Zbigniew Pełczyński (, 29 December 1925 – 22 June 2021) was a Polish-British
political philosopher
Political philosophy studies the theoretical and conceptual foundations of politics. It examines the nature, scope, and legitimacy of political institutions, such as states. This field investigates different forms of government, ranging from de ...
and academic. He taught politics at
Pembroke College, Oxford
Pembroke College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, is located on Pembroke Square, Oxford. The college was founded in 1624 by King James I of England and VI of Scotland, using in part the endowment of merchant Thomas Tesdale ...
, from 1957 to 1992, and was later an
Emeritus Fellow
''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus".
In some ca ...
of the college. Pełczyński was instrumental in providing opportunities for scholars from Poland and other post-communist countries to study at British universities, especially at Oxford and Cambridge.
Early life and education
Pełczyński was born in
Grodzisk Mazowiecki
Grodzisk Mazowiecki () is a town in central Poland, the capital of Grodzisk Mazowiecki County in the Masovian Voivodeship, with 34,718 inhabitants (2024).
Grodzisk Mazowiecki is a town that developed from an Early Middle Ages, early medieval forti ...
, Poland in December 1925. He fought in the 1944
Warsaw Uprising
The Warsaw Uprising (; ), sometimes referred to as the August Uprising (), or the Battle of Warsaw, was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from ...
and was taken prisoner by the Germans. After the war Pełczyński settled in Britain, where he attended
St. Andrews University in Scotland. In 1956, he completed his
D.Phil. thesis at
Oxford University
The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...
on
Hegel
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a 19th-century German idealism, German idealist. His influence extends across a wide range of topics from metaphysical issues in epistemology and ontology, to political phi ...
's minor political works.
Academic career
After 1956, Pełczyński made regular visits to Poland and was instrumental in developing several programmes for the education of students from communist Europe at Oxford. In 1982, he was instrumental in establishing a scholarship program for Polish students at Oxford. Then in 1986, through collaboration with the Hungarian-American philanthropist
George Soros
George Soros (born György Schwartz; August 12, 1930) is an American investor and philanthropist. , he has a net worth of US$7.2 billion, Note that this site is updated daily. having donated more than $32 billion to the Open Society Foundat ...
, who earlier had established the
Open Society Foundations
Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is an American grantmaking network founded by business magnate George Soros. Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the world, with the s ...
, scholarships became available for Hungarian students at Oxford and the
Stefan Batory Foundation was established in Poland. The programme widened with participation from
Cambridge University
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
,
Manchester University
The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...
, and other British universities.
In the United States, Pełczyński became well known for having been the politics tutor at
Oxford University
The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...
for the
Rhodes Scholar
The Rhodes Scholarship is an international Postgraduate education, postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world.
Esta ...
and future President
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
. Other famous students include prime minister of Hungary
Viktor Orbán
Viktor Mihály Orbán (; born 31 May 1963) is a Hungarian lawyer and politician who has been the 56th prime minister of Hungary since 2010, previously holding the office from 1998 to 2002. He has also led the Fidesz political party since 200 ...
, former Polish
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...
Radek Sikorski Radek is a masculine Christian name of Slavic origin. It is often nickname of Radovan, Ctirad and Radoslav. It is used as a surname and given name. Notable people with the name include:
Given name
* Radek Baborák, Czech conductor and French ...
and journalist and biographer
Walter Isaacson
Walter Seff Isaacson (born May 20, 1952) is an American journalist who has written biographies of Henry Kissinger, Benjamin Franklin, Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, Jennifer Doudna and Elon Musk. As of 2024, Isaacson is a profes ...
.
Pełczyński was an honorary member of the Polish academic society ''
Collegium Invisibile
Collegium Invisibile is an Learned society, academic society founded in 1995 in Warsaw, Poland, Warsaw that affiliates outstanding Polish students in the humanities and science with distinguished scholars in accordance with the idea of a libera ...
'', a prestigious institution that offers tuition for outstanding Polish students.
Public and political activity
In 1990s Pełczyński was advising the Constitutional Committee of the
Polish 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' ...
(lower chamber of the parliament), which was working on the new
Constitution of the Republic of Poland
The Constitution of the Republic of Poland ( or ''Konstytucja RP'' for short) is the supreme law of the Republic of Poland, which is also commonly called the Third Polish Republic ( or ''III RP'' for short) in contrast with the preceding system ...
. He was an advisor to the Chief of the
Chancellery of the Prime Minister of Poland
The Chancellery of the Prime Minister of Poland ( Polish: ''Kancelaria Prezesa Rady Ministrów - lit. Chancellery of the President of the Council of Ministers''), or KPRM, is the executive office for the Prime Minister of Poland. Created under the ...
on government institutional reforms and was a member of
Prime Minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
's Council on the education of civil servants. He was consulting the
European Economic Union and the
OECD
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...
on government reforms and public administration in Poland.
He was the founder and a chairman of the Stefan Batory Trust in Oxford, and a member of the Polonia Aid Foundation Trust in London.
In 1994 Pełczyński founded the School for Young Social and Political Leaders in Warsaw. The organization, which subsequently changed its name to the School for Leaders Society, states as one of its goals "creating
social capital
Social capital is a concept used in sociology and economics to define networks of relationships which are productive towards advancing the goals of individuals and groups.
It involves the effective functioning of social groups through interper ...
based on leadership".
Published works
* ''Hegel's political writings'' translated by T. M. Knox; with an introductory essay by Z. A. Pełczyński. (1964; 1998)
* ''Hegel's political philosophy: problems and perspectives: a collection of new essays'' edited by Z. A. Pełczyński. (1971; 1975)
* ''The History of Poland since 1863'' R. F. Leslie ...
et al.; edited by R. F. Leslie. (1980)
* ''Poland: The Road From Communism'' "Special R. B. McCallum lecture, 29 May 1982." (1982)
* ''Conceptions of liberty in political philosophy'' edited by Zbigniew Pełczyński and
John N. Gray
John Nicholas Gray (born 17 April 1948) is an English political philosopher and author with interests in analytic philosophy, the history of ideas, and philosophical pessimism. He retired in 2008 as School Professor of European Thought at the L ...
. (1984)
* ''The state and civil society: studies in Hegel's
political philosophy
Political philosophy studies the theoretical and conceptual foundations of politics. It examines the nature, scope, and Political legitimacy, legitimacy of political institutions, such as State (polity), states. This field investigates different ...
'' (1984)
* ''Wolność, państwo, społeczeństwo: Hegel a problemy współczesnej filozofii politycznej'' (1998)
A biography of Pełczyński by his former student David McAvoy was published in 2012: Zbigniew Pelczynski: A Life Remembered (Guilford, Surrey: Grosvenor House Publishing, 2012).
References
External links
''Witness'' – BBC World Service interview with Pełczyński about his experiences in the Warsaw Uprising*Z. A. Pelczynski
1984.
* Maria Kruckzkoska,
Oksford w Warszawie" ''Magazyn Gazety Wyborczej'', 10 January 1997
Dr Zbigniew Pełczyński OBE- Pembroke College, Oxford
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pelczynski, Zbigniew
1925 births
2021 deaths
Alumni of Nuffield College, Oxford
Alumni of the University of Oxford
Alumni of the University of St Andrews
Polish emigrants to the United Kingdom
British political philosophers
Fellows of Collegium Invisibile
Fellows of Pembroke College, Oxford
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
Recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta
Polish academics
People from Grodzisk Mazowiecki
Warsaw Uprising insurgents