Poland's General Jaruzelski has died, aged 90

Polands last Communist leader General Wojciech Jaruzelski has died at the age of 90.

General Jaruzelski had been in ill health for some time and had been hospitalised in recent years with serious health problems.

Jaruzelski made his mark on history when he declared martial law in a crackdown on the trade union opposition movement known as Solidarity.

The man behind that movement was Lech Walesa, an electrician by trade.

Walesa organised illegal strikes at the Gdansk shipyard in protest at poor living standards and to defend workers rights.

Jaruzelski later took control of the army and the Polish Communist Party and was named as prime minister.

Amid severe economic hardship, he banned protests and industrial action and jailed Solidaritys leaders.

An estimated 100 people died during Polands 19 months under martial law.

The then Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev began to shift towards changing the Soviet Union with his ideas of Glasnost Perestroika.

Finally it was the Soviets who imposed negotiating with Solidarity on the allied Polish military government.

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Poland's General Jaruzelski has died, aged 90