Word: walesa
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Harvard had to jump through many hoops to get the invitation in his hands, not notifying government officials or the State Department until after communication with Walesa had occurred...
...time of Harvard’s invitation, Walesa was under house arrest by the Polish communist government. Walesa’s affirmation of the honor was interpreted incorrectly by Harvard as an acceptance, because of the absence of consistent communication with the leader. Confusion continued as sources in Poland reported that Walesa had never stated his intention to leave the country at all that year—not even to receive the Nobel Peace Prize that he was awarded...
...original invitee was Lech Walesa, the leader of Poland’s Solidarity Movement—the first anti-communist trade union in the Soviet bloc...
...Unfortunately, Walesa, an electrician from the Lenin Shipyard in Gdansk, Poland who would later serve as the country’s president, could not set foot on U.S. soil for fear of being unable to return to his country, thus becoming the first to have his speech read in absentia at a Harvard Commencement...
...Harvard decided to go ahead with the speech, and so, on Commencement day, while Mexican writer and ambassador Carlos Fuentes was the one to speak in person at the ceremonies, he shared an honorary podium with Walesa, as then-University President Derek C. Bok read excerpts of a text sent by the Polish revolutionary...