Andrzej Karweta (11 June 1958 – 10 April 2010) was

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

(

NATO code This is the list of NATO country codes. Up to and including the seventh edition of STANAG 1059, these were two-letter codes (digrams). The eighth edition, promulgated February 19, 2004, and effective April 1, 2004, replaced all codes with new ones ...

OF-7) of the Polish Navy and its commander-in-chief from November 2007 until his death in April 2010 in the Smolensk air crash. He was posthumously promoted to the rank of

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

(

OF-9).

Biography

Andrzej Karweta was born in Jeleń village (part of

Jaworzno Jaworzno is a city in southern Poland, near Katowice. It lies in the Silesian Highlands, on the Przemsza river (a tributary of the Vistula). Jaworzno belongs to the historic province of Lesser Poland. The city is situated in the Silesian Voivod ...

since 1977). In 1977 he started studies at the

Polish Naval Academy The Polish Naval Academy (PNA) " Heroes of Westerplatte" is a naval university supervised by the Ministry of National Defence of the Republic of Poland, with the history, uninterrupted by World War II, dating back to 1922. At present the PNA provi ...

Gdynia Gdynia ( ; ; german: Gdingen (currently), (1939–1945); csb, Gdiniô, , , ) is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With a population of 243,918, it is the List of cities in Poland, 12th-largest city in Poland and ...

and graduated in 1982, with the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade ('' podporucznik marynarki''). In following years he attended further studies, including Defence Politics at the Polish

National Defence University in Warsaw The National Defence University of Warsaw ( – AON) was the civil-military highest defense (military), defence academic institution in Poland, located in Warszawa–Rembertów. In 2016 it was succeeded by the War Studies University. The National ...

(2006) and studies at

Royal College of Defence Studies The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest level ...

in London. He started service in the 13th Minesweeper Division in Hel in 1982. In 1986 he took his first command, of ORP ''Czapla'' ( Projekt 206F class minesweeper), in 1989 of another minesweeper ORP ''Mewa'' and a group of minesweepers. In 1992-1996 he was chief of staff and second in command of the 13th Minesweeper Division, later he became its commander. During

BALTOPS BALTOPS (Baltic Operations) is an annual military exercise, held and sponsored by the Commander, United States Naval Forces Europe, since 1971, in the Baltic Sea and the regions surrounding it. The purpose of BALTOPS is to train gunnery, replenis ...

2000 maneuvers he commanded an international anti-mine warfare group. In 2002 he became deputy commander of the Underwater Warfare Division in

Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic The Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic (SACLANT) was one of two supreme commanders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), the other being the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR). The SACLANT led Allied Command Atlantic was based at ...

(SACLANT), and was a Polish representative in SACLANT headquarters. In 2005 he returned to Poland and served as the second in command of the 8th Coast Defence Flotilla in

Świnoujście Świnoujście (; german: Swinemünde ; nds, Swienemünn; all three meaning "Świna ivermouth"; csb, Swina) is a city and seaport on the Baltic Sea and Szczecin Lagoon, located in the extreme north-west of Poland. Situated mainly on the islands o ...

. On 3 May 2007 he was promoted to rear admiral and became a deputy chief of Polish Navy Staff in Gdynia. On 11 November 2007 he was promoted to

commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore, a ...

(

OF-6) and became a deputy chief of Polish Navy Staff in Gdynia. On 11 November 2007 he was promoted to

(

OF-7) and appointed the Polish Navy's commander-in-chief. He was listed on the flight manifestPrezydenckim Tu-154 leciały najważniejsze osoby w państwie
of the

Tupolev Tu-154 The Tupolev Tu-154 (russian: Tyполев Ту-154; NATO reporting name: "Careless") is a three-engined, medium-range, narrow-body airliner designed in the mid-1960s and manufactured by Tupolev. A workhorse of Soviet and (subsequently) Russian ...

of the 36th Special Aviation Regiment carrying the

President of Poland The president of Poland ( pl, Prezydent RP), officially the president of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Prezydent Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej), is the head of state of Poland. Their rights and obligations are determined in the Constitution of Polan ...

Lech Kaczyński Lech Aleksander Kaczyński (; 18 June 194910 April 2010) was a Polish politician who served as the city mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 2005, and as President of Poland from 2005 until his death in 2010. Before his tenure as president, he prev ...

which crashed near

Smolensk-North Smolensk North Airport (russian: военный аэродром "Смоленск-Северный", "Smolensk North Military Aerodrome") is a decommissioned military airbase in Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located 4 km north of the city of ...

airport near

Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest c ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, on 10 April 2010, killing all aboard.

Honours and awards

:Commander's Cross of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on al ...

(2010,

posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' (E ...

) :

Silver Cross of Merit The Cross of Merit () is a Polish civil state decoration established on 23 June 1923, to recognize services to the state. History At the time of its establishment in 1923, the Cross of Merit was the highest civilian award in Poland. It was aw ...

(2005; Bronze Cross, 2001) :Gold

Medal of the Armed Forces in the Service of the Fatherland The Medal of the Armed Forces in the Service of the Fatherland ( pl, Medal Siły Zbrojne w Służbie Ojczyzny) is a Polish military decoration, awarded for long service and excellent work in the army. The medal was first established on 26 May 195 ...

:Gold Medal for his contribution to national defence :

Medal Pro Memoria The Pro Memoria Medal is a Polish civil state decoration awarded by the head of the Office for War Veterans and Victims of Oppression. Established 25 January 2005, the medal is awarded for outstanding contributions in perpetuating the memory of th ...

: Haller Ring - the highest award of the Maritime and River League :Grand Officer of the

Order of Merit The Order of Merit (french: link=no, Ordre du Mérite) is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by K ...

(2008, Portugal)

References

External links

Polish Navy official page

Admiral Andrzej Karweta grave on google maps
{{DEFAULTSORT:Karweta, Andrzej 1958 births 2010 deaths People from Jaworzno Polish Navy admirals Commanders of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Bronze Cross of Merit (Poland) Recipients of the Silver Cross of Merit (Poland) Grand Officers of the Order of Merit (Portugal) Victims of the Smolensk air disaster Graduates of the Royal College of Defence Studies

Biography

Honours and awards

See also

References

External links