Marek Plura

Marek Plura (2019)
Date and place of birth	July 18, 1970 Raciborz
Date and place of death	January 20, 2023 Katowice
Occupation, occupation	politician, psychotherapist
Alma mater	Higher School of Philosophy and Pedagogy “Ignatianum” in Krakow
Position	Member of Parliament of the 6th and 7th term (2007–2014), Member of the European Parliament of the 8th term (2014–2019), Senator of the 10th term (2019–2023)
Party	Civic Platform
Decorations

Marek Mirosław Plura (born July 18, 1970 in Racibórz , died January 20 , 2023 ^{[1] [2] [3]} in Katowice ^[4] [5] ) – Polish politician , psychotherapist and social activist , member of the Sejm of the 6th and 7th term, member of the European Parliament of the 8th term , senator of the 10th term .

Until 1991 he lived in Racibórz ^[6] and then in the Center for the Disabled “Miłosierdzie Boże” in Borowa Wieś ^[7] . He completed pedagogical studies at the Higher School of Philosophy and Pedagogy “Ignatianum” in Kraków , as well as postgraduate studies in psychotherapy at the University of Silesia in Katowice . He worked at the Crisis Aid Center of the Association for the Disabled SPES as a social worker and at the Rehabilitation Center “Akcent” as a pedagogue.

He was the founder of the “Dobry Dom” Association and the president of the Silesian Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Disabled “Akcent”, as well as the chairman of the program council of the Integration and Bibliotherapeutic Department of the Silesian Library . He served as deputy director of Very Special Arts Poland. In 2002, he initiated the Lady D. Competition promoting disabled women active in various areas of life ^[8] . He was active in the European Parliament of Disabled People ^[9] .

In the 2005 parliamentary elections, he unsuccessfully ran for the Sejm , receiving 2,707 votes. A year later, he was elected to the Katowice City Council . In the 2007 parliamentary elections , running from the Civic Platform list in the Katowice district , he was elected as a member of parliament with 10,528 votes. In 2011, he successfully ran for re-election, receiving 22,795 votes ^[10] . In the Sejm, he was a member of the Social Policy and Family Committee and the National and Ethnic Minorities Committee . He chaired the Standing Subcommittee for Disabled People, the Parliamentary Team for Disabled People and the Parliamentary Team for Piast Ślónskij Godki ^[11] . He was the rapporteur for, among others, the act on sign language and the act on equal rights for disabled people.

In the 2014 European elections, he was elected a Member of the European Parliament of the 8th term ^[12] . He became a member of the European People’s Party faction , the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs and the Committee on Transport and Tourism ^[13] . In 2019, he was not re-elected for another term ^[14] . In the national elections of the same year, he was elected to the Senate of the 10th term. He ran on behalf of the Civic Coalition in district no. 80 , receiving 92,332 votes ^[15] .

He supported efforts to recognize Silesians as an ethnic minority . He was twice the author of parliamentary bills recognizing the Silesian ethnolect as a regional language , which were not passed by the Sejm. He was a member of the Upper Silesian Union ^[16] and the Association of People of Silesian Nationality ^[17] . He was the initiator of the Silesian Flag Day ^[18] [19] .

He was buried at the cemetery at Henryka Sienkiewicza Street in Katowice ^[2] .

The son of Teodor and Helena ^[20] . He suffered from muscular atrophy from birth . He used an electric wheelchair ^[21] . He was married and had a daughter and a son ^[22] . He lived in Katowice.

• Officer’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (2023, posthumously) ^[23] [24]
• Order of the Smile (2012) ^[25]
• Karol Miarka Award (2004) ^[26]
• Honorable Mention in the “Man Without Barriers” competition (2004) ^[27]
• “Special Icebreaker” in the regional edition of the competition of the Polish Organization of Employers of Disabled Persons (2011) ^[28]

• Parliamentary website of the 7th term deputy . [accessed 2016-11-03].
• Profile on the European Parliament website . [accessed 2016-11-03].
• Biographical note on private website . [accessed 2023-01-21].