Polish President Lech Kaczynski, who died this morning in a plane crash near the Russian city of Smolensk at the age of 60, was a controversial figure who frequentlly displayed his populist instincts.
He was born in June 1949 in Gdansk and after studying law at the University of Warsaw he became active in the Solidarity movement.
He was interned under martial law for ten months between December 1981 and October 1982 and in Poland's first free presidential elections in 1990, he and his twin brother Jaroslaw became the driving force behind Lech Walesa's victory over another leading dissident, Tadeusz Mazowiecki.
Mr Kaczynski was made head of the national security office under Mr Walesa but he fell out with him after resisting calls for Poland to abandon "shock therapy" economic reform.
As mayor of Warsaw, he banned gay parades and spoke in support of reintroducing the death penalty.
He also served as justice minister in the government of Jerzy Buzek and was elected president in 2005.
The win followed a general election victory by the Law and Justice party led by his Jaroslaw, and it made the Kaczynski duo the undisputed first family in the new European Union member state.
In office, the twins campaigned to expose those who had collaborated with the
communists and promised a "moral revolution" against corruption.
Part of the appeal of Mr Kaczynski was based on his image as an incorruptible politician who, unlike some post-communist leaders, never personally benefited from politics.
His brother was replaced as prime minister by Donald Tusk after he led his centrist Civic Platform to victory in parliamentary elections.
Mr Tusk pursued pro-market economic policies and repaired relations with Germany and Russia, badly strained under the previous administration of the president's brother.
Mr Kaczynski was a critic of the economically liberal government and often vetoed its bills, including 2008 plans to encourage hospitals to operate on a commercial basis - a plan the president said amounted to privatisation. He vetoed a 2009 bill that aimed to shake up public media.
He criticised the government in January 2010 for prolonging gas negotiations with Moscow and deepening Poland's already heavy reliance on Russian gas.