In the 1960s Mr Rakowski publicly opposed the death penalty, then a heretical and dangerous stance.

ECONOMIST: Mieczyslaw Rakowski

Mr Rakowski's career fizzled out, fittingly, in an abortive bid for the Polish senate in 2005.

ECONOMIST: Mieczyslaw Rakowski

Mr Rakowski preferred to argue that communism protected Poland from the Soviet Union, whereas full-scale opposition would be futile.

ECONOMIST: Mieczyslaw Rakowski

Mr Rakowski was usually seen as an arch-trimmer, a prime example of the collaboration forced on Poland by its history.

ECONOMIST: Mieczyslaw Rakowski

With scores killed and thousands jailed, Mr Rakowski became the right-hand man of the country's new military leader, General Wojciech Jaruzelski.

ECONOMIST: Mieczyslaw Rakowski

Privatisation, launched by Mr Rakowski in the dying years of communism, had allowed influential insiders to start turning power into money to safeguard their positions.

ECONOMIST: Mieczyslaw Rakowski

His successful opponent was Radek Sikorski, now foreign minister, who had fled Poland as a political refugee from the martial law that Mr Rakowski so steadfastly defended.

ECONOMIST: Mieczyslaw Rakowski

Mr Rakowski stood firm and refused to sack any Jews.

ECONOMIST: Mieczyslaw Rakowski

Forrester analysts Vanessa Alvarez, Dave Bartoletti, Rachel Dines, Jean-Pierre Garbani, Dave Johnson, Eve Maler, Stephen Mann, Eveline Oehrlich, John Rakowski, James Staten, and Chris Voce all contributed to this analysis.

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