Marek Wielgus


Marek Wielgus was a Polish sports activist, photographer, and Sejm deputy on his second term.

Biography

Wielgus graduated from the School of Artistic Crafts in Warsaw in 1970. In the 1980s, he worked with the "Sportowiec" magazine, and published the "Mecz" magazine. He was the founder of the first Laboratory of Professional Photography in Poland. Wielgus was also involved in sports photography, as he participated in the FIFA World Cup four times. Weilgus published several photo albums, and organized exhibitions of his own works. From 1993 to 1996 he was the owner of the football section Polonia Warsaw and served as the chairman of its supervisory board.
In the 1991 Polish parliamentary election Weilgus unsuccessfully competed as a nonpartisan candidate from the list Alliance of Democrats. In 1993 he was elected as a second term deputy from the Nonpartisan Bloc for Support of Reforms. He directed the Youth Commission, Physical Culture and Sport in the Sejm. Weilgus, along with Lesław Ćmikiewicz were the first organizers of Students' Sports Clubs and the initiators of organizing mini football tournaments for children associated in UKS. W 1995 objął stanowisko wiceprezesa zarządu Polish Football Associations. After the breakup of the BBWR, Weilgus joined the Republican Party.
Wielgus along with parliament member Zbigniew Gorzelańczyk were killed in the 1996 crash of Birgenair Flight 301 in the Dominican Republic. He was posthumously awarded the following:
Knight's Cross by the Order of Polonia Restituta.
In 1996 a commemorative plaque dedicated to Wielgus was placed on the Konwiktorska Street Municipal Stadium.