Franciszek Gągor (8 September 1951 – 10 April 2010) was a Polish general, Chief of the

General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces Polish General Staff, formally known as the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces ( Polish: ''Sztab Generalny Wojska Polskiego'') is the highest professional body within the Polish Armed Forces. Organizationally, it is an integral part of the M ...

between 2006 and 2010. He died in the

2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash On 10 April 2010, a Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft operating Polish Air Force Flight 101 crashed near the Russian city of Smolensk, killing all 96 people on board. Among the victims were the president of Poland, Lech Kaczyński, and his wife, Maria, ...

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 ...

with 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 Pola ...

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 pre ...

Life and education

Gągor was born in 1951 in Koniuszowa near Nowy Sącz. He attended the Artillery Officers' College at

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

in 1973. He also held qualifications at the

Adam Mickiewicz University Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint Joh ...

(1983 – Master of Arts degree in English philology); the

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 ...

(1998 – doctorate in military science); the NATO Defense College (2001), and the National Defense University (2002) in Washington DC.

Military service

He served in the 2nd Tank Regiment in the 1973 as an officer in a Self-Propelled Artillery unit. Afterwards, he became an operations and executive officer responsible for planning and operational activities in

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

missions. In 1978 he was posted to the Mechanized Infantry Officer College in Wrocław, where he lectured on preparations and training of Polish contingents designated for peacekeeping operations until 1988 and, during that time, took an active part in UNDOF operations (1980–1981 and 1985–1986) as an operations officer. Between 1988 and 1990 General Gągor served at UNDOF HQ as Deputy Chief of Logistics. In 1991 he was an executive officer/second-in-command at the Polish Military Contingent for

Desert Storm The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

Operation. He later became the Deputy Sector Commander of UN Iraq-Kuwait Observation mission UNIKOM between 1991 and 1992. In 1993, as a Colonel, he became the Chief of Polish Armed Forces Peacekeeping Division of the Polish Armed Forces. He was a key member of the Polish Armed Forces preparations team for Polish accession to NATO, taking care of initial and first rounds of NATO Defence Planning for Poland. He was promoted to the rank of

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

in 1997. In August 2003, he returned to UNDOF after being appointed by then UN Secretary General

Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (; 8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founde ...

as its head of mission and force commander. On 27 February 2006, Gagor was made Chief of General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces upon appointment by the President of Poland. He was promoted to General on 3 May 2006. Along with Krzysztof Paszkowski, he wrote the book: "Defense Doctrine of the Polish Republic for Peacekeeping Operations." Gen. Gągor is an author of numerous articles and publications on military affairs and co-operation, defence transformation and armed forces modernization.

Personal life

He was fluent in English, and communicated in French and Russian. He had an interest in history, English literature, skiing, tennis, volleyball and jogging. He was married to Lucyna and has two children, Katarzyna and Michał.

Medals and decorations

:Grand 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 order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on foreigners for outstanding achievement ...

(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 ...

) :Officer's Cross (2005) :Knight's Cross (1998) : Gold Cross of Merit : Gold Medal in the Service of the Armed Forces of the Homeland :Gold

Medal of Merit for National Defence The Medal of Merit for National Defence ( pl, Medal Za Zasługi dla Obronności Kraju) is a decoration of the Ministry of National Defence of Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divi ...

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 ...

:Commander of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

(France, 17 December 2008, France) :Commander of the Legion of Merit (USA, 22 May 2008) :Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit (Portugal) The Order of Merit ( pt, Ordem do Mérito) is a Portuguese Honorific Order of civil merit intended to award those responsible for meritorious acts or services performed in the exercise of any functions, both in the public and the private sphere, w ...

(1 September 2008) :Grand Cross of the

:Honorary Badge of Premysl Otakar II, King of Iron and Gold (Čestný badges Přemysl Otakar II., Král železného a zlatého, 1 March 2007, Czech Republic) : Meritorious Service Cross - Military Division (13 April 2011, Canada, posthumously) :Medal of the UN mission in UNEF II :UN Medal

UNDOF The United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) is a United Nations peacekeeping mission tasked with maintaining the ceasefire between Israel and Syria in the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. The mission was established by Unit ...

mission :Medal UN mission evasion :Parachutist badge

References

External links

*
NATO Biographies
Jan. 08, 2008

May 5, 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Gagor, Franciszek 1951 births 2010 deaths Polish generals Burials at Powązki Military Cemetery Grand Crosses of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Gold Cross of Merit (Poland) UNDOF Force Commanders Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur Commanders of the Legion of Merit Grand Crosses of the Order of Merit (Portugal) Recipients of the Meritorious Service Decoration Victims of the Smolensk air disaster Polish officials of the United Nations People from Nowy Sącz County Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań alumni