President of the Republic of Poland. He served from 2005 to 2010 as the President of the Republic of Poland. A politician of the party Prawo i Sprawiedliwość (Law and Justice, PiS). Kaczyński served as Mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until December 22, 2005, the day before his presidential inauguration. On March 19, 2005, he formally declared his intention to run for President in the October of 2005 election. Elected President of the Republic of Poland in defeating the runner-up Donald Tusk, by polling 54.04 percent of the vote, Kaczyński assumed office on December 23, 2005 by taking an oath before the National Assembly. In his first public speech as president-elect, Kaczyński said his presidency would have the fundamental task of the amelioration of the Republic. During his inauguration, he stated several goals he would pursue during his presidency. Among those concerning internal affairs were: increasing social solidarity in Poland, bringing justice to those who were responsible or affected by communist crimes in the People's Republic of Poland, fighting corruption, providing security in the economy, and safety for the development of the family. Kaczyński also stated that he would seek to abolish differences between regions. In his speech, he also put emphasis on combining modernization with tradition and remembering the teachings of Pope John Paul II. On December 21, 2008, Lech Kaczyński became the first Polish head of state to visit a Polish synagogue for a religious service. His attendance coincided with the first night of Hanukkah. On April 10, 2010, a Tupolev Tu-154 plane carrying President Kaczyński, his wife, Maria Kaczyńska, and other members of a Polish delegation were traveling from Warsaw to commemorate the Katyn massacre and crashed while approaching Smolensk Air Base in Russia at 08:56 Eastern European Time (06:56 GMT). The plane hit trees in foggy conditions about 1.5 km from the airport. The Governor of Smolensk Oblast confirmed for Russia 24 news channel that there were no survivors of the crash. 96 people were killed in the crash, including some of the country's highest military and civilian leaders.