Poland's Solidarity icon Geremek dies

WARSAW (AFP) — Bronislaw Geremek, an icon in the struggle against communist rule in Poland and founding member of the Solidarity trade union, died in a car accident Sunday. He was 76.

Tributes poured in from across Europe for the member of the European Parliament and leading scholar of medieval history, who was a legendary figure in the anti-communist opposition and in the post-communist era served as foreign minister between 1997 and 2000.

He was elected to the EU parliament in 2004 on the list of Solidarity, the trade union group that led the opposition in Poland before the fall of the communist regime.

Geremek died when the car in which he was travelling suddenly crossed to the other side of the road before hitting an oncoming vehicle near the town of Lubien, police spokeswoman Hanna Wachowiak said.

In heartfelt tributes, European leaders praised Geremek's commitment to the ...