Henryk Jan Jabłoński (; 27 December 1909 – 27 January 2003) was a Polish historian and politician. After 1948, he became a politician of the ruling

Polish United Workers' Party The Polish United Workers' Party ( pl, Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza; ), 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 lega ...

, as well as a historian and professor at

Warsaw University The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields of ...

. He served as head of state of the People's Republic of Poland between 1972 and 1985.

Life and career

Jabłoński was born in Stary Waliszew in the Warsaw Governorate of Congress Poland. From 1931, he was a member of the

Polish Socialist Party The Polish Socialist Party ( pl, Polska Partia Socjalistyczna, PPS) is a socialist political party in Poland. It was one of the most important parties in Poland from its inception in 1892 until its merger with the communist Polish Workers' ...

(PPS). During

World War II 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 opposing ...

he fought in the battle of Narvik (

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

) and then joined the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

. In 1945 Jabłoński become a member of the

State National Council Krajowa Rada Narodowa in Polish (translated as State National Council or Homeland National Council, abbreviated to KRN) was a parliament-like political body created during the later stages of World War II in German-occupied Warsaw, Poland. It wa ...

(KRN), and during the years 1946 and 1948 he had high functions in the PPS (chairman of Central State Committee and its vice-leader). He approved joining the PPS with the

Polish Workers' Party The Polish Workers' Party ( pl, Polska Partia Robotnicza, PPR) was a communist party in Poland from 1942 to 1948. It was founded as a reconstitution of the Communist Party of Poland (KPP) and merged with the Polish Socialist Party (PPS) in 194 ...

(PPR, ''Polska Partia Robotnicza''). From 1947 to 1972, he was a deputy to the

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 ...

. In 1948 he was appointed professor at

(from 1952 member of

Polish Academy of Sciences The Polish Academy of Sciences ( pl, Polska Akademia Nauk, 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 o ...

– PAN). Between 1948 and 1981, Henryk Jabłoński was in the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party (KC PZPR). In 1972, on the initiative of

Edward Gierek Edward Gierek (; 6 January 1913 – 29 July 2001) was a Polish Communist politician and ''de facto'' leader of Poland between 1970 and 1980. Gierek replaced Władysław Gomułka as First Secretary of the ruling Polish United Workers' Party (P ...

, Jablonski was chosen the '' de iure'' leader (chairman of the

Council of State A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...

) of the People's Republic of Poland. From 1976 to 1983 he was a chief of the

Front of National Unity :''This is an article about a Polish political organization. For article about a Bolivian political party, see National Unity Front.'' Front of National Unity or National Unity Front ( pl, Front Jedności Narodu, FJN) was a popular front supervis ...

(FJN, ''Front Jedności Narodu''). From 1983 to 1990 he was chief of ZBoWiD, the Society of Fighters for Freedom and Democracy, an organisation of war veterans. In 1985 he was replaced as head of state by General

Wojciech Jaruzelski Wojciech Witold Jaruzelski (; 6 July 1923 – 25 May 2014) was a Polish military officer, politician and ''de facto'' leader of the Polish People's Republic from 1981 until 1989. He was the First Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party b ...

. His wife Jadwiga Jabłońska died in 1999.

Honours and awards

*Grand Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta, earlier Commander's Cross * Order of the Builders of People's Poland * Order of the Banner of Labour (Poland), 1st class * Order of the Cross of Grunwald, 3rd class * Deed Combat Cross Polish Armed Forces in the West (1989) *Gold Medal of Merit for National Defence * Great Star of Honour of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Austria *Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold (Belgium) *

Order of Georgi Dimitrov The Order of Georgi Dimitrov (or Order of Georgy Dimitrov, bg, Орден Георги Димитров) was the highest award of the People's Republic of Bulgaria. It was instituted on 17 June 1950 and awarded to Bulgarians and foreigners for out ...

(Bulgaria) *

Order of the White Lion The Order of the White Lion ( cs, Řád Bílého lva) is the highest order of the Czech Republic. It continues a Czechoslovak order of the same name created in 1922 as an award for foreigners (Czechoslovakia had no civilian decoration for its ...

, First Class with Chain ( CSSR) *Grand Cross of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

(France) * Order of the Two Rivers, 1st Class (Iraq) * Order of José Marti (Cuba) *Collars of the

Order of the Aztec Eagle The Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle ( es, Orden Mexicana del Águila Azteca) forms part of the Mexican Honours System and is the highest Mexican order awarded to foreigners in the country. History It was created by decree on December 29, 1933 ...

(Mexico) * Order of Sukhbaatar (Mongolia) *Great Chain of the Order of Prince Henry the Navigator (Portugal) *Great Banner of the Order of the Umayyads (Syria) * Order of the Flag of the Republic of Hungary, 1st class *

Order of the October Revolution The Order of the October Revolution (russian: Орден Октябрьской Революции, ''Orden Oktyabr'skoy Revolyutsii'') was instituted on October 31, 1967, in time for the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. It was conferr ...

(USSR) * Order of Friendship of Peoples (USSR) *

Order of the Badge of Honour The Order of the Badge of Honour (russian: орден «Знак Почёта», orden "Znak Pochyota") was a civilian award of the Soviet Union. It was established on 25 November 1935, and was conferred on citizens of the USSR for outstanding ...

(USSR) *State Award, Grade II – 1955 *State Prize – 1964 *Special National Award – 1979

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jablonski, Henryk 1909 births 2003 deaths People from Łowicz County People from Warsaw Governorate Politicians from Warsaw Polish Socialist Party politicians Members of the Politburo of the Polish United Workers' Party Heads of state of the Polish People's Republic Education ministers of Poland Government ministers of Poland 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 Members of the Polish Sejm 1972–1976 Members of the Polish Sejm 1976–1980 Members of the Polish Sejm 1980–1985 Polish People's Army generals French Resistance members Members of the Polish Academy of Sciences Foreign Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences Foreign Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences University of Warsaw faculty Recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta (1944–1989) Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur Recipients of the Order of the Builders of People's Poland Recipients of the Order of the Banner of Work Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Grunwald, 3rd class Grand Collars of the Order of Prince Henry Collars of the Order of the White Lion Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples Recipients of the Order of Georgi Dimitrov Recipients of the State Award Badge (Poland)