajtek with a dead parrot". OKO.press. February 28, 2021. Retrieved 2021-03-17.
  35. ^ Paweł Figurski, Jarosław Sidorowicz (March 1, 2021). "Relatives and friends of Orlen's president". Gazeta Wyborcza. 49 (9633): 1.
  36. ^ Daniel Obajtek's Tapes. Did the former mayor of Pcim lie under oath? (in Polish), Onet Wiadomości, 2021-02-26, retrieved 2021-02-26
  37. ^ "Obajtek as mayor "directed the company from the back seat", allegedly lied in court. "Wyborcza" publishes tapes", TVN24 (in Polish), 26 February 2021, retrieved 2021-02-26
  38. ^ PiS Senator on "Obajtek's tapes": This is shocking material (in Polish), TOK FM, 26 February 2021, retrieved 2021-02-26
  39. ^ a b ""Second bottom", "fight against Mr. Obajtek". This is how PiS politicians talk about the Orlen president's case". tvn24.pl. February 28, 2021. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  40. ^ a b ""Obajtek's Tapes". KO and The Left want the prosecutor's office to deal with the Orlen president's case, with special supervision from Ziobro". tokfm.pl. February 26, 2021. Retrieved 2021-03-17.
  41. ^ a b "Investigative team, request to NIK and notification to CBA. "I don't have good news for Daniel Obajtek"". tvn24.pl. March 15, 2021. Retrieved 2021-03-17.
  42. ^ "The opposition wants NIK to audit Daniel Obajtek. There is a request". interia.pl. March 15, 2021. Retrieved 2021-03-17.
  43. ^ "The Left appeals to Obajtek to disclose his asset declaration". gazetaprawna.pl. March 16, 2021. Retrieved 2021-03-17.
  44. ^ Beniaminek, Profbud, Orlen, Partyzant. There are statements (in Polish), terazkrosno.pl, 2021-03-15, retrieved 2022-06-04
  45. ^ Another dud from Gazeta Wyborcza (in Polish), wiadomosci.tvp.pl, archived from the original on 2 November 2023, retrieved 2021-03-04
  46. ^ a b Obajtek swore because he's sick? There's a statement from experts, oko.press, retrieved 2021-03-03
  47. ^ "Obajtek's Tapes. Tourette Syndrome Association: Not every curse is a symptom of the disease". wiadomosci.gazeta.pl. February 28, 2021. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  48. ^ Obajtek reveals his ASSETS. The head of Orlen showed documents (in Polish), gospodarka.dziennik.pl, 2021-03-24, retrieved 2022-06-04
  49. ^ Roman Imielski (June 11, 2021). "Obajtek's court defeat. It won't gag "Wyborcza"". wyborcza.pl. Retrieved 2021-09-25.
  50. ^ Wyborcza does not have to publish Daniel Obajtek's correction. It won legally, Press, 2022-02-19, retrieved 2022-06-24
  51. ^ "Onet reveals. Nisztor comes to Obajtek and asks for a job for his wife and father. "We will take care of her and look after her. The same with the father. Maybe I'll fire someone" - promises the president of Orlen". Onet Wiadomości (in Polish). 2024-03-14. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
  52. ^ Wirtualna Polska Media S.A (14 March 2024). "Journalist on Obajtek's tapes. New information is coming to light". wiadomosci.wp.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2024-03-15.
  53. ^ "Szokujące taśmy. Obajtek o Sasinie i swoich wrogach w PiS: chcą mnie za*****". Onet Wiadomości (in Polish). 2024-03-01. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
  54. ^ Polsat News (2024-03-01). "Taśmy Obajtka. Kolejne nagrania z byłym szefem Orlenu w roli głównej". polsatnews.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2024-03-15.
  55. ^ "Stenogramy rozmów szefów Orlenu. Siemoniak: Nie może być zgody na to..." Wprost (in Polish). 2024-03-01. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
  56. ^ "Brat Obajtka wyszedł na konferencję PO przed swoim domem. "Okłamujecie ludzi"". tvp.info. 13 March 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-10-25. Retrieved 2021-03-13.
  57. ^ "Odwołano Bartłomieja Obajtka. Wszczęto postępowanie za udzielenie mu bonifikaty na zakup mieszkania za 51 tys. zł". wiadomosci.onet.pl (in Polish). 15 January 2024. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  58. ^ "Kim jest Paulina Sala, nowa partnerka Daniela Obajtka? W czasie pandemii zaczęła budować... osiedle". naTemat.pl. 2021-03-15. Retrieved 2023-12-02.
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