Warsaw School of Economics (Poland)

The Warsaw School of Economics (SGH) Established in 1906 as the Private Advanced Commercial Courses for Men, the present-day SGH is the oldest university of economics and management in Poland, and one of the leading universities in Central and Eastern Europe. At present, over 2,000 graduates leave SGH every year. They create and transform Poland’s economic reality In many sectors and determine the status of the country. Graduates and lecturers of SGH have included Leszek Balcerowicz, president of the National Bank of Poland, formerly Minister for Finance and Deputy Prime Minister in the first non-communist government.

In 1989 he designed and implemented the historic program of transformation from a centrally-planned economy to a market economy. The long list of SGH graduates also features ministers for finance and deputy prime ministers in subsequent governments, including Marek Borowski and Grzegorz Ko'odko, ex-Prime Minister J'zef Oleksy, former Ministers for Foreign Affairs Dariusz Rosati and Andrzej Olechowski (the latter also served as Finance Minister), Danuta H'bner, the Minister for European Affairs currently assuming the position of Poland’s first Commissioner in the European Union, Jan Truszczy'ski, the chief negotiator for Poland’s accession to the EU, and Wies'aw Roz'ucki, ex-chairman of the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Eight finance ministers since 1989 have been graduates of SGH.