Patron’s Biography
Leszek Roman Deptuła

Born in Żagań, Poland on the 25th of February 1953. From that village, he and his parents moved to Mielec in 1956. In that town, he completed the 2 Primary School, and after passing the Matura Exam at the I Secondary School named after Stanisław Konarski, he commenced his studies at the Agricultural Academy in Lublin, Poland. He graduated from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in 1978. In the same year, he entered into his practice in an animal clinic in Wadowice Dolne, which he continued until he became the Marshal of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship in 2002. He actively participated in the vocational local government, serving as a member of the Małopolskie, later Podkarpackie, medical and veterinary chamber. Additionally, he held the position of Vice Chairman of the State Medical and Veterinary Court in Warsaw. 

Since the beginning of his adult life, he was associated with the people's movement. In 1979, he joined the "United People’s Association" and after 1990, he actively got engaged in the Polish People's Party (PSL), where he ascended almost every level of the political career. 

After reactivating the districts, he became an active folk activist in the Mielec district and the Wadowice Górne commune. He was guided by Wincenty Witos's assumption: "Go boldly into the future, take what is new and contemporary, but guard the truths and dogmas sanctified by faith and tradition." He was active in local government as a counselor. He became known as a good local government official also at the provincial level, being the Marshal of Podkarpacie. He perfectly understood the need to prepare our voivodeship to use European Union funds. He was involved in a cooperation with neighboring countries. He did not forget about the Mielec county, Mielec and the Wadowice Górne commune. He was one of the co-creators of the Local Government and Economic Agreement, which succeeded politically and won the elections to the Mielec County Council. In his opinion, politicians are judged by their effectiveness. His key focus areas, among others, were: road investments and the support for the hospital in Mielec. Even his lively parliamentary activity as a Member of Parliament of the 6th term never overshadowed his local affairs. He was very active in economic, industrial matters and, above all, in the development of the economic zone. He supported Mielec's aviation production. Thanks to his decision as the Marshal of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship, the College of Foreign Languages was established in Mielec, high schools and schools of the Mielec district were renovated and the inner ring road of Mielec was created. He will be remembered as the Marshal who introduced Podkarpacie to the European Union. 

He respected national traditions. He was concerned about relics, cultural and religious buildings. He was a very hard-working man, but also engaged in new cases and helped solving them. Thanks to his support, a new middle school building and a sports hall were built. He also supported the construction of the Orlik 2012 Sports Complex. He didn't forget about developing businesses in our commune, repairing roads, and creating a county road with sidewalks. 

Leszek Deptuła was a noble and valuable person, an outstanding local and economic activist, a friend, a good buddy, and a trusted colleague. You could always count on his help. He not only knew how to comfort but also wanted and was eager to help. He easily made contacts and won people over. He could encourage others to get more involved in the common good. His favorite saying was the Latin maxim - Per aspera ad astra ("Through hardships to the stars"). He followed towards the stars, successfully taking on new challenges and achieving the highest goals. He was an open-minded person, a great conversationalist who, with a sense of humor and a distance to himself, talked to the youth of the local middle school or the children from elementary schools in the Wadowice Górne commune. He participated multiple times in events organized at the middle school. Thanks to him, on the European Day of Spring in 2005, the Member of the European Parliament Mieczysław Janowski visited Wadowice Górne, who in turn invited middle school students to the European Parliament in Strasbourg. Mr. Deptuła also promoted students' activities, never forgetting to open doors to new opportunities for them. Leszek Deptuła's authority and personal example help to raise students to be good citizens and good people. 

He died in the Smolensk air accident on the 10th of April 2010, along with the government delegation led by the President of the Republic of Poland, Lech Kaczyński. In recognition of his merits, he received, among others - the Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta, the Silver Cross of Merit, the Silver and Gold Badge of the Agricultural University in Lublin, and the Badge "Meritorious for Agriculture", the Gold Medal for Merit to Firefighting, the Honorary Badge "Meritorious for Agriculture", the Gold Clover of the Polish People's Party, the Silver and Gold Badges of Academic Sports Teams, the Silver Badge "Meritorious for Fire Protection", the Badge "For Merit to Mountain Rescue", the Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (posthumously), the Honorary Badge "Meritorious for the Podkarpackie Voivodeship", the Honorary Badge "Meritum" for Merits to the Veterinary Local Government (posthumously), the Order of Honor (Georgia, posthumously), and the Gold Badge of the Podkarpackie Association of Local Governments (posthumously).

---

English version editors:
Karol Pietras, Aleksandra Midura, Emilia Kokoszka, Franciszek Dzieciuch, Szymon Węgrzyn, mgr Grażyna Wołosz