Leszek Balcerowicz (pronounce: Balcerowicz.ogg) (born January 19, 1947) is a Polish economist and Chairman of the National Bank of Poland. He is famous for leading the Polish economic transformation program (shock therapy) in the 1990s.
From September 1989 to August 1991 and between October 31, 1997 and June 8, 2000 he was a Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister of Poland. Between 1995 and 2000 he was the chairman of Unia Wolności, then a centrist political party. On December 22, 2000 he became the Chairman of the National Bank of Poland.
The Balcerowicz Plan - which sought to end hyperinflation and balance the national budget - freed the prices of most consumer goods, established caps for annual increases in state-sector employees' wages, and made the zloty convertible within Poland's borders.
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