Hanna Stanisława Suchocka (; born 3 April 1946) is a Polish political figure, lawyer, professor at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań and Chair of the Constitutional Law Department, former First Vice-President and Honorary President of the Venice Commission. She served as the Prime Minister of Poland between 8 July 1992 and 26 October 1993 under the presidency of Lech Wałęsa. She is the first woman to hold this post in Poland (preceding Ewa Kopacz and Beata Szydło who both held the post in the 2010s) and was the 14th woman to be appointed and serve as Prime Minister in the world. Early life Suchocka was born in Pleszew, Poland, in a Catholic family of chemists. Her grandfather was a University teacher and her grandmother Anna became a member of the first Polish parliament for Poznań after independence in 1918 when women got the right to vote. Suchocka went to law school and became a researcher at the University of Poznan but she was fired when she refused to join the Communist party. She was preoccupied with human rights and undertook a PhD in Constitutional Law in West Germany in 1975. Political career In 1969, she joined a small non-Marxist 'satellite party', the Democratic Party (SD), and was a member of parliament the Sejm of People's Republic of Poland in 1980–1985. At the same time, she was a member and a legal advisor to Solidarity. She was one of only a few MPs who did not to vote in favour of martial law in 1981 and the criminalisation of Solidarity in 1984. The party suspended her (or she resigned), but with the support of Solidarity, she was re-elected to parliament in 1989. When Solidarity supporters split up into several political parties, Suchocka joined the centre-liberal Democratic Union (DU) and was re-elected to parliament in 1991. Prime Minister of Poland (1992-1993) She became Prime Minister in 1992. Governments at the time were based on various coalitions and changed constantly. Suchocka was chosen to the amazement of many male politicians but she was known for her low profile and willingness to make compromises and promote reconciliation. She could be accepted by people who had an antipathy towards more prominent leaders of DU. In addition, as a left-winger, while being opposed to abortion as a Catholic, she could be accepted by both sides of the political spectrum and satisfy the interests of a majority