Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland
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The Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland represents the Council of Ministers (the Cabinet) and directs their work, supervises territorial self-government within the guidelines and in ways described in the Constitution and other legislation, and acts as the superior for all government administration workers (heading the public service corps.)
The full name of the office is the "Chairman of the Council of Minsters" (in Polish Prezes Rady Ministrów), but this version is very rarely used in English. In Polish the office is usually called Premier. Until 1922, the Prime Minister was called "President of the Ministers" (Prezydent Ministrów).
At the same time, the Prime Minister may fulfill the duties of a department head or a committee chairman (the current Prime Minister serves as the chairman of the European Integration Committee). The Prime Minister may also be a Representative at the Sejm of the Republic of Poland. He cannot, however, hold the post of the President of the RP or any other high state office such as the Chairman of the NIK (Supreme Chamber of Control), Chairman of the NBP (National Bank of Poland) or a Civil Rights Spokesman (Ombudsman).
Designated Prime Minister is free to select his co-workers - members of the Council of Ministers. The cabinet he selects must be approved by the Sejm by granting him the vote of confidence. Ministerial nominations are signed and handed out by the President of the RP.
The Prime Minister and his ministers take the following pledge before the President of the RP: "Accepting the post of the Prime Minister I solemnly swear that I will faithfully follow the articles of the Constitution and other laws of the Republic of Poland, as well as the good of the Fatherland, and for me the well-being of its citizens will always be the supreme directive." The pledge may be finished with the words "So help me God."
Because of Poland's proportional representation system, Prime Ministers often rule with the support of a coalition of parties. These coalitions can collapse over political disagreements, causing the average term in office of a Polish Prime Minister to be rather short - since the full restoration of democracy in 1991, only one man, Jerzy Buzek, has served a full four-year term as Prime Minister. Other Prime Ministers have been forced to resign due to political scandals.
The Sejm grants the Council of Ministers vote of no confidence by a majority vote of the statutory number of Representatives at the motion put forward by at least 46 Representatives and naming a new candidate to the post of the Prime Minister (so called constructive vote of no confidence). Such motion can be put to vote not earlier than 7 days after it has been proposed. Second motion can be presented not earlier than three months from the date of submission of the prior motion. Second motion can be submitted before the period of three months expires if it is presented by at least 115 Representatives.
The Prime Minister dissolves the Council of Ministers at the first session of the newly elected Sejm, as well as in the case of: failure to pass by the Sejm of the vote of confidence for the Council of Ministers, passing of the vote of no confidence, or resignation for any other reasons.
Accepting the resignation of the Council of Ministers, the President of the Republic asks them to continue to perform their duties until the new Council of Ministers has been selected, thus preserving the continuity of government and control over the actions of the government administration.
[edit] History
[edit] Former Prime Ministers
[edit] Prime Ministers of semi-independent Kingdom of Poland (Nov. 5 1916 - 1918)
| No | Name and Surname | Term of office: |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jan Kucharzewski | December 7, 1917 - February 11, 1918 |
| 2 | Antoni Ponikowski | February 27, 1918 - April 4, 1918 |
| 3 | Jan Kanty Steczkowski | April 4, 1918 - 1918 - October 2, 1918 |
| 4 | Józef Świerzyński | October 23, 1918 - November 3, 1918 |
| 5 | Władysław Wróblewski | November 3, 1918 - November 14, 1918 |
| 6 | Ignacy Daszyński | November 14, 1918 - November 17, 1918 |
[edit] Prime Ministers of the 2nd Republic of Poland (1918 - 1939)
| No | Name and Surname | Term of office: |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Ignacy Daszyński | November 6/7, 1918 - November 18, 1918 |
| 4 | Jędrzej Moraczewski | November, 1918 - January, 1919 |
| 5 | Ignacy Paderewski | January, 1919 - November, 1919 |
| 6 | Leopold Skulski | December, 1919 - June, 1920 |
| 7 | Władysław Grabski | June, 1920 - July, 1920 |
| 8 | Wincenty Witos | July, 1920 - September, 1921 |
| 9 | Antoni Ponikowski | September, 1921 - June, 1922 |
| 10 | Artur Śliwiński | June, 1922 - July, 1922 |
| 11 | Julian Nowak | July, 1922 - December, 1922 |
| 12 | Władysław Sikorski | December, 1922 - May, 1923 |
| 13 | Wincenty Witos | May, 1923 - December, 1923 |
| 14 | Władysław Grabski | December, 1923 - November, 1925 |
| 15 | Aleksander Skrzyński | November, 1925 - May, 1926 |
| 16 | Wincenty Witos | May, 1926 |
| 17 | Kazimierz Bartel | May, 1926 - September, 1926 |
| 18 | Józef Piłsudski | October, 1926 - June, 1928 |
| 19 | Kazimierz Bartel | June, 1928 - April, 1929 |
| 20 | Kazimierz Świtalski | April, 1929 - December, 1929 |
| 21 | Kazimierz Bartel | December, 1929 - March, 1930 |
| 22 | Walery Sławek | March, 1930 - August, 1930 |
| 23 | Józef Piłsudski | August, 1930 - December, 1930 |
| 24 | Walery Sławek | December, 1930 - May, 1931 |
| 25 | Aleksander Prystor | May, 1931 - May, 1933 |
| 26 | Janusz Jędrzejewicz | May, 1933 - May, 1934 |
| 27 | Leon Kozłowski | May, 1934 - March, 1935 |
| 28 | Walery Sławek | March, 1935 - October, 1935 |
| 29 | Marian Zyndram-Kościałkowski | October, 1935 - May, 1936 |
| 30 | Felicjan Sławoj Składkowski | May, 1936 - September, 1939 |
[edit] Prime Ministers of Polish Government in Exile (1939 - 1990)
| No | Name and Surname | Term of office: |
|---|---|---|
| 31 | Władysław Sikorski | September, 1939 - July, 1943 |
| 32 | Stanisław Mikołajczyk | July, 1943 - November, 1944 |
| 33 | Tomasz Arciszewski | November, 1944 - 1947 |
| 34 | Tadeusz Komorowski | 1947 - 1949 |
| 35 | Tadeusz Tomaszewski | 1949 |
| 36 | Roman Odzierzyński | 1949 - 1954 |
| 37 | Jerzy Hryniewski | 1954 |
| 38 | Stanisław Mackiewicz | 1954 - 1955 |
| 39 | Hugon Hanke | 1955 |
| 40 | Antoni Pająk | 1955 - 1956 |
| 41 | Aleksander Zawisza | 1956 - 1970 |
| 42 | Zygmunt Muchniewski | 1970 - 1972 |
| 43 | Alfred Urbański | 1972 - 1976 |
| 44 | Kazimierz Sabbat | 1976 - 1986 |
| 45 | Edward Szczepanik | 1986 - 1990 |
[edit] Prime Ministers of the People's Republic of Poland (1944 - 1989)
| No | Name and Surname | Term of office: |
|---|---|---|
| 46 | Edward Osóbka-Morawski | July, 1944 - February, 1947 |
| 47 | Józef Cyrankiewicz | February, 1947 - November, 1952 |
| 48 | Bolesław Bierut | November, 1952 - March, 1954 |
| 49 | Józef Cyrankiewicz | March, 1954 - December, 1970 |
| 50 | Piotr Jaroszewicz | December, 1970 - February, 1980 |
| 51 | Edward Babiuch | February, 1980 - August, 1980 |
| 52 | Józef Pińkowski | September, 1980 - February, 1981 |
| 53 | Wojciech Jaruzelski | February, 1981 - November, 1985 |
| 54 | Zbigniew Messner | November, 1985 - September, 1988 |
| 55 | Mieczysław Rakowski | September, 1988 - August, 1989 |
| 56 | Czesław Kiszczak1 | August, 1989 |
[edit] Prime Ministers of the 3rd Republic of Poland (since 1989)
| No | Name and Surname | Term of office: |
|---|---|---|
| 57 | Tadeusz Mazowiecki | August 24, 1989 - December 14, 1990 |
| 58 | Jan Krzysztof Bielecki | January 12, 1991 - December 5, 1991 |
| 59 | Jan Olszewski | December 23, 1991 - June 5, 1992 |
| 60 | Waldemar Pawlak1 | June 5, 1992 - July 10, 1992 |
| 61 | Hanna Suchocka | July 11, 1992 - October 25, 1993 |
| 62 | Waldemar Pawlak | October 26, 1993 - March 1, 1995 |
| 63 | Józef Oleksy | March 4, 1995 - January 26, 1996 |
| 64 | Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz | February 15, 1996 - October 31, 1997 |
| 65 | Jerzy Buzek | October 31, 1997 - October 19, 2001 |
| 66 | Leszek Miller | October 19, 2001 - May 2, 2004 |
| 67 | Marek Belka2 | May 2, 2004 - October 31, 2005 |
| 68 | Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz | October 31, 2005 - July 14, 2006 |
| 69 | Jarosław Kaczyński | since July 14, 2006 |
- 1 - failed to form a cabinet
- 2 - after second try
[edit] See also
