Władysław Baka (24 March 1936 – 3 March 2021) was a Polish economist, politician, and banker. He was a in the

Council of Ministers Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...

, President of the

National Bank of Poland The Narodowy Bank Polski (; the National Bank of Poland), often abbreviated to NBP, is the central bank of Poland, founded in 1945. It controls the issuing of Poland's currency, the Polish złoty. The bank is headquartered in Warsaw, and has bra ...

from 1985 to 1988 and again from 1989 to 1991, and served on the

Politburo of the Polish United Workers' Party The Politburo was the highest political organ of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party, which existed from 1948 to 1990. The Politburo typically had between 9 and 15 members at any one time. Usually, several alternates (or c ...

from 1988 to 1989.

Biography

The son of Władysław and Marta, Baka graduated from the at the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw (, ) is a public university, public research university in Warsaw, Poland. Established on November 19, 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country, offering 37 different fields of study as well ...

in 1958. He obtained a doctoral degree in 1971, became an associate professor in 1977, and a full professor in 1989. From 1975 to 1981, he supervised the of the

Polish Academy of Sciences The Polish Academy of Sciences (, PAN) is a Polish state-sponsored institution of higher learning. Headquartered in Warsaw, it is responsible for spearheading the development of science across the country by a society of distinguished scholars a ...

. In 1955, Baka joined the

Polish United Workers' Party The Polish United Workers' Party (, ), commonly abbreviated to PZPR, was the communist party which ruled the Polish People's Republic as a one-party state from 1948 to 1989. The PZPR had led two other legally permitted subordinate minor parti ...

and served on its Central Committee. From 1972 to 1973, he headed the committee's propaganda department and subsequently worked in its economic departments. From 1981 to 1985, he was a minister without portfolio in the Council of Ministers, where he helped to plan economic reform. From 1985 to 1988 and 1989 to 1991, he was president of the National Bank of Poland. He represented the communist government for their social and economic policy in the 1989

Polish Round Table Agreement The Polish Round Table Talks took place in Warsaw, communist Poland, from 6 February to 5 April 1989. The government initiated talks with the banned trade union ''Solidarity'' and other opposition groups to defuse growing social unrest. Hist ...

. He also served on the Consultative Council of the

Polish Council of State The Council of State of the Polish People's Republic, Republic of Poland () was introduced by the Small Constitution of 1947 as an organ of executive (government), executive power. The Council of State consisted of the President of Poland, Presid ...

's chairman. He represented Poland at the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

in the late 1980s. He unsuccessfully ran for the

Sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...

in 1989. In 2005,

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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Aleksander Kwaśniewski Aleksander Kwaśniewski (; born 15 November 1954) is a Polish politician and journalist. He served the maximum two terms as the president of Poland from 1995 to 2005. His tenure as President was marked by modernization of Poland, rapid economi ...

awarded Baka the Grand Cross of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) 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 alien (law), foreigners for outstanding achievements in ...

"in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the development of the financial system in Poland, for achievements in research and teaching". He had previously been awarded the Order's Knight's Cross, Commander's Cross, and the Commander's Cross with Star. Władysław Baka died on 3 March 2021 at the age of 84.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baka, Władysław Polish United Workers' Party members Polish bankers 20th-century Polish economists 1936 births 2021 deaths Government ministers of Poland Governors of the National Bank of Poland University of Warsaw alumni Academic staff of the University of Warsaw Grand Crosses of the Order of Polonia Restituta 21st-century Polish economists