Róża Thun

Róża Maria Thun

Her father, a Polish nobleman, Jacek Woźniakowski (1920-2012), was a professor in the Catholic University of Lublin (who also served as Mayor of Kraków for 1990-1991).

Through her mother, Franz and Róża are 3rd cousins, as both share mutual descent from Count Friedrich Franz von Thun und Hohenstein (1810-1881) and his wife, Countess Leopoldine von Lamberg (1825-1902).

Her formal style by courtesy upon marriage became Rosa Gräfin von Thun und Hohenstein: Gräfin is the German equivalent rank to Countess.

In 1990, when her husband succeeded as the Head of the family and nominally became Fürst, her style changed to Rosa Fürstin von Thun und Hohenstein.

They have four children: Christoph, Maria Zita, Sophie Amélie, and Jadwiga Wanda. Although Thun stood on the Civic Platform parliamentary list, she only joined the party following her election;

As an MEP, Thun is a member of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection. In addition to her committee assignments, she is part of the parliament's delegations for relations with Israel and to the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly. and the Spinelli Group.

Citing disagreements over key policy areas like environmental protection, Thun left the Civic Platform, and later also the European People’s Party group, to join Poland 2050 and Renew Europe in 2021.

Ryszard Czarnecki controversy On 26 April 2009 – less than two months before the European elections – Ryszard Czarnecki, a Polish MEP for the Law and Justice Party, wrote a blog entry, describing Thun's "troubles" with the Polish National Electoral Commission. According to Czarnecki, the Civic Platform intended to register her candidacy under the name of Róża Thun,

On 20 May 2009, it was revealed that Czarnecki himself would appear on the ballot sheets not under his assumed Polish name of Ryszard Henryk, but as Richard Henry, since he was born in the United Kingdom. Czarnecki stated that his situation is different, as he didn't choose his names, while Thun chose her surname by marrying her husband.

Political positions In November 2017, Thun joined a parliamentary majority by voting in favor of a resolution invoking Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union, thereby potentially stripping Poland of voting rights in the EU for violating the common values of the bloc, including the rule of law. Shortly after, her political opponents had pictures of Thun and five other Polish politicians strung from a makeshift gallows in a public square in Katowice.

Honours 2017 - Internal Market and Consumer Protection Award

Thun has been nominated for the prize of "best MEP" in 2011 and in 2013 by The Parliament Magazine in the Internal Market and Consumer Protection category. These prizes have been awarded since 2005, and nominations are made by European organizations, associations and institutions which monitor the workings of the EP. 3 names are shortlisted in each category, with MEPs voting for the winner. In 2017 she won the award in the internal market category.