Riad Haidar

Riad Haidar was a politician, physician, and social activist of Syrian descent. He moved to Poland in 1972 and became a Polish citizen in 1989. He graduated from the Medical University of Lublin and specialized in pediatrics and neonatology. He worked as the medical director of the Neonatology Ward of the Voivodeship Specialist Hospital in Biała Podlaska for many years. He was also a regional chief of staff of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity branch in Biała Podlaska. He joined the Democratic Left Alliance in 2000 and served as a member of the City Council of Biała Podlaska from 2002 to 2010. He was then elected to the Lublin Voivodeship Sejmik for three consecutive terms from 2010 to 2019. In 2019, he left the Democratic Left Alliance and ran for the Sejm of Poland as a nonpartisan candidate from the Civic Coalition electoral alliance. He won the seat and became a member of the Sejm until his death in 2023. He was also informally aligned with the Polish Initiative. He was known for his advocacy for human rights, social justice, and multiculturalism. He died in Lublin at the age of 72.