Jerzy HAUSNER, 56, since October 19, 2001, Minister of Labor and Social Policy in the Government of Prime Minister Leszek Miller, and since January 8, 2003, after the fusion of the Ministry of Labor with the Ministry of Economy, he is Minister of Economy, Labor and Social Policy. Since May 2, 2004 to March 31, 2005 Minister of Economic Affairs and Labour. He is professor of economics.
He is a graduate of the Economic Academy of Cracow, and since 1972 holding a research and teaching position there. In 1994 he received the title of professor ordinarius—the highest scientific title in Poland. He holds a chair of economics and public administration at this Academy.
From 1986 to 1989 he was secretary for science and academics at the regional Cracow Committee of the Polish United Workers’ Party.
From 1994 to 1996 he served as Director-General of the Prime Minister's Office. In that capacity, he was in charge of a group of advisors to Grzegorz Kołodko—then Deputy Prime Minister responsible for the economy. He coordinated preparatory work on and the implementation of the “Strategy for Poland”—at the time the key government program of economic and social development of the country. He also prepared the outline for the “Compact for Silesia”—a program of economic renewal of that crisis-stricken industrial region. He further served as commissioner to establish the Government Center for Strategic Studies. In February 1997, in the Government of Prime Minister Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz, he was appointed Undersecretary of State at the Prime Minister's Chancery and Government's Commissioner for Social Security Reform. He was charged with developing an implementation timetable for the social security reform, establishing the operational principles of pension funds, as well as with an ex ante evaluation of the implementation costs of the new social security system, and with designing a financing scheme.
In his research, he is interested in the interaction of economy and politics (political economy, public economy and public administration). He has authored 231 publications, including 48 books and monographs, 58 journal articles, and 38 chapters in books. He holds membership in the Polish Economic Association, the Scientific Association of Organization and Management, and the European Association for Evolutionary Political Economy.
He is Member of the 4th Sejm (Parliament) of the Republic of Poland.