Poles start to vote in presidential elections

Kaczynski, twin brother of the late president Lech Kaczynski, was born on June 18, 1949. As a child, Kaczynski starred along with his brother in the 1962 film "The Two Who Stole the Moon." He obtained a doctorate in law from the University of Warsaw in 1976.

Throughout the 1980s, Kaczynski was active in the Solidarity labor union. He served in parliament from 1991-93.

Kaczynski co-founded the socially conservative Law and Justice party in 2001, and the party won the 2005 parliamentary elections under his leadership.

Kaczynski was prime minister from July 2006 to November 2007, when he gained a reputation for fighting corruption and bureaucracy.

He is known for his nationalistic stance, putting up a frosty front both to the European Union and to Russia.