Ryszard Legutko
Polish philosopher and politician representing the Law and Justice Party. Formerly Minister of Education, Deputy Speaker of the Senate, Secretary of State in the President Lech Kaczyński's Chancellery, and Chairman of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group in the European Parliament.
He has written over twenty books. Among his publications are: The Demon in Democracy: Totalitarian Temptations in Free Societies (2016), The Cunning of Freedom: Saving the Self in an Age of False Idols (2021); The Way of the Gadfly: A Study of Coherency in Socratic Thought (2024).
He has been a recipient of several awards, among these the János Hunyadi Award, the Beaconsfield Prize, and the St. Adalbert Award. In 2024, the President of Poland awarded him the Republic of Poland's highest honour - the Order of the White Eagle.