Kazimierz Karwowski (c. 1670 – 12 May 1746) of Pniejnia was a Polish noble and politician. He was

marshal of the Sejm The Marshal of the Sejm , also known as Sejm Marshal, Chairman of the Sejm or Speaker of the Sejm ( pl, Marszałek Sejmu, ) is the speaker (chair) of the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish Parliament. The office traces its origins to the 15th ...

in 1740, a deputy to the

Crown Tribunal The Crown Tribunal ( pl, Trybunał Główny Koronny, la, Iudicium Ordinarium Generale Tribunalis Regni) was the highest appellate court in the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland for most cases. Exceptions were if a noble landowner was threatened with ...

, cześnik of

Wizna Wizna is a village in Łomża County of Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland, situated on the Narew River. Wizna is known for the battle of Wizna which took place in its vicinity during the 1939 Invasion of Poland at the start of Worl ...

from 1703,

stolnik Pantler (, , russian: сто́льник, ) was a court office in Lithuania, Poland, and Russia, responsible for serving the royal table, then an honorary court title and a district office. Stolnik in Crown of Poland In the Crown of Poland und ...

, łowczy and pisarz of Bielsk, podstarości, podstoli and sędzia grodzki (judge) of

Brańsk Brańsk ( be, Бранск, lt, Branskas) is a town in eastern Poland. It is situated within Podlaskie Voivodeship (province). Etymology The name of the town comes from the river Bronka, a nearby tributary of the Nurzec River. Geography Lo ...

. He is best known as an advocate of reform, and as a deputy elected to the

Sejm The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland ( Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of ...

(parliament) of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi- confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Poland and Lithuania ru ...

a record number of times over his four decades as a Sejm deputy.

Biography

He was the firth son of Wojciech Karwowski and Aleksandra Ciszewska. He was married to Regina Sopockowna. They had three sons, Paweł Karwowski. He was well educated and versed in law, history and languages. Combined with his renowned command of the

Latin language Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of t ...

, he was known as ''Civis et consul Polonus''. He was first elected as a

deputy in 1701. During the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swed ...

he was loyal to

Augustus II of Poland Augustus II; german: August der Starke; lt, Augustas II; in Saxony also known as Frederick Augustus I – Friedrich August I (12 May 16701 February 1733), most commonly known as Augustus the Strong, was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as Ki ...

, and was member of the negotiations in

Toruń )'' , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = POL Toruń flag.svg , image_shield = POL Toruń COA.svg , nickname = City of Angels, Gingerbread city, Copernicus Town , pushpin_map = Kuyavian-Pom ...

(November 1702) and Malbork (March–May 1703). In the subsequent years he was elected as a deputy to

at least 27 times, which is a record number in the history of the

. He was known as a good speaker and debater. In 1710 he participated in the General Council of Warsaw and joined the Sandomierz Confederation. In 1714 he was elected as one of the judges in the

. The following year, he received the judge office in

. On the political scene, he was aligned with the magnate family of

Sapieha The House of Sapieha (; be, Сапега, ''Sapieha''; lt, Sapiega) is a Polish-Lithuanian noble and magnate family of Lithuanian and Ruthenian origin,Энцыклапедыя ВКЛ. Т.2, арт. "Сапегі" descending from the med ...

s as well as with

Jan Klemens Branicki Count Jan Klemens Branicki (also known as Jan Kazimierz Branicki; 21 September 1689 – 9 October 1771) was a Polish nobleman, magnate and Hetman, Field Crown Hetman of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth between 1735 and 1752, and Great Crown ...

. He was involved in numerous legislation attempts, and repeatedly advocated reforms of Sejm procedures. Most notably, he advocated limitations of the use of the procedure of liberum veto: the right for parliament members to veto the entire legislative session, which is now seen as disastrous, but in his era was a nearly sacrosanct part of the

Golden Freedom Golden Liberty ( la, Aurea Libertas; pl, Złota Wolność, lt, Auksinė laisvė), sometimes referred to as Golden Freedoms, Nobles' Democracy or Nobles' Commonwealth ( pl, Rzeczpospolita Szlachecka or ''Złota wolność szlachecka'') was a po ...

of the Commonwealth nobility. To bypass the Sejms dissolved in 1729, 1730 and 1732 he argued that a confederated sejm should be convened. He was also involved in the legislation forming the first permanent salaries for the Sejm deputies, reforming taxation, army's budget, and fleshing out the legislation of the Crown Tribunal. During his last Sejm of 1740 he was elected the

Sejm Marshal The Marshal of the Sejm , also known as Sejm Marshal, Chairman of the Sejm or Speaker of the Sejm ( pl, Marszałek Sejmu, ) is the speaker (chair) of the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish Parliament. The office traces its origins to the 15th ...

; that sejm was one of many that was eventually disrupted by the liberum veto.

Notes

* Jędruch is not consistent with regards to the number of times Karwowski was elected. On p. 154, he states "no less than 26 times", yet on p. 194, he states "no less than 27 times". Niesiecki and Bobrowicz cite 27 times.

References

External links

*
Kazimierz Karwowski z Karwowa h. Pniejnia (Cwaliny)
M.J. Minakowski, Wielka Genealogia Minakowskiego {{DEFAULTSORT:Karwowski, Kazimierz 1670s births 1746 deaths Polish nobility Polish politicians