Nationalist historian Karol Nawrocki has won Poland's presidential election by a razor-thin margin, in a major blow to the country's pro-EU government.
The 42-year-old, an admirer of United States President Donald Trump, scored 50.89 per cent of votes in Sunday's runoff, the national election commission said.
His 53-year-old rival Rafal Trzaskowski, Warsaw's pro-EU mayor and an ally of the country's centrist government and Prime Minister Donald Tusk, won 49.11 per cent in the highly polarised NATO and EU nation.
Here's what to know about Poland's president-elect.
A nationalist who believes 'Polish citizens must have priority'
Nawrocki was endorsed by the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party, which governed Poland from 2015 to 2023.
The party is closely allied with outgoing President Andrzej Duda — who has publicly backed Nawrocki — and is a long-standing rival of the ruling Civic Coalition.
Nawrocki campaigned under the slogan "Poland first, Poles first".
While he has pledged to continue Poland's support for neighbouring Ukraine against Russia's invasion, he has denounced the benefits given to war refugees.
He said in a campaign video in April that "social benefits will be above all for Poles" and that "in queues for doctors and clinics, Polish citizens must have priority".
In May, he said Ukraine "has not shown gratitude for what Poles have done" and accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of "insolence".
Karol Nawrocki is a fan of Donald Trump and said the US president told him, "You will win," when the pair met in May. Source: AAP / EPA / Jarek Praszkiewicz
Nawrocki has called for controls on the border with Germany to keep out migrants, and would like Germany to pay wartime reparations to Poland.
A fan of Donald Trump
Nawrocki is an admirer of Trump and has said Poland should focus on shaping and leading Europe's relations with the US president.
Nawrocki met Trump at the White House in May and said Trump had told him: "You will win."
The two were shown giving a thumbs-up in photos released by the White House.
Some politicians from the governing coalition accused Trump of interfering in the election.
US secretary of homeland security Kristi Noem also endorsed Nawrocki when she attended a conservative conference in Poland, saying: "He needs to be the next president."
US homeland security secretary Kristi Noem had also endorsed Karol Nawrocki as the next president of Poland. Source: Getty / Pool
A controversial campaign
During his election campaign, Nawrocki was embroiled in a series of scandals.
While arguing against a property tax, he claimed to only own one flat. It was later revealed he had acquired a second one through a convoluted deal with an elderly man.
A news report also alleged he had arranged sex workers for guests while working as a hotel security guard.
Nawrocki called the accusations "a bunch of lies" and said he would sue the news site.
An author and amateur boxer
Born in the Baltic port city of Gdańsk, Nawrocki boxed and played football in his youth before earning a PhD in history and an MBA.
He served as the director of the World War Two museum in Gdańsk from 2017 to 2021.
Karol Nawrocki has strongly expressed Polish nationalist sentiments throughout his campaign. Source: AAP / EPA / Leszek Szymanski
His research focused on Poland's anti-communist opposition, organised crime during the communist era and sports history.
Last year, Russia added Nawrocki to its wanted list for his alleged efforts to remove Soviet-era monuments in Poland.
Nawrocki has written several books, including one under a pen name that landed him in an unusual controversy.
In 2018, he secretly published a book about the communist-era gangster Nikodem Skotarczak using the pseudonym Tadeusz Batyr.
That same year, a blurred and voice-altered "Batyr" appeared on state television claiming Nawrocki had inspired the book.
Nawrocki later wrote on social media that Batyr had sought his advice and "thanked me with an interesting book, which I recommend".
But local media recently uncovered that Batyr and Nawrocki were one and the same. Political opponents seized on the revelation.
Nawrocki has also faced accusations of ties to gangsters and neo-Nazis, which he has rejected as "deep manipulation", insisting his contacts were for professional purposes.
"No-one has ever heard a good word from me about Nazism."
