VZCZCXRO4892
RR RUEHKW
DE RUEHWR #2388 3521212
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 181212Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY WARSAW
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5655
INFO RUEHKW/AMCONSUL KRAKOW 1938
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS WARSAW 002388 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PINR SENV ECON PGOV PL
SUBJECT: POLAND BIO: MACIEJ NOWICKI, MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENT 
 
¶1.  (U)  Maciej Nowicki was named Poland's Minister of 
Environment on November 16, 2007.  He is widely considered 
one of Poland's most respected environmentalists.  Since 
1992, he has been the president of Ekofundusz, an 
organization he founded to provide financial support for 
environmental protection projects in Poland, to facilitate 
transfer of environmental technologies to the Polish market, 
and to stimulate the development of the Polish environmental 
protection movement.  He previously served as Poland's 
Minister of Environment in 1991, where he was instrumental in 
negotiating a reduction in Poland's foreign debt with the 
Paris Club, with an agreement that 10% of the debt payments 
would be designated for environmental protection in Poland. 
He has served as well as vice-chairman of the United Nations 
Commission on Sustainable Development (1994-95) and as an 
advisor on environmental matters to the secretary-general of 
the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development 
(1996-97).  In 1996, Nowicki was awarded the prestigious 
"Deutscher Umweltpreis" for his achievements in environmental 
protection in Poland.  He holds a doctorate in environmental 
engineering from Warsaw Polytechnic University. 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  As head of Ekofundusz, Nowicki has presided over 
one of Poland's wealthiest and most powerful environmental 
organizations. Between 1992 and 2005, Ekofundusz awarded 
grants of almost PLN 1.5 billion (approximately US$600 
million) to over 1250 environmental projects.  In 2006, the 
finances of Ekofundusz drew the attention of Pawel 
Szalamacha, Minister of the State Treasury, who demanded that 
Nowicki and the board of directors of Ekofundusz be dismissed 
because of financial improprieties.  Szalamacha charged that 
five members of the Ekofundusz management were drawing 
salaries without performing any work, and that the 
organization had not filed a financial plan in two years. 
Szalamacha's charges were not substantiated.  A number of 
observers felt Szalamacha's charges represented an attempt by 
his Law and Justice (PiS) party to place its own members in 
the management of Ekofundusz.  Nowicki survived as head of 
Ekofundusz and maintained his reputation for integrity. 
 
¶3.  (U)  Nowicki is married and has two daughters.  His 
interests include art history, especially architectural, and 
fine music. 
HILLAS