Editing Wojciech Jaruzelski (section)

== Presidency ==

The policies of Mikhail Gorbachev stimulated political reform in Poland. By the close of its tenth 
plenary meeting in December 1988, the Polish United Workers Party was 
forced by spreading labour unrest to approach leaders of Solidarity for talks.

From 6 February to 15 April 1989, negotiations were held between 13 working groups during 94 sessions of the roundtable talks. These negotiations "radically altered the shape "of the Polish 
government and society", and resulted in an agreement which stated that a
<nowiki> </nowiki>great degree of political power would be given to a newly created bicameral legislature. It also restored a post of president to act as head of state and chief executive. Solidarity was also declared a legal organisation. During the ensuing partially-free elections, the Communists and their allies were allocated 65 percent of the seats in the Sejm.
<nowiki> </nowiki>Solidarity won all the remaining elected seats, and 99 out of the 100 
seats in the fully elected Senate were also won by Solidarity-backed 
candidates.<sup>[1]</sup> Amid such a crushing defeat, there were fears Jaruzelski would annul the results. However, he allowed them to stand.<sup>[20]</sup> Jaruzelski was elected by parliament to the position of president. He was the only candidate.

Jaruzelski was unsuccessful in convincing Lech Wałęsa to include Solidarity in a "grand coalition"<sup>[1]</sup> with the Communists. He resigned as first secretary of the PZPR on 29 July 1989.<sup>[1][21]</sup> Mieczysław Rakowski succeeded him as party leader.<sup>[21]</sup>

The Communists initially intended to give Solidarity a few token 
cabinet posts for the sake of appearances. However, Wałęsa persuaded 
the Communists' two allied parties, the United People's Party (ZSL) and the Alliance of Democrats (SD), to break their alliance with the PZPR.<sup>[22]</sup>
<nowiki> </nowiki>Accepting that he would have to appoint a Solidarity member as prime 
minister, Jaruzelski then asked Wałęsa to select three candidates, one 
of whom he would ask to form a government. Ultimately, Tadeusz Mazowiecki, who had helped organise the roundtable talks, was selected as first non-Communist prime minister of an Eastern Bloc country in four decades.Jaruzelski resigned as president in 1990. He was succeeded by Wałęsa, who had won the presidential election on 9 December.

On 31 January 1991, Jaruzelski retired from the army.