Ryszard Kaczorowski,
GCMG
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III.
It is named in honour ...
(; 26 November 1919 – 10 April 2010) was a Polish statesman. From 1989 to 1990, he served as the last
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 ...
-
in-exile. He succeeded
Kazimierz Sabbat, and resigned his post following Poland's regaining independence from the Soviet sphere of influence and the election of
Lech Wałęsa
Lech Wałęsa (; ; born 29 September 1943) is a Polish statesman, dissident, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who served as the President of Poland between 1990 and 1995. After winning the 1990 election, Wałęsa became the first democrati ...
as the first democratically elected President of Poland since before the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
. He died on 10 April 2010 in the
plane crash near Smolensk, Russia, along 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 ...
and other senior government officials.
Life and career
Ryszard Kaczorowski was born on 26 November 1919, in a wooden house at 7 Mazowiecka Street in
Piaski District of Białystok. The house stood at the intersection of Mazowiecka Street with the no longer existing Argentyńska Street.,
Białystok, Poland. His parents were Wacław Kaczorowski, of the
Jelita Coat of Arms, and Jadwiga (née Sawicka). In 1920, when Białystok was overrun by
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
forces during the
Polish-Soviet War, it briefly served as headquarters of the
Polish Revolutionary Committee headed by
Julian Marchlewski
Julian Baltazar Józef Marchlewski (17 May 1866 – 22 March 1925) was a Polish communist politician, revolutionary activist and publicist who served as chairman of the Provisional Polish Revolutionary Committee. He was also known under the al ...
, which attempted to declare the
Polish Soviet Socialist Republic. The city again changed hands after the
Battle of Białystok, when the city was liberated by the
1st Legions Infantry Division
Polish 1st Legions Infantry Division () was a tactical unit of the Polish Army between the World Wars. Formed on February 20, 1919, partially of veterans of the I Brigade of the Polish Legions, the unit saw extensive action during the Polish-Bol ...
and
5th Legions' Infantry Regiment. The family witnessed certain dramatic results of the battle from a small wooden house typical at Argentyńska Street.
He completed his education at a school of commerce. He was also a
Scouting instructor of a local branch of the
Polish Scouting Association
, type = organization
, headquarters = ZHP Headquarters Warsaw
, location = Warszawa, Konopnickiej 6
, country = Poland
, f-date = 1 November 1918
, founder = Andrzej Małkowski, Olga Małkowska
, members = 138,112
, chiefscouttitle = N ...
. Following the
Invasion of Poland
The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...
at the beginning of World War II, he secretly recreated the scouting movement – which was banned by the Soviet authorities – and became a head of the Białystok banner of the
Szare Szeregi
"Gray Ranks" ( pl, Szare Szeregi) was a codename for the underground paramilitary Polish Scouting Association (') during World War II.
The wartime organisation was created on 27 September 1939, actively resisted and fought German occupation i ...
.
[Matylda Młocka: Prezydent z przedwojennego dworu](_blank)
– ''Rzeczpospolita
() is the official name of Poland and a traditional name for some of its predecessor states. It is a compound of "thing, matter" and "common", a calque of Latin ''rés pública'' ( "thing" + "public, common"), i.e. ''republic'', in Engli ...
'', 26 November 2009. In 1940, he was arrested by the
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union.
...
and sentenced to death, which was later changed to ten years in a
concentration camp
Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...
in
Kolyma.
He remembered later:
On the third of May we organized a bonfire in the cell. And since we were on death row, we could not be punished any more, so the guard who opened the window and shouted "quieter!" he hit a clay bowl we had on hand. The bowl splattered, the guard hid, and we sang so that I think the whole prison heard.
Following the
Sikorski-Mayski Agreement of 1941, he was set free and enlisted in
Anders' Army
Anders' Army was the informal yet common name of the Polish Armed Forces in the East in the 1941–42 period, in recognition of its commander Władysław Anders. The army was created in the Soviet Union but, in March 1942, based on an understand ...
. After its evacuation from the Soviet Union, Kaczorowski joined the
3rd Carpathian Rifle Division, where he completed divisional secondary school. He fought in most major battles of the
Polish 2nd Corps, including the
Battle of Monte Cassino.
After the war, he remained in the United Kingdom as a political emigrant. Following demobilisation, he completed an academic course in foreign trade at the Polytechnic Regent Street (later the University of Westminster). Until 1986, he worked in business as an accountant. From 1955-67, he was the
Chief Scout A Chief Scout is the principal or head scout for an organization such as the military, colonial administration or expedition or a talent scout in performing, entertainment or creative arts, particularly sport. In sport, a Chief Scout can be the prin ...
, and, subsequently,
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
of the émigré Polish Scouting Union (
ZHP). As such, he led the Polish delegation for the 1957
Jamboree.
Kaczorowski was also active in Polish political circles and a member of the
National Council of Poland, a parliament-in-exile. In 1986, he was appointed the Minister for Home Affairs within the
Polish government in exile. As the
April Constitution of Poland
The April Constitution of Poland ( pl, Ustawa konstytucyjna 23 IV 1935 or ''Konstytucja kwietniowa'') was the general law passed by the act of the Polish Sejm on 23 April 1935. It introduced in the Second Polish Republic a presidential syst ...
of 1935 (the legal basis for the government) allowed the president to appoint his successor "in case the seat is emptied before the peace is settled", acting president in exile
Kazimierz Sabbat named Kaczorowski as his successor in January 1988. Sabbat died suddenly on 19 July 1989 and Kaczorowski automatically succeeded him. He handed over the insignia of the presidential power of the Second Republic to President
Lech Wałęsa
Lech Wałęsa (; ; born 29 September 1943) is a Polish statesman, dissident, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who served as the President of Poland between 1990 and 1995. After winning the 1990 election, Wałęsa became the first democrati ...
on 22 December 1990, signifying both a recognition of the legitimacy of the government in exile and its continuity with the
Third Polish Republic.
Personal life
Ryszard Kaczorowski's last home was in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. He had two daughters with wife Karolina, Jadwiga Kaczorowska, who has two children Zenek and Wanda Szulc, and Alicja Jankowska who has three children, Ryszard, Marcin and Krystyna Jankowska. He was frequently present in Poland and was treated according to the Polish law on former presidents of the state, granting him a presidential pension,
Biuro Ochrony Rządu protection and a chancellery. He was an honorary chairman of numerous social and historical organisations, as well as an honorary citizen of almost thirty cities in Poland, including:
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
,
Gdańsk,
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 12th-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in th ...
,
Kielce,
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
,
Opole,
Zielona Góra
Zielona Góra is the largest city in Lubusz Voivodeship, located in western Poland, with 140,403 inhabitants (2021). Zielona Góra has a favourable geographical position, being close to the Polish-German border and on several international road ...
and his hometown of
Białystok.
During his retirement, Kaczorowski did not hold any public positions, although it was reported that in November 1994 Prime Minister
Waldemar Pawlak
Waldemar Pawlak (born 5 September 1959) is a Polish politician. He has twice served as Prime Minister of Poland, briefly in 1992 and again from 1993 to 1995. From November 2007 to November 2012 he served as Deputy Prime Minister and the Minist ...
proposed to President Wałęsa to appoint Kaczorowski as Minister of Defence (as, under the then-constitution, the President appointed the Ministers of Defence, the Interior and Foreign Affairs, regardless of the Prime Minister's will). Although he was a self-described follower of
Józef Piłsudski
Józef Klemens Piłsudski (; 5 December 1867 – 12 May 1935) was a Polish statesman who served as the Naczelnik państwa, Chief of State (1918–1922) and Marshal of Poland, First Marshal of Second Polish Republic, Poland (from 1920). He was ...
(''Piłsudczyk''), Kaczorowski chose to not get involved in any partisan or strictly political activity during his retirement.
On 9 November 2004, Kaczorowski was appointed to the
Order of St Michael and St George as an Honorary Knight Grand Cross by
Queen Elizabeth II of the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
for "his exceptional contribution to the community of Polish emigrees and their descendants living in the UK".
Death
He died on 10 April 2010 in a
plane crash near Smolensk, Russia, along 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 ...
and 94 others. He was the oldest victim of the crash.
On 19 April 2010, Kaczorowski's coffin was taken to St John's Cathedral for a funeral mass, before being buried in a crypt at the
National Temple of Divine Providence
The Temple of Divine Providence ( pl, Świątynia Opatrzności Bożej) and Pantheon of Great Poles (in Polish, Panteon Wielkich Polaków, in southern Warsaw's Wilanów district, is a principal Roman Catholic church in Poland. The backstory of i ...
in Warsaw.
Notes
References
* This article is copied in part from the website of the office of th
President of the Republic of Poland which allows free reproduction of its content; se
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External links
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Unofficial website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaczorowski, Ryszard
1919 births
2010 deaths
Foreign Gulag detainees
Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
People from Białystok
Polish resistance members of World War II
Polish Scouts and Guides
State leaders killed in aviation accidents or incidents
Polish military personnel of World War II
Prisoners sentenced to death by the Soviet Union
Presidents of Poland
Polish emigrants to the United Kingdom
Recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta
Recipients of the Pro Memoria Medal
Victims of the Smolensk air disaster
Polish deportees to Soviet Union
Polish people detained by the NKVD
Polish anti-communists
Accidental deaths in Russia
Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)