Poland's first prime minister after the fall of communism, Tadeusz Mazowiecki, has died aged 86, Polish media report.
He was one of the architects of the "Round Table" talks, between communist leaders and opposition, paving the way for elections in 1989.
The Solidarity party victory set a precedent for the toppling of communist governments across Eastern Europe. Mr Mazowiecki held office until 1990, and was a strong advocate of Poland joining the European Union.
Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski paid tribute to the country's former leader, describing him as "one of the fathers of Polish liberty and independence".
Negotiated transition
Mr Mazowiecki was from a Polish noble family and studied law at Warsaw University. He was expelled from the communist-run Catholic PAX organisation in 1955, under suspicion of belonging to an internal opposition group.
In 1957, he helped found the Catholic Intelligentsia Club. In 1981, he became the first editor of opposition Tygodnik Solidarnosc (Solidarity Weekly) magazine, which was banned when the communists declared martial law in December 1981.
Mr Mazowiecki was arrested during the crackdown and was one of the last prisoners to be released in December 1982.
A former adviser to Lech Walesa and the striking shipyard workers in Gdansk in 1980, Mr Mazowiecki was a firm believer in a negotiated transition from the communist system.
He took part in the Round Table Talks in February 1989, which led to the first partially free elections in the Soviet bloc in June of that year.
He was appointed prime minister in August 1989 and oversaw the political and economic transition to a democratic and free market country.
Source: BBC News
