Olechowski served as foreign minister from 1993 to 1995 under Prime Minister Waldemar Pawlak. In that role, he formally submitted Poland’s application to join the European Union in April 1994.
Earlier, he was finance minister in the government of Jan Olszewski in 1992.
In 2001, Olechowski co-founded the centrist Civic Platform (PO) party with current Prime Minister Donald Tusk and conservative-liberal politician Maciej Płażyński. The party became one of Poland's dominant political forces and now governs the country as the Civic Coalition (KO).
Donald Tusk, Maciej Płażyński and Andrzej Olechowski in 2001. Photo: Przemek Wierzchowski/PAP
Tusk paid tribute on social media, describing Olechowski as "a politician, diplomat and one of the three tenors of the Civic Platform."
"May he rest in peace," Tusk wrote.
Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said Olechowski had been "deeply committed to public affairs" and "helped lay the foundations of Poland’s post-communist transformation, emphasizing responsibility, dialogue and common sense."
Born on September 9, 1947 in Kraków, southern Poland, Olechowski studied economics in Warsaw, where he later earned a doctoral degree. He also studied in Geneva and worked with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the World Bank.
In 2000, Olechowski ran as an independent presidential candidate, finishing second with 17.3 percent of the vote behind incumbent Aleksander Kwaśniewski.
After an unsuccessful bid for mayor of Warsaw in 2002, he gradually withdrew from politics and left the Civic Platform in 2009.
In addition to his political career, Olechowski lectured at several universities and authored publications on economics and foreign policy.
Former President Bronisław Komorowski described him as "a man of value" and "a model of public service."