Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland

Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland
Coat of arms
Incumbent Donald Tusk since November 16, 2007
Appointer	President of the Republic of Poland
Inaugural holder	Ignacy Daszyński
Formation	November 6, 1918
Website	www.premier.gov.pl

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 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.

Republic of Poland

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

Government Constitution Human rights Executive President List Lech Kaczyński Prime Minister List Donald Tusk Council of Ministers Ministries Legislative National Assembly Senate Sejm Judiciary Constitutional Tribunal Supreme Court Supreme Administrative Court State Tribunal Supreme Chamber of Control Public Prosecutor General Ombudsman Elections Presidential (after 1989) 1990 - 1995 - 2000 - 2005 Parliamentary (after 1989) 1989 - 1991 - 1993 - 1997 2001 - 2005 - 2007 European Parliament 2004 Local elections (after 1989) 1990 - 1994 - 1998 - 2002 2006 Referendums (after 1989) 1996 - 1997 - 2003 Divisions Voivodeships (Województwa) Regions (Powiaty) Communes (Gminy) Cities and towns Political parties Major parties PO (Civic Platform) PiS (Law and Justice) PSL (Polish People's Party) LiD (Left and Democrats) SRP (Self-Defence) Democratic Party PSL Piast SDPL (Social Democracy) Right of the Republic Politicians Foreign policy Foreign relations Ambassadors Politics of the European Union See also Economy History (political) Military

Other countries · Atlas  Politics portal

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.

History

List of Polish Prime Ministers

Presidents of the Council of Ministers of the Duchy of Warsaw (1807 - 1813)

No	Photo	Name and Surname	Term of office:	Monarch
1		Stanisław Małachowski	October 5, 1807 - December 14, 1807	Frederick August I
2		Ludwik Szymon Gutakowski	December 14, 1807 - November 1808	Frederick August I
3		Józef Poniatowski	November 1808 - March 25, 1809 (acting)	Frederick August I
4		Stanisław Kostka Potocki	March 25, 1809 - May 1813	Frederick August I

Prime Ministers of semi-independent Kingdom of Poland (Nov. 5 1916 - 1918)

No	Photo	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 - October 2 1918
4		Józef Świerzyński	October 23, 1918 - November 3, 1918
5		Władysław Wróblewski	November 3 1918 - November 14 1918

Prime Ministers of the Interim People's Government (1918)

No	Photo	Name and Surname	Term of office:	Party
1		Ignacy Daszyński	November 7 1918 - November 14 1918	Polish Socialist Party

Prime Ministers of the 2nd Republic of Poland (1918 - 1939)

Prime Ministers of Polish Government in Exile (1939 - 1990)

No	Photo	Name and Surname	Term of office:	President
1		Władysław Sikorski	September 30, 1939 - July 4, 1943	Władysław Raczkiewicz
2		Stanisław Mikołajczyk	July 14, 1943 - November 24, 1944	Władysław Raczkiewicz
3		Tomasz Arciszewski	November 29, 1944 - July 2, 1947	Władysław Raczkiewicz August Zaleski
4		Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski	July 2, 1947 - February 10, 1949	Władysław Raczkiewicz August Zaleski
5		Tadeusz Tomaszewski	April 7, 1949 - September 25, 1950	August Zaleski
6		Roman Odzierzyński	September 25, 1950 - December 8, 1953	August Zaleski
7		Jerzy Hryniewski	January 18, 1954 - May 13, 1954	August Zaleski
8		Stanisław Cat-Mackiewicz	June 8, 1954 - June 21, 1955	August Zaleski
9		Hugon Hanke	August 8, 1955 - September 10, 1955	August Zaleski
10		Antoni Pająk	September 10, 1955 - June 14, 1964	August Zaleski
11		Aleksander Zawisza	June 25, 1964 - June 9, 1970	August Zaleski
12		Zygmunt Muchniewski	July 20, 1970 - July 13, 1972	August Zaleski Stanisław Ostrowski
13		Alfred Urbański	July 18, 1972 - July 15, 1976	Stanisław Ostrowski
14		Kazimierz Sabbat	August 5, 1976 - April 8, 1986	Stanisław Ostrowski Edward Bernard Raczyński
15		Edward Szczepanik	April 8, 1986 - December 22, 1990	Kazimierz Sabbat Ryszard Kaczorowski

Prime Ministers of the People's Republic of Poland (1944 - 1989)

Prime Ministers of the 3rd Republic of Poland (since 1989)

No	Photo	Name and Surname	Term of office:	Party	President
1		Tadeusz Mazowiecki	August 24, 1989 - January 4, 1991	None (Solidarity)	Wojciech Jaruzelski Lech Wałęsa
2		Jan Krzysztof Bielecki	January 4, 1991 - December 6, 1991	Liberal Democratic Congress	Lech Wałęsa
3		Jan Olszewski	December 6, 1991 - June 5, 1992	Centre Agreement	Lech Wałęsa
4		Waldemar Pawlak	June 5, 1992 - July 10, 1992	Polish People's Party	Lech Wałęsa
5		Hanna Suchocka	July 11, 1992 - October 25, 1993	Democratic Union	Lech Wałęsa
6		Waldemar Pawlak	October 26, 1993 - March 6, 1995	Polish People's Party	Lech Wałęsa
7		Józef Oleksy	March 7, 1995 - February 7, 1996	Democratic Left Alliance	Lech Wałęsa Aleksander Kwaśniewski
8		Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz	February 7, 1996 - October 31, 1997	Democratic Left Alliance	Aleksander Kwaśniewski
9		Jerzy Buzek	October 31, 1997 - October 19, 2001	Solidarity Electoral Action	Aleksander Kwaśniewski
10		Leszek Miller	October 19, 2001 - May 2, 2004	Democratic Left Alliance	Aleksander Kwaśniewski
11		Marek Belka2	May 2, 2004 - October 31, 2005	Democratic Left Alliance	Aleksander Kwaśniewski
12		Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz	October 31, 2005 - July 14, 2006	Law and Justice	Aleksander Kwaśniewski Lech Kaczyński
13		Jarosław Kaczyński	July 14, 2006 - November 16, 2007	Law and Justice	Lech Kaczyński
14		Donald Tusk	November 16 2007 - present	Civic Platform	Lech Kaczyński

¹ - failed to form a cabinet

² - after second try

Former Prime Ministers

Former Prime Minister are enlisted to get Biuro Ochrony Rządu protection for a period of six months after leaving office.

As of 2008^[update] following former Prime Ministers are alive:

1. Edward Babiuch
2. Wojciech Jaruzelski
3. Zbigniew Messner
4. Czesław Kiszczak
5. Tadeusz Mazowiecki
6. Jan Krzysztof Bielecki
7. Jan Olszewski
8. Waldemar Pawlak
9. Hanna Suchocka
10. Józef Oleksy
11. Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz
12. Jerzy Buzek
13. Leszek Miller
14. Marek Belka
15. Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz
16. Jarosław Kaczyński

Age upon entering office (3rd Republic)

• Tadeusz Mazowiecki - 62
• Jak Krzysztof Bielecki - 39
• Jan Olszewski - 61
• Waldemar Pawlak (1st time) - 32
• Hanna Suchocka - 46
• Waldemar Pawlak (2nd time) - 34
• Józef Oleksy - 48
• Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz - 46
• Jerzy Buzek - 57
• Leszek Miller - 54
• Marek Belka - 52
• Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz - 45
• Jarosław Kaczyński - 57
• Donald Tusk - 50

See also

• Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland
• President of the Republic of Poland
• List of Polish rulers

External links

• The Chancellery of the Prime Minister