Róża Thun

In 1981, she married Franz Graf von Thun und Hohenstein, an economist and a Count of the Holy Roman Empire of Austrian aristocratic descent.[3]

Her formal style by courtesy upon marriage became Rosa Gräfin von Thun und Hohenstein: Gräfin is the German equivalent rank to Countess.

The couple have four children: a son Christoph and three daughters Marynia, Sophie and Jadwiga.[2]

In 1979, Woźniakowska graduated from the Jagiellonian University with a Master's degree in English Philology.[1][2] She became a member, and later spokesperson, of the Student Committee of Solidarity in Kraków.[1] Between 1977 and 1980, she was active on the Workers' Defence Committee[1] (an organization aiding political prisoners and their families).

Between 1992 and 2005, Thun was Director-General and Chairwoman of the Polish Robert Schuman Foundation (Polish: Polska Fundacja imienia Roberta Schumana),[1] a non-governmental organization promoting European integration.[2] From 1998 to 2000, she served on Warsaw City Council,[1] and from 2005 until 2009, she was the head of the European Commission Representation to Poland.[1]

Róża Thun, 2010

Thun was elected a European Parliament Member (MEP) at the European elections of 2009. She won some 150,000 votes in the Lesser Poland and Świętokrzyskie constituency which she represents.[4] Although Thun stood on the Civic Platform parliamentary list, she only joined the party following her election.[4]

As an MEP, Thun is a member of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection. In addition to her committee assignments, she is part the EU-Delegation for relations with Israel and its delegation to the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly.[1] She is also a member of the European Internet Forum[5] and the Spinelli Group.

Thun has been nominated for the prize of "best MEP" in 2011 and in 2013 by "The Parliament Magazine" in the Internal Market and Consumer Protection category. These prizes have been awarded since 2005, and nominations are made by European organizations, associations and institutions which monitor the workings of the EP. 3 names are shortlisted in each category, with MEPs voting for the winner.

On 26 April 2009 – less than two months before the European elections – Ryszard Czarnecki, a Polish MEP for the Law and Justice Party, wrote a blog entry, describing Thun's "troubles" with the Polish National Electoral Commission.[6] According to Czarnecki, the Civic Platform intended to register her candidacy under the name of Róża Thun,[6] but the Commission refused, stating that according to the regulations, all candidates must appear under their full names on the ballot papers.[6] "And so, the voters will see Róża Maria Gräfin von Thun und Hohenstein in her full grace",[6] Czarnecki wrote. He further asserted that "a Gräfin with a German-sounding name might do harm to the Civic Platform".[7][8]

On 20 May 2009, it was revealed that Czarnecki himself would appear on the ballot sheets not under his assumed Polish name of Ryszard Henryk, but as Richard Henry, since he was born in the United Kingdom.[8][9] Czarnecki stated that his situation is different, as he didn't choose his names, while Thun chose her surname by marrying her husband.[9] Thun retorted her name came out of love,[9] adding "I pity Richard Henry Czarnecki".[9]

In January 2018, Czarnecki compared Thun to a szmalcownik, people who blackmailed Jews in hiding during the Holocaust, for her criticism of the Polish government. As a result of these comments, Thun received death threats. In 2019, Czarnecki lost a libel case against Thun.[10]