Walesa Seeks Approval for 1st Woman Prime Minister : Poland: Hanna Suchocka’s formation of a seven-party coalition breaks weeks of political deadlock.

President Lech Walesa asked Parliament on Wednesday to approve Hanna Suchocka as Poland’s first woman prime minister after she ended weeks of political deadlock by mustering a new majority coalition.

In a letter to the Sejm, or lower house, Walesa also asked for the dismissal of Prime Minister Waldemar Pawlak, who had earlier offered to step down after his failure to form a government, the presidential office said in a statement.

The Sejm will vote on Walesa’s proposals Friday, its spokesman said.

Earlier Wednesday, Suchocka, a 46-year-old law professor who was put forward as a candidate for the job a week ago, won Walesa’s approval for her planned seven-party coalition.

The coalition, composed of parties that emerged from the breakup of the Solidarity movement in 1990, is the first capable of forming a majority government since communism collapsed in 1989.

During five days of negotiations, Suchocka managed to marry three market-oriented parties--her own Democratic Union Party, the Liberal Democratic Congress and small Economic Program Party--with five other groups.

One of the parties later walked out on Suchocka, but she won support of a German minority party and the Solidarity trade union’s parliamentary representation to replace it.

Between them, the parties have 237 votes out of the 460-seat Sejm.

Politicians were surprised that the parties, which have fought bitterly among themselves for months, were able to bury their differences.

After meeting Walesa, Suchocka told reporters that it was easier for a woman to bring about a compromise.

“I think that as a woman I had a better chance of forming a government because women very often eliminate conflicts,” she told reporters. “I agreed to become a candidate for prime minister because I think that after all these conflicts and arguments, we need a government of national agreement.”

Parliament has first to dismiss Pawlak before Suchocka is voted in but observers said it is a formality. After she is approved, the House will vote on her Cabinet.