Henryk Jan Jabłoński (; 27 December 1909 – 27 January 2003) was a Polish historian and politician. After 1948, he became a politician of the ruling Polish United Workers' Party, as well as a historian and professor at Warsaw University. He served as head of state of the

People's Republic of Poland The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million nea ...

between 1972 and 1985.

Life and career

Jabłoński was born in

Stary Waliszew Stary Waliszew is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Bielawy, within Łowicz County, Łódź Voivodeship, in central Poland. It lies approximately south of Bielawy, west of Łowicz, and north of the regional capital Łódź ...

in the

Warsaw Governorate Warsaw Governorate ( pl, Gubernia warszawska; russian: Варшавская губерния) was an administrative unit (governorate) of Congress Poland. It was created in 1844 from the Masovia and Kalisz Governorates, and had the capital in Wa ...

Congress Poland Congress Poland, Congress Kingdom of Poland, or Russian Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It w ...

. From 1931, he was a member of the Polish Socialist Party (PPS). During World War II he fought in the

battle of Narvik The Battles of Narvik were fought from 9 April to 8 June 1940, as a naval battle in the Ofotfjord and as a land battle in the mountains surrounding the north Norwegian town of Narvik, as part of the Norwegian Campaign of the Second World War. ...

( Norway) and then joined the French Resistance. In 1945 Jabłoński become a member of the State National Council (KRN), and during the years 1946 and 1948 he had high functions in the PPS (chairman of Central State Committee and its vice-leader). He approved joining the PPS with the Polish Workers' Party (PPR, ''Polska Partia Robotnicza''). From 1947 to 1972, he was a deputy to the Sejm. In 1948 he was appointed professor at Warsaw University (from 1952 member of Polish Academy of Sciences – PAN). Between 1948 and 1981, Henryk Jabłoński was in the

Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party ( pl, Komitet Centralny Polskiej Zjednoczonej Partii Robotniczej, KC PZPR) was the central ruling body of the Polish United Workers' Party, the dominant political party in the People's Republi ...

(KC PZPR). In 1972, on the initiative of Edward Gierek, Jablonski was chosen the ''

de iure In law and government, ''de jure'' ( ; , "by law") describes practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. In contrast, ("in fact") describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legally ...

'' leader (chairman of the Council of State) of the People's Republic of Poland. From 1976 to 1983 he was a chief of the Front of National Unity (FJN, ''Front Jedności Narodu''). From 1983 to 1990 he was chief of

ZBoWiD The Society of Fighters for Freedom and Democracy ( pl, Związek Bojowników o Wolność i Demokrację, ZBoWiD) was an official Polish state-controlled veterans association in the People's Republic of Poland. Initially headed by Franciszek Jóź ...

, the Society of Fighters for Freedom and Democracy, an organisation of war veterans. In 1985 he was replaced as head of state by General Wojciech Jaruzelski. His wife

Jadwiga Jabłońska Jadwiga (; diminutives: ''Jadzia'' , ''Iga'') is a Polish feminine given name. It originated from the old German feminine given name ''Hedwig'' (variants of which include ''Hedwiga''), which is compounded from ''hadu'', "battle", and ''wig'', "figh ...

died in 1999.

Honours and awards

*Grand Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta, earlier Commander's Cross *

Order of the Builders of People's Poland Order of the Builders of People's Poland ( pl, Order Budowniczych Polski Ludowej) was the highest

Order of the Banner of Labour (Poland) The Order of the Banner of Labor ( pl, Order Sztandaru Pracy) was a governmental award in Poland during the 20th-century era of the Polish People's Republic, a former Marxist-Leninist state. The order was established by the Sejm (a chamber of th ...

, 1st class *

Order of the Cross of Grunwald The Order of the Cross of Grunwald (') was a military decoration created in Poland in November 1943 by the High Command of Gwardia Ludowa, a Polish resistance movement in World War II, World War II Polish resistance movement organised by the Polis ...

, 3rd class * Deed Combat Cross Polish Armed Forces in the West (1989) *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 ...

* Great Star of Honour of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Austria *Grand Cordon of the

Order of Leopold (Belgium) The Order of Leopold ( nl, Leopoldsorde, french: Ordre de Léopold, ) is one of the three current Belgian national honorary orders of knighthood. It is the oldest and highest order of Belgium and is named in honour of its founder, King Le ...

* Order of Georgi Dimitrov (Bulgaria) * Order of the White Lion, First Class with Chain (

CSSR CSSR may refer to: * Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (Czech and Slovak: ''ČSSR''), onetime name of Czechoslovakia * Climate Science Special Report, Volume 1 of the Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA4) 2017/2018 * Canadian Society for the Stud ...

) *Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour (France) *

Order of the Two Rivers The Order of the Two Rivers ( ar, وسام الرافدين ''Wisam Al Rafidain'') was an Order awarded by the Kings of Iraq and then the Presidents of Iraq. History It was named after the two rivers the Euphrates and the Tigris that flow thro ...

, 1st Class (Iraq) *

Order of José Marti Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of ...

(Cuba) *Collars of the Order of the Aztec Eagle (Mexico) * Order of Sukhbaatar (Mongolia) *Great Chain of the

Order of Prince Henry the Navigator The Order of Prince Henry ( pt, Ordem do Infante Dom Henrique) is a Portuguese order of knighthood created on 2 June 1960, to commemorate the quincentenary of the death of the Portuguese prince Henry the Navigator, one of the main initiators of t ...

(Portugal) *Great Banner of the

Order of the Umayyads The Order of the Unity of the Nation ( ar, وسام أمية الوطني) is the highest order of Syria. History The order was founded on 12 July 1934. Classes The order is composed of the following classes : * Member 1st Class * Member ...

(Syria) *

Order of the Flag of the Republic of Hungary The Order of the Flag of the People's Republic of Hungary ( hu, Magyar Népköztársaság Zászlórendje) was a State Order of the Hungarian People's Republic. It was founded by Decree No. 17 of 1956 and then was abolished in 1991. Classes The ...

, 1st class * Order of the October Revolution (USSR) *

Order of Friendship of Peoples The Order of Friendship of Peoples (russian: oрден Дружбы народов, translit=orden Druzhby narodov) was an order of the Soviet Union, and was awarded to persons (including non-citizens), organizations, enterprises, military unit ...

(USSR) * Order of the Badge of Honour (USSR) *State Award, Grade II – 1955 *State Prize – 1964 *Special National Award – 1979

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