Maria Szyszkowska, Polish academic and politician
Maria Szyszkowska (born October 7, 1937 in Warsaw) is a Polish academic, writer and former Senator. Szyszkowska was a member of the Alliance of the Democratic Left (SLD) and chaired that Party's Ethics Committee. She is currently a leader of a socialist party Reason of the Polish Left. She is born in old Polish noble family belonging to Clan OstojaSzyszkowska graduated in law at the Warsaw University in 1961 and graduated in Christian Philosophy at the Catholic Theological Academy the following year. She pursued an academic career and under the Communist regime was subject to government restrictions in the 1970s for pursuing studies in fields which were banned. She became a professor at Warsaw University in 1993.

Between 1993 and 1997 she served as a judge on the State Tribunal.

As a Senator Szyszkowska introduced legislation to recognise civil unions for same-sex couples. She has received awards recognising her work promoting tolerance and social acceptance. She has also been recognised for her work in promoting the rights of gay and lesbian people.

In May 2005 Szyszkowska expressed her intention to run as an independent candidate in the 2005 Presidential Election. She was endorsed by the APP RACJA party (a left-wing anti-clerical party) however ran as a candidate for the Sejm (lower house of Parliament) in the 2005 Parliamentary election on the Polish Labour Party electoral committee list. The list comprised candidates from other parties including the Anticlerical Progress Party REASON (RACJA), Communist Party of Poland, Polish Ecological Party – Greens and Polish Socialist Party. The grouping obtained 0.77% of the vote and was unsuccessful in electing a member to Parliament.