The Council of Three ( pl, Rada Trzech, ) was a collegial body created by the

Polish Government in Exile The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile ( pl, Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Pola ...

in 1954 with

prerogative In law, a prerogative is an exclusive right bestowed by a government or state and invested in an individual or group, the content of which is separate from the body of rights enjoyed under the general law. It was a common facet of feudal law. The ...

s of the President of Poland. It consisted of three members of the government chosen by the Rada Jedności Narodowej (''Council of National Unity''), a rump parliament in exile. It was created in 1954, after president

August Zaleski August Zaleski (13 September 1883 – 7 April 1972) was a Polish economist, freemason, politician, and diplomat. Twice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland, he served as President of Poland- in-exile. Life and career Aug ...

declined to leave his office after his seven-year term ended. According to the Polish April 1935

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

, the legal basis for the existence of the government in exile, the president was allowed to choose his successor "during a war, in case his office falls vacant before the peace treaty is signed". The post-war ''Akt Zjednoczenia Narodowego'' (''National Unity Act'') agreement among all the major political parties assumed that presidents were to choose their successors every seven years; however, this was rejected by Zaleski. Initially, the ''Rada Trzech'' was a self-proclaimed committee of opposition to Zaleski, but on 21 July 1956 the ''Rada Jedności Narodowej'' granted it powers of the Polish

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

. It was dissolved in July 1972, following August Zaleski's death on 7 April that year. The ''Rada Trzech'' ceded its powers to Zaleski's successor,

Stanisław Ostrowski Stanisław Ostrowski (29 October 1892 – 22 November 1982) was a Polish politician, best known for serving as the last Polish Mayor of Lwow, and was President of Poland- in-exile. Life and career Ostrowski was born in Lemberg, Kingdom of Galic ...

Members

The members of the Rada Trzech were: * General

Władysław Anders ) , birth_name = Władysław Albert Anders , birth_date = , birth_place = Krośniewice-Błonie, Warsaw Governorate, Congress Poland, Russian Empire , death_date = , death_place = London, England, United Kingdom , serviceyears ...

(until 1970) *

Edward Raczyński Edward Raczyński was the name of three members of a Polish aristocratic family: * Edward Raczyński (1786–1845) Polish conservative politician, protector of arts, founder of the Raczynski Library in Poznań * Edward Aleksander Raczyński (1847� ...

(until 1972) *

Tomasz Arciszewski Tomasz Stefan Arciszewski (; 4 November 1877 – 20 November 1955) was a Polish socialist politician, a member of the Polish Socialist Party and the 31st Prime Minister of Poland, 3rd Prime Minister of the Polish government-in-exile in London fro ...

(until 1955)

died in 1955. His place was taken by: * General Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski (1956-1966) * General

Roman Odzierzyński Roman Władysław Odzierzyński (28 February 1892, Lviv – 9 July 1975, London) was the 35th Prime Minister of Poland and 5th prime minister in the Polish Government in Exile from 1950 until 1953. Following the Invasion of Poland, he fled wit ...

(1966-1968) *

Stanisław Mglej Stanislav and variants may refer to: People * Stanislav (given name), a Slavic given name with many spelling variations (Stanislaus, Stanislas, Stanisław, etc.) Places * Stanislav, a coastal village in Kherson, Ukraine * Stanislaus County, C ...

(1968-1969) *

Alfred Urbański Alfred Urbański (13 January 1899 – 10 September 1983) was a Polish politician, a member of the Polish Socialist Party (PPS), primarily known for his political activities within the Polish Government in Exile. Urbański, an economist, was from ...

(1969-1972)

died in 1970. His place was taken by: * General

Stanisław Kopański General Stanisław Kopański (19 May 1895 – 23 March 1976) was a Polish military commander, politician, diplomat, an engineer and one of the best-educated Polish officers of the time, serving with distinction during World War II. He is best know ...

(1970-1972)

Members

See also