Late Polish President Lech Kaczynski's dislike of communism and distrust of Russia led him to block the appointment of any ambassadors who had studied in the Soviet Union, according to leaked U.S. diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks.
Lech Kaczynski, elected president in 2005, died in a plane crash along with 95 others, mostly senior officials, on April 10, 2010, in Smolensk. His twin brother, Jaroslaw, served as prime minister in 2006 and 2007.
The cables, dated 2006, said the Kaczynski twins promoted people in the foreign service, including their Foreign Minister Anna Fotyga, on the basis of political loyalty, not professional ability or experience.
Jaroslaw Kaczynski's party rejected the charges that the Foreign Ministry suffered under his government.