Lech Walesa, Poland's anti-communist leader and former president, is the recipient of the National Order of the Star of Romania in the rank of Grand Cross, the Presidential Administration announced. The distinction is meant “as a sign of high appreciation for the exceptional merits in strengthening and deepening Romanian–Polish bilateral relations, as well as for the essential contribution to promoting democratic values in the Eastern European space.” Walesa is known for having established and led the first independent trade union in communist Poland, Solidarity, from 1980 to 1990. He went on to become the president of Poland, a mandate he held between 1990 and 1995.