Lane Kirkland
Lane Kirkland (1922-1999) was an American labor leader. As President of the AFL-CIO, Kirkland provided financial support for Poland’s Solidarity movement and personally oversaw initiatives to rally support within the Carter administration. As a result, American governmental and civilian support for Solidarity increased dramatically. For Kirkland’s role in weakening communist control in Poland, he was awarded the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation’s Truman-Reagan Medal of Freedom in 1999. He also posthumously received the Order of the White Eagle, the highest award granted by the Polish government.
