Doctors honoris causa

Doctors honoris causa of the University of Gdańsk

  1. Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski (Eng.)  for his contribution to the development of the Polish maritime economy and to general economic theory (19 August 1974).
  2. Professor Aleksander Jabłoński (Mikołaj Kopernik University in Toruń) for his contribution to the development of Polish physics, especially to the development of atomic and molecular spectroscopy (9 October 1975).
  3. Professor Bolesław Kasprowicz (College of Maritime Trade, College of Economics in Sopot, and the University of Gdańsk) for his achievements in the organization and academic development of education in economics (30 October 1975).
  4. Professor Borys Arbuzow (Academy of Sciences, USSR) for his services in the development of the organic chemistry of phosphorous compounds and in deepening Polish-Soviet scientific cooperation (25 November 1976).
  5. Professor Jurij Owczynnikow (Academy of Sciences, USSR) in recognition of his services to the development of bio-organic chemistry and to deepening Polish-Soviet scientific cooperation (29 December 1977).
  6. Professor Władysław Czapliński (University of Wrocław) for his achievements in research into the history of modern Poland and into Polish maritime policy (20 April 1978).
  7. Father Dr Bernard Sychta for his services in research into the Kashubian language, especially for the Słownik gwar kaszubskich (Dictionary of Kashubian dialects) (3 December 1981).
  8. Professor Gerard Labuda (Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Polish Academy of Sciences, and Faculty of Pomeranian History in Poznań) for his achievements in research into the history of medieval Poland, especially of Pomerania (21 March 1985).
  9. Professor Władysław Wolter (Polish Academy of Sciences, Jagiellonian University in Kraków) for his services to studies in criminal law and for developing its humane content in the service of the human individual and of the rule of law in the justice system (16 January 1986).
  10. Professor Janusz Sokołowski (University of Gdańsk) for his significant contribution to the organization, development, and consolidation of the University of Gdańsk and for his scientific achievements in the field of sugar chemistry (17 July 1986).
  11. Professor Leonard Hendrik Klassen (Dutch Institute of Economics and Erasmus University, Rotterdam, Holland) for his achievements in the field of the theory of the spatial economy and for his commitment to expanding the scholarly cooperation of Dutch economists with representatives of Polish maritime economic thinking in the Gdańsk Coastal Area (20 November 1986).
  12. Professor Maurice Manning (University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio USA) for his services in the field of peptide hormone chemistry and for his commitment to strengthening cooperation among American and Polish scientific centres (2 July 1987).
  13. Professor Wacław Szybalski (University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA) in recognition of his services in the field of molecular biology and for his commitment to expanding cooperation with Polish scientific centres, especially with the University of Gdańsk (4 May 1989).
  14. Lech Wałęsa (winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, President of Poland 1990–1995) in recognition of his enduring services to the development and promulgation of the ideals of freedom and democracy, the re-birth of humanist values, human dignity, human rights, and the rights of society and the nation (20 March 1990).
  15. Professor Ulf Ragnarsson (Uppsala University, Sweden) in recognition of his services in the field of peptide chemistry and for his commitment to cooperation with the University of Gdańsk (11 November 1990).
  16. Professor Oswald Leroy (University of Leuven, Belgium) for his contribution in the field of physics, especially in acusto-optics, conducted in cooperation with scientists from the University of Gdańsk (8 February 1991).
  17. Professor Michael Kasha (Florida State University, USA) for his pioneering achievements in physical chemistry, especially in electron molecular spectroscopy, and for his contribution to cooperation with the University of Gdańsk (24 October 1991).
  18. Dr Richard von Weizsäcker (President of Germany) in recognition of his work as German head of state, but especially cooperation between Germany and Poland, and his deep commitment to bringing the two countries and their cultures closer together (25 June 1992).
  19. Professor Jean H. P. Paelinck (Erasmus University, Rotterdam, Holland) for outstanding achievements in scholarship relating to spatial economy, econometrics, and statistics, and for his contribution to cooperation with the University of Gdańsk (25 February 1993).
  20. Günter Grass (winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, German writer, native of Gdańsk) for his outstanding literary work, especially for his undoubted masterpiece Die Blechtrommel  (The Tin Drum), and for his engagement in the serious and complex problems of the contemporary world, especially for his contribution to Polish-German understanding (25 March 1993).
  21. François Mitterrand (President of France) in recognition of his huge contributions in word and deed to achieving the ideals of freedom and fundamental human rights, independence, peaceful coexistence, cooperation among nations, social justice, and traditional Franco-Polish friendship (17 June 1993).
  22. Professor Maria Janion (Polish Academy of Sciences) for creating a new vision of the humanities, for outstanding books on Romanticism that have shaped the Polish collective imagination, and for her outstanding contribution to the development of the Gdańsk academic community (30 June 1994).
  23. Professor Sven Erlander (Linköping University, Sweden) in recognition of his outstanding achievements in the mathematical modelling and optimization of the road traffic engineering process, in the modernization of teacher education, and for his personal contribution to the development of comprehensive cooperation with the University of Gdańsk (2 January 1995).
  24. Professor Edmund Cieślak (Polish Academy of Sciences) for the best Polish history of Gdańsk and Gdańsk-Pomerania, especially in modern times, and also for his outstanding contribution to the development the academic community of historians dealing with Pomeranian issues (10 October 1995).
  25. Professor Jan Strelau (Polish Academy of Sciences) for formulating the regulative theory of temperament and constructing original methods of research into personality, and also in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the development of psychology and for his creation of an school of scholarship (23 November 1995).
  26. Professor Henryk Markiewicz (Polish Academy of Sciences) for outstanding academic achievements in the theory of literature and the methodology of literary studies, and for his extremely fruitful work in shaping the academic community in Polish studies (30 May 1996).
  27. Professor Leszek Kołakowski (All Souls College, Oxford, Great Britain) for his services in the development of philosophy, for his courage in considering the dangerous issues of power and subjection, for his courage in criticizing those intellectual tendencies that affect human dignity and human rights, and for setting out research perspectives (26 June 1997).
  28. Professor Alicja Jaruga (University of Łódź) for outstanding services to accounting in Poland and to international cooperation in this field, to training of academic faculty and training for a developing market economy, as well as for her contribution to academic cooperation with the University of Gdańsk (26 June 1997).
  29. Professor Andrea Romano (University of Messina, Italy) in recognition of his significant scholarly contribution to a knowledge of the history of European academic education and of political and legal institutions in the Middle Ages, for his dynamic and active work in building the academic world of a uniting Europe, and in gratitude for his particularly helpful cooperation in promoting the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Gdańsk (11 December 1997).
  30. Professor Falk Fahrenholz (Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany) in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the development of biochemistry, in particular for his achievements in research on peptide hormones and their receptors, as well as for his services in scientific cooperation with the Gdańsk Peptide Centre (30 April 1998).
  31. Professor Horst Lange-Bertalot (Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany) in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the development of the study of algae in Poland, to international cooperation in this field, and to the education of young academic faculty (25 June 1998).
  32. Professor Hanna Popowska-Taborska (Institute of Slavic Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw) for her for outstanding achievements in the study of Slavic languages, especially Kashubian, for her special contribution to the development of the academic faculty of the University of Gdańsk, and for shaping an attitude of tolerance and openness in research in the humanities (29 April 1999).
  33. Professor Norman J. R. Davies (British Academy, University of London, Great Britain) in recognition of his outstanding scholarly achievements in the study of the European past, restoring Poland’s rightful place in historians’ studies of European civilizations, and for making Poland better known on the world stage (24 March 2000).
  34. Madeleine K. Albright (politician, US Secretary of State) for rigorously eliminating from international policy Western European prejudices against Slavs; for her involvement in the process of including Poland in the political and military structures of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization; for contributing to exposing the mechanisms of distorting contemporary history through censorship in totalitarian regimes in Eastern Europe (25 June 2000).
  35. Professor Stanisław Ładyka (economist, SGH Warsaw School of Economics) for outstanding scholarly achievements in the field of international economic relations and for building the foundations of this academic discipline in Poland, for his particular services in creating and developing the Sopot economics community, and for his very effective contribution to the education and development of academic faculty in economics, organizational work that contributed to the high status of the College of Economics in Sopot and of the economic faculties of the University of Gdańsk  (31 May 2001).
  36. Professor Marian Biskup (historian, Polish Academy of Sciences and Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences) for his research into the history of Polish diplomacy in the late Middle Ages, for his outstanding achievements in describing the history of the Teutonic Order and its state in Prussia, and for his editorial work on the documentation in Akta Stanów Prus Królewskich (State Documents of Royal Prussia) (25 October 2001).
  37. Professor Jan Winiecki (economist, European University Viadrina, Frankfurt am Oder, Germany) for his outstanding achievements, widely recognized in the scholarly world, in the field of international economic relations, processes of economic growth, and economic transformation in Poland and other countries of Central and Eastern Europe, for his theoretical and practical contribution to the reconstruction of the economic system in Poland in the 1990s through his work in professional associations, in international organizations and through his celebration of the achievements of the Polish transformation throughout the world, for his personal qualities, for his involvement in the return of Poland to the market economy, for his services in promoting Polish scholarship in the world, for his rectitude in academic research, and for his extensive knowledge (25 October 2001).
  38. Professor Wolfgang E. Krumbein (oceanographer, University of Oldenburg, Germany) for his outstanding discoveries in the field of sedimentology and geomicrobiology, for his original contribution to the development of knowledge about rock weathering processes, and for his services in the protection of stone monuments of civilization (25 April 2002).
  39. Professor Uffe Ellemann-Jensen (political scientist, Foreign Minister 1982–1993, Denmark) for his enormous contribution to the economic and cultural development of the Baltic Sea region, and for his strong support for Poland’s membership of NATO and the European Union (23 May 2002).
  40. Professor Bernd Jastorff (chemist, University of Bremen, Germany) in recognition of his outstanding achievements in biological chemistry and for his contribution to the development of Polish-German scientific cooperation (6 March 2003).
  41. Professor Alfred Czermiński (economist, University of Gdańsk) for his significant services in the development of knowledge and of academic faculty in the field of economics, especially in organization and management studies (26 June 2003).
  42. Ryszard Kapuściński (writer, reporter) for his outstanding achievements, in journalism and other writing, in documenting, analyzing, and insightfully commenting on characteristic features of the world at the turn of the century (29 January 2004).
  43. Andrzej Wajda (theatre and film director) for his outstanding achievements in film and theatre, for his profound reflections on history and the human being, and for his never-ending “renewal of meanings” (27 January 2005).
  44. Professor Harold A. Scheraga (Cornell University, Ithaca, USA) for his exceptional scientific achievements and for his contribution to the development of biochemistry and theoretical biophysics in the Faculty of Chemistry of the University of Gdańsk (24 February 2005).
  45. Professor Władysław Bartoszewski (historian, politician, diplomat) for promulgating a wise patriotism, free of all xenophobia, and for bringing the spirit of ethics to the world of politics (29 September 2005).
  46. Tadeusz Różewicz (poet, dramatist, prose writer, writer of screenplays) for posing in his poetry, plays, and prose the most difficult questions in a penetrating, simple fashion and for conducting a dialogue with tradition and always expressing what is of great contemporary relevance (27 April 2006).
  47. Professor Charles H. Bennett (physicist – quantum information, IBM Research, Yorktown, New York, USA) for his fundamental and comprehensive contribution to the development of a new branch of science, quantum information theory, which is the basis for quantum technology and a new understanding of nature (25 May 2006).
  48. Professor Anton Zeilinger (physicist – quantum information, winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics, University of Vienna, Austria) for a series of fundamental experimental tests of the quantum nature of the world and for his contribution to the development of quantum information (25 May 2006).
  49. Professor Leszek Balcerowicz (economist) for his outstanding and creative contribution to the process of political transformation in Poland and for his tireless concern for the state of public finances, the stability of the Polish currency, and for disseminating accurate economic knowledge in society (16 November 2006).
  50. Professor Maria Bogucka (historian, expert on the history of old Gdańsk) for her outstanding contribution to the understanding of the history of Gdańsk and the Polish Republic, especially in modern times, and for shaping the development of modern historical studies (21 December 2006).
  51. Professor Yi Lijun (translator, Polish literary scholar, Beijing University of Foreign Languages, PRC)  for the originality of her way of presenting Polish literature in China through heroic translation work, education of many generations of Chinese Polonists, and exemplary organizational activity in the field of academic cooperation with Polish centres of higher education (25 October 2007).
  52. Professor Ewa Łętowska (professor of law, the first Commissioner for Human Rights in the III Polish Republic, judge on the Constitutional Court) for her promulgation of the idea of a democratic state under the rule of law and for shaping the legal awareness of society (31 January 2008).
  53. Elie Wiesel (winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, writer and journalist, prisoner in Nazi concentration camps, creator of an understanding of the Holocaust through his depiction of the Shoah) for demonstrating through his powerful writing that language and literature are instruments thanks to which humanity can record the experience of what is inhuman, in order that memory may safeguard us against a return of that Evil which was the attempted annihilation of the Jewish people by the Nazis. His books and tireless public activity – in defiance of those forces in relation to which the individual human being must appear of no significance – confirm that the independent voice of the individual can reach the ears of an often indifferent world. (27 March 2008).
  54. Professor Czesław Druet (pioneer of Polish oceanography, founder of the Institute of Oceanology of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Sopot, author of pioneering works in the fields of sea dynamics, hydromechanics, wind waves, and the modeling of small-scale processes) for outstanding discoveries in sea dynamics and his original contribution to the development of knowledge of the processes of mass and energy transfer in the sea, and for his significant contribution to the creation of a modern model of educating oceanographers in Poland at the university level (27 November 2008).
  55. Professor Henryk Samsonowicz (historian, researcher into the history of late medieval Gdańsk, Poland, and Europe) in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the understanding of the social and economic history of late medieval Gdańsk, Poland, and Europe, and of his leading role in shaping modern Polish historical studies  (24 September 2009).
  56. Tomas Venclova (Lithuanian poet, essayist, translator, and literary scholar, professor at Yale University, USA) for his outstanding achievements in the study of Central Eastern European culture, for his excellent literary work, and his wise efforts to bring nations together (26 November 2009).
  57. Professor Jerzy Brzeziński (psychologist, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań) in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the development of psychology, especially the methodology of psychological research in Poland and in Europe, for the creation and promulgation of high methodological standards in Polish social sciences, sociology of science, and the development of higher education (27 May 2010).
  58. Professor Hayden White (humanist, specialist in the theory of historiography and literary theory, Stanford University, USA) in recognition of his outstanding contribution to understanding how language and literary heritage shape the recording of historical experience (30 June 2011).
  59. Professor Maciej Żylicz (molecular biologist, biochemist, full member of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Director of the Foundation for Polish Science) for his outstanding contribution to the development of biochemistry and molecular biology, and especially for his for research on chaperone proteins, for promoting the development of science in Poland, and for contributing to the development of the University of Gdańsk (30 June 2011).
  60. Professor Bernd Baron von Maydell (expert in civil law, labour law, and social law, affiliated with the University of Marburg, the University of Bonn, and the Free University in Berlin, former director of the Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy, and honorary professor of the University of Munich) for his special contribution to adapting Polish legal solutions to European standards and to strengthening academic cooperation between German and Polish research centres in legal and social sciences (13 June 2013).
  61. Professor Willem Molle (Dutch economist, Erasmus University in Rotterdam)                                      in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the implementation of ​​peaceful international cooperation through his academic, teaching, and advisory work for government institutions and international organizations, and through his promoting the development of European economic integration (25 April 2013).
  62. Professor Henryk Kozłowski (chemist, expert in scientific research at the intersection of chemistry, biology, and medicine) for his outstanding achievements in bioinorganic chemistry and for his contribution to the development of the University of Gdańsk (24 April 2014).
  63. Professor Zbigniew Ciesielski (mathematician, specialist in the field of probability theory, of stochastic processes, and of functional analysis) in recognition of the great importance of his results for the development of world mathematics, with particular emphasis on probability theory, stochastic processes, and functional analysis, and in recognition of his active organizational work for the benefit of Polish science (27 March 2014).
  64. Professor Lech Garlicki (professor of law, specialist in constitutional law and human rights) for his contribution in doctrine and case law to shaping the rule of law, especially the protection of human rights and democratic institutions in Poland and Europe (20 March 2017).
  65. Professor Anders Grubb (specialist in clinical chemistry, especially medical diagnostics and biochemistry) for his outstanding achievements in medical chemistry and his influence on the development of a new research topic in the Faculty of Chemistry of the University of Gdańsk (28 September 2018).
  66. Dr Thomas Bach (President of the International Olympic Committee, successful sportsman, former Olympic champion, promotor of sport known worldwide, outstanding lawyer) for his contribution to the development of the international Olympic movement and for his work for human rights and world peace (6 November 2019).
  67. Professor dr hab. Stefan Angielski (Rector of the Medical Academy in Gdańsk 1990–1993) for his central contribution to the establishment of a modern school of clinical biochemistry in Gdańsk and for working to integrate the academic and medical community of Gdańsk (5 October 2020).
  68. Professor dr hab. Zbigniew Grzonka (chemist, Rector of the University of Gdańsk 1990–1996) for his central contribution to the dynamic development of the University of Gdańsk, to the establishment of the celebrated Gdańsk school of amino acid and peptide chemistry, and for working to integrate the Gdańsk academic community (5 October 2020).
  69. Professor dr hab. (Eng.) Edmund Wittbrodt (profesor of technical sciences, Rector of Gdańsk Polytechnic 1990–1996, Senator of the Republic of Poland 1997–2015, Minister of National Education 2000–2001, President of the Kashubian-Pomeranian Association) for his public service over many years in support of Polish education and science, and for his work to integrate the Gdańsk academic community (5 October 2020).
  70. Olga Tokarczuk (outstanding writer, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature 2018) for her writing and her cultural and social work (18 March 2024).
  71. Professor dr hab. Krzysztof Pomian (philosopher, historian, essayist) for boldly following untrodden paths of knowledge and searching for truth, for defining new areas of study and research, for contributing to the development of a global humanities, and for research on the history of the museums of the world (10 May 2024).
  72. Jan Krzysztof Bielecki (activist in the democratic opposition in the People’s Republic of Poland and former prime minister of the Republic of Poland) for his persistent advocacy of economic and civic freedom in Poland and internationally, and for his affirmation of the right to independence of countries dominated by totalitarian systems, as is confirmed by decisions he made while filling important offices of state (1 October 2024).
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Submitted on Thu, 03/13/2025 - 13:31 by Ewa Jaros Changed on Thu, 03/13/2025 - 13:31 by Ewa Jaros