( CNN ) -- Poland 's former deputy prime minister Andrzej Lepper was found dead in his apartment in the capital , Warsaw , on Thursday , his party said in a statement . Lepper , 57 , who headed Poland 's populist Self-Defense Party , served as deputy prime minister from 2006 to 2007 , as part of a coalition government led by the Law and Justice Party . He also served as agriculture minister . His party paid tribute to a `` distinguished politician , statesman '' who had founded and led the party and Trade Union of Farmers ' Self Defense . He first rose to national prominence in the 1990s , when he helped organize mass protests by farmers over a lack of state help for those affected by a disastrous drought , his party 's website says , forming the trade union and then the party . The party statement said he had left its members `` suddenly , leaving a better world of truth and love , as a true Catholic who believed sincerely and warmly . '' His legacy was a vision of a more just world , the party said . Lepper 's `` third way '' politics called for a different approach to capitalism , through `` a social-economic system that would effectively combine freedom of enterprise with social responsibilities of the state , '' according to the party 's website . CNN 's Bharati Naik contributed to this report .
Andrzej Lepper was a former deputy prime minister and agriculture minister . A populist , he founded his trade union and political party to help suffering farmers . His Self-Defense Party paid tribute to a `` distinguished politician , statesman ''