Stanisław Leon Kulczyński (9 May 1895 – 12 July 1975) was a Polish botanist and politician. Son of

Władysław Kulczyński Władysław Kulczyński (27 March 1854, Kraków – 9 December 1919, Kraków) was a Polish zoologist who specialised in arachnology Arachnology is the scientific study of arachnids, which comprise spiders and related invertebrates such as scor ...

the zoologist. Professor of

Lwów University The University of Lviv ( uk, Львівський університет, Lvivskyi universytet; pl, Uniwersytet Lwowski; german: Universität Lemberg, briefly known as the ''Theresianum'' in the early 19th century), presently the Ivan Franko Na ...

(in the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of ...

, its

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

from 1936). He resigned his position at the university in 1938 in protest of the institution of

ghetto benches Ghetto benches (known in Polish as ''getto ławkowe'') was a form of official segregation in the seating of university students, introduced in 1935 at the Lwow Polytechnic. Rectors at other higher education institutions in the Second Polish Rep ...

, writing to the Minister of Education that "if one destroys a power plant, it is dark at once, but if one destroys the Universities, it is dark fifty years hence." Member of the

Polish Secret State The Polish Underground State ( pl, Polskie Państwo Podziemne, also known as the Polish Secret State) was a single political and military entity formed by the union of resistance organizations in occupied Poland that were loyal to the Gover ...

, he took part in underground

education in Poland during World War II World War II saw the cultivation of underground education in Poland ( pl, Tajne szkolnictwo, or '). Secretly conducted education prepared scholars and workers for the postwar reconstruction of Poland and countered German and Soviet threats to era ...

. After the war, when

Lwów Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

was annexed by the

Soviet Union 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 national ...

, he moved to "

Regained Territories The Recovered Territories or Regained Lands ( pl, Ziemie Odzyskane), also known as Western Borderlands ( pl, Kresy Zachodnie), and previously as Western and Northern Territories ( pl, Ziemie Zachodnie i Północne), Postulated Territories ( pl, Z ...

" (

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 ...

), where he became active in the

Wrocław University 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, ro ...

and Wrocław Politechnic. He joined the

Stronnictwo Demokratyczne The Alliance of Democrats ( pl, Stronnictwo Demokratyczne, SD) is a Polish centrist party. Initially formed in 1937, the party underwent a revival in 2009, when it was joined by liberal politician Paweł Piskorski, formerly a member of Civic ...

party, was elected to

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 t ...

and was a member of several governmental commissions. Stanislaw Kulczynski was deputy chairman of the

Polish Council of State The Council of State of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Rada Państwa) was introduced by the Small Constitution of 1947 as an organ of executive power. The Council of State consisted of the President of the Republic of Poland as chairman, the Marsh ...

1956–1969 and as such one of four acting chairmen of the Chairmen of the Council of State (

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 ...

) from 7 to 12 August 1964.

Honours and awards

Kulczyński was awarded the

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

(1964), the Order of the Banner of Labour 1st class, and the 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 decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on al ...

. In 1963, the

University of Wroclaw A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

, Wroclaw University of Technology awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1965.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kulczynski, Stanislaw 1895 births 1975 deaths Politicians from Kraków Politicians from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria Alliance of Democrats (Poland) politicians Members of the State National Council Members of the Polish Sejm 1947–1952 Members of the Polish Sejm 1952–1956 Members of the Polish Sejm 1957–1961 Members of the Polish Sejm 1961–1965 Members of the Polish Sejm 1965–1969 Members of the Polish Sejm 1969–1972 20th-century Polish botanists University of Lviv rectors Academic staff of the University of Wrocław Grand Crosses of the Order of Polonia Restituta Commanders of the Order of Polonia Restituta Officers of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Order of the Builders of People's Poland Recipients of the Order of the Banner of Work