In 1997-1999 he served as the Minister of Environment, Natural Resources and Forestry in Jerzy Buzek's cabinet. In 2005-2007 he served as the Minister of Environment in Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz’s and Jarosław Kaczyński's cabinets. In 2015-2018, he served as the Minister of Environment in Beata Szydło's and Mateusz Morawiecki's cabinets. In 1999-2000, he was the president of the UN Climate Convention. Since 2005, he was serving as a Member of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland.

“It was with extreme sadness that I received the news about the passing of Professor Jan Szyszko – a man, who was fully devoted to Poland and environmental issues. He was an outstanding scientist, former Minister of Environment and Member of the Sejm, but above all, he was a very kind and good man. He was an expert and a lover of nature, he devoted his entire life, including his political and academic career, to this issue. I would like to express my deepest sympathy to his family and friends,” said Minister Henryk Kowalczyk.

Jan Szyszko devoted his entire academic career to environmental protection. He was an author of more than 250 books, articles and academic publications on the use of natural resources and ecology. For many years, he was associated with the Warsaw University of Life Sciences. In 1966, he graduated from the Faculty of Forestry at the University and remained there to further his education. In 2001, he received the title of professor of forestry. He received scholarships from universities in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. He held an honorary doctorate of universities of Luneburg (Germany) and Uzhhorod (Ukraine). He co-founded the Independent Natural Resources Assessment and Valuation Workshop. He also established the Inter-University Natural Resources Assessment and Valuation Study at the Warsaw University of Life Sciences and the Warsaw School of Economics. He taught at the Warsaw University of Life Sciences and the Academy of Social and Media Culture in Toruń. He was one of the founders and president of the Association for Sustainable Development of Poland.

In his private life, Professor Jan Szyszko was a husband, father and grandfather.