Republic of Poland

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Poland

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Contents 1 Democratic Second Polish Republic (1918–1926) 1.1 Naczelnik Państwa (Head of State) 1.2 Presidents of the Republic 2 Authoritarian Second Polish Republic (1926–1939) 2.1 Inspectors-General of the Polish Armed Forces 2.2 President of the Republic 3 Polish government-in-exile (1939–1945) 4 People's Republic of Poland (1944–1990) 4.1 First Secretaries of the Central Committee of PZPR 4.2 President of the Republic 4.3 Chairman of the Council of State of Poland (1952–1989) 4.4 President of the People's Republic 5 Third Republic of Poland (since 1990) 5.1 President of the Republic 6 See also

[edit] Democratic Second Polish Republic (1918–1926)

[edit] Naczelnik Państwa (Head of State)

#	President	Picture	Took office	Left office	Notes
1	Marshal Józef Piłsudski		14 November 1918	11 December 1922	Provisional Head of State until 1919

[edit] Presidents of the Republic

#	President	Picture	Took office	Left office	Notes
1	Gabriel Narutowicz		11 December 1922	16 December 1922	Assassinated
-	Maciej Rataj	Not titled as President, acted from 16 to 20 December 1922 as President of Sejm
2	Stanisław Wojciechowski		20 December 1922	14 May 1926	deposed in the May Coup
-	Maciej Rataj	Not titled as President, acted from 14 May to 4 June 1926 as President of Sejm

[edit] Authoritarian Second Polish Republic (1926–1939)

[edit] Inspectors-General of the Polish Armed Forces

Marshals of Poland were de facto dictators from the coup d'état on 14 May 1926 until 1939.

#	President	Picture	Took office	Left office	Notes
1	Marshal Józef Piłsudski		27 August 1926	12 May 1935	Died in office
2	Marshal Edward Rydz-Śmigły		12 May 1935	27 October 1939	Exiled in Romania from 18 September after Poland's defeat.

[edit] President of the Republic

#	President	Picture	Took office	Left office	Notes
3	Ignacy Mościcki		4 June 1926	30 September 1939	Exiled in Romania from 17 September after Poland's defeat. Previously he was the surrogate ruler of Poland during the Piłsudski dictatorship following the May Coup.

[edit] Polish government-in-exile (1939–1945)

After the Nazi conquest of Poland, a Polish government-in-exile was formed under the protection of France and Britain. The government was recognized by the United Kingdom and, later, by the United States until 6 July 1945, when the Western Allies accepted Stalin's Communist government. The government in London lasted until 1990 but, without recognition, it was reduced to an honorific commettee.

The sole internationally recognized President of the exiled government was Władysław Raczkiewicz, which took office on 30 September 1939 after Ignacy Mościcki's resignation.

[edit] People's Republic of Poland (1944–1990)

[edit] First Secretaries of the Central Committee of PZPR

The Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR, Polish Workers Party until 21 December 1948) was the strongest institution in Communist Poland as founded under USSR protection on 31 December 1944 and recognized by the United States and the United Kingdom since 6 July 1945. The office of Chairman of the Central Committee was the strongest political position of the country, and Chairmen were de facto dictators of Poland until the restauration of the Presidency of the Republic in July 1989.

• Władysław Gomułka (1st time) (23 November 1943–3 September 1948)
• Bolesław Bierut (3 September 1948–12 March 1956)
• Edward Ochab (20 March 1956–21 October 1956)
• Władysław Gomułka (2nd time) (21 October 1956–20 December 1970)
• Edward Gierek (20 December 1970–6 September 1980)
• Stanisław Kania (6 September 1980–18 October 1981)
• Wojciech Jaruzelski (18 October 1981–29 July 1989)
• Mieczysław Rakowski (29 July 1989–27 January 1990)

[edit] President of the Republic

#	President	Picture	Took office	Left office	Notes
1	Bolesław Bierut		5 February 1947	20 November 1952	Previously, Head of State as President of the Presidium of the Popular Council from the restauration of the Republic on 31 December 1944.

[edit] Chairman of the Council of State of Poland (1952–1989)

Until the year 1952, the President was also the chairman of the Council of State. The July Constitution abolished the office of president. Since then, the Council of State was the de iure collective head of state, but the First Secretaries of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party were the de facto rulers.

• Aleksander Zawadzki (20 November 1952–7 August 1964)
• Edward Ochab, Stanisław Kulczyński, Oskar Ryszard Lange, Bolesław Podedworny (together, 7–12 August 1964)
• Edward Ochab (12 August 1964–10 April 1968)
• Marian Spychalski (10 April 1968–23 December 1970)
• Józef Cyrankiewicz (23 December 1970–28 March 1972)
• Henryk Jabłoński (28 March 1972–6 November 1985)
• Wojciech Jaruzelski (6 November 1985–19 July 1989)

[edit] President of the People's Republic

#	President	Picture	Took office	Left office	Notes
2	Wojciech Jaruzelski		19 July 1989	22 December 1990	Following the Polish Round Table Agreement between PZPR and Solidarity, the Council of State was abolished and its Chairman became President for a transition period.

[edit] Third Republic of Poland (since 1990)

[edit] President of the Republic

#	President	Picture	Took office	Left office	Notes
1	Lech Wałęsa		22 December 1990	22 December 1995	First President elected by the popular vote
2	Aleksander Kwaśniewski		23 December 1995	23 December 2005	First President reelected by the popular vote
3	Lech Kaczyński		23 December 2005	Incumbent

[edit] See also

• Acting President of the Republic of Poland
• Polish presidential election, 1990
• Polish presidential election, 1995
• Polish presidential election, 2000
• Polish presidential election, 2005
• List of Polish monarchs

v • d • e Presidents of Poland and non-presidential heads of state since 1918 Republic of Poland (1918-1939) Provisional Head of State: Józef Piłsudski Presidents: Gabriel Narutowicz · Stanisław Wojciechowski · Ignacy Mościcki Marshals: Józef Piłsudski · Edward Rydz-Śmigły Government in Exile (1939-1945) Władysław Raczkiewicz (recognized by the Allies only) People's Republic of Poland (1944-1990) Secretaries: Władysław Gomułka · Bolesław Bierut · Edward Ochab · Edward Gierek · Stanisław Kania · Wojciech Jaruzelski Presidents: Bolesław Bierut · Wojciech Jaruzelski Chairmen: Aleksander Zawadzki · Edward Ochab · Marian Spychalski · Józef Cyrankiewicz · Henryk Jabłoński Republic of Poland (since 1990) Lech Wałęsa · Aleksander Kwaśniewski · Lech Kaczyński