Donald Tusk

Tusk in 2016, photo by palinchak/Bigstock.com

Birth Name: Donald Franciszek Tusk

Place of Birth: Gdańsk, Poland

Date of Birth: 22 April, 1957

Ethnicity: Kashubian, some Polish, possibly German

Donald Tusk is a Polish politician and historian. He has served as Prime Minister of Poland, since 13 December, 2023; and, previously, from 16 November, 2007 to 22 September, 2014. In Europe, he has been President of the European Council, from 1 December, 2014 to 30 November, 2019, and President of the European People’s Party, from 1 December, 2019 to 1 June, 2022. In Poland, he has also been Chair of the Civic Platform, from 1 June, 2003 to 8 November, 2014, and again, since 3 July, 2021, among other duties.

Donald is the son of Ewa (Dawidowska), a nurse, and Donald Tusk, a carpenter. His family is of Kashubian origin, a west Slavic ethnic group native to the Kashubia region in Poland. Donald identifies as a Kashubian, and is able to speak the Kashubian language, as well as Polish, English, and German. Donald is married to Małgorzata Sochacka, with whom he has two children.

One of Donald’s great-great-great-grandmothers, Anna Labuda, was born in Potęgowo, which is located outside of the Kashubians’ historical territory. Thus, she might have been of ethnic Polish descent.

Donald’s paternal grandfather was Józef Tusk (the son of Józef Tusk and Augustyna Adamczyk). Donald’s grandfather Józef was born in Gdańsk, and was a railway official. He was imprisoned at the Neuengamme concentration camp, later was apparently conscripted by German authorities into the Wehrmacht, and then joined the Polish Armed Forces in the West. Donald’s great-grandfather Józef was the son of Jan Tusk and Tekla Konkol.

Donald’s paternal grandmother was named Julianna Jeżewska.

Donald’s maternal grandfather was Franciszek Karol Dawidowski (the son of Leon Dawidowski and Julianna Czaja). Franciszek was born in Sopot, Pomorskie. Leon was the son of Dorota Dawidowska. Julianna was the daughter of Wojciech Andrzej Czaja and Ewa Franciszka Szynszecka.

Donald’s maternal grandmother was Anna Gertrude Liebke (the daughter of Albert Franz Liebke and Ottilie Johanna Krause). Anna was born in Sopot, Pomorskie. Albert was the son of Anna Henrietta Liebke. Ottilie was the daughter of Franz Krause and Mathilde Mionskowski. The surname Liebke is often German, as is the surname Krause, although it was evidently spelled Krusa several generations back.

Source: Genealogy of Donald Tusk – https://www.geni.com