privatization, the expansion of Poland's newly free market, and European integration. The party, along with Bielecki, also supported Lech Wałęsa in the 1990 presidential election. Prime Minister: 1991 Following the resignation of Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki in November 1990 after his resounding defeat in the presidential election, newly elected President Lech Wałęsa sought a new prime minister. Originally, the president appointed lawyer and former activist Jan Olszewski to the office of Prime Minister, though Olszewski quickly refused the position after numerous disagreements with Wałęsa over conditions the president placed on the prime minister's cabinet. Wałęsa turned instead to Bielecki to form a new government. Bielecki was little-known at the time within political circles. Bielecki accepted Wałęsa's proposals to the cabinet, keeping five ministers from the previous Mazowiecki government, including Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Leszek Balcerowicz, who would continue to institute the shock therapy Balcerowicz Plan to the Polish economy. Bielecki then crafted a coalition government between his Liberal Democratic Congress and other parties who supported Lech Wałęsa, including the Centre Agreement, the Democratic Party and the Christian National Union. Bielecki took the oath of office on 4 January 1991, heading the first government in 47 years in which none of its members had previously served under Communism. Bielecki's government quickly focused on the international economic situation in the country. Appearing at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland in February 1991, Bielecki asked Western creditor nations to forgive 80 percent of Poland's $46.6 billion foreign debt. Through these negotiations, Western Europe governments agreed to forgive 50 percent of the debt in the following month, followed by the United States forgiving 70 percent of its share, and Brazil with 50 percent. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank similarly agreed to provide Poland with modernization loans. Domestically, Bielecki's government pursued efforts to deconstruct the former command economy. In June, the Bielecki government proposed a massive privatization program to sell 400 state enterprises, nearly 25 percent of Poland's industrial sales output. According to the plan, the Polish state would retain control of 30 percent of enterprises through the use of a national wealth management fund, with every adult citizen given shares from the fund, while employees of each selected firm would receive ten percent of their company's shares. During the same period, the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) opened for business in April 1991. Bielecki's economic program proved to