Eustachy Kajetan Sapieha (2 August 1881 – 20 February 1963) was a Polish nobleman,

prince A prince is a Monarch, male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary title, hereditary, in s ...

of the Sapieha family, politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs, and deputy to the Polish parliament (

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 ...

Politics

In 1900–04, he studied forestry in Zurich and afterwards earned a degree as an engineer. He was a conservative activist from

Kresy Eastern Borderlands ( pl, Kresy Wschodnie) or simply Borderlands ( pl, Kresy, ) was a term coined for the eastern part of the Second Polish Republic during the History of Poland (1918–1939), interwar period (1918–1939). Largely agricultural ...

, and worked with the German installed Regency Council and

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 ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

. In 1917 he unsuccessfully negotiated with the Polish National Committee. Afterwards, disappointed with Piłsudski's leftist policies, he was an organizer of the failed 1919 ''coup d'état''; despite that, he subsequently worked with Piłsudski and supported him. During the Polish-Soviet War, he served in the cavalry.

Diplomatic career

On 16 June 1919, Sapieha was delegated as the ambassador of Poland to 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 ...

. On 4 June 1920 he and Erazm Piltz, representing the Polish government, signed the

Treaty of Trianon The Treaty of Trianon (french: Traité de Trianon, hu, Trianoni békeszerződés, it, Trattato del Trianon) was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference and was signed in the Grand Trianon château in Versailles on 4 June 1920. It formal ...

in Paris. In 1920, he was chosen by

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier 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. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Władysław Grabski to be Minister of Foreign Affairs. Although he successfully negotiated several agreements with Western powers, he was faced with the delicate situation over the plebiscites in

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( pl, Górny Śląsk; szl, Gůrny Ślůnsk, Gōrny Ślōnsk; cs, Horní Slezsko; german: Oberschlesien; Silesian German: ; la, Silesia Superior) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, locate ...

. On 24 March 1921 the British Embassy at

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 official ...

wrote to Earl Curzon in London to say that he had just called upon Prince Sapieha whom he found "very depressed at the result of voting in Upper Silesia, which has on the whole turned out far worse than the Polish Government had anticipated...He agreed with me that the victory reports in the newspapers were foolish and any public rejoicing regrettable."Medlicott, Prof.W.N., Dakin, Douglas, M.A., Lambert, M.E., M.A., editors, ''Documents on British Foreign Policy 1919-1939, First series, vol.xvi, HMSO, London, 1968, p.2. His negotiations over federation with Lithuania also failed and, faced with criticism from the National Democrats, he resigned his post later in the year.

Parliament and WWII

In 1928–29 he was a Sejm deputy from the Nonpartisan Bloc for Cooperation with the Government. After the

Soviet invasion of Poland The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military operation by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the west. Subs ...

in 1939 he was arrested by the Soviets and imprisoned in the Lubyanka prison. After the Sikorski-Mayski Agreement, he joined Anders' Army. In 1941 he travelled to Kenya. He did not return to post-war communist Poland, and remained in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city prope ...

. In 1956 he was awarded the Order of the White Eagle by the Polish government in exile.

References

1881 births 1963 deaths People from Lviv Oblast People from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria Polish Austro-Hungarians Eustachy Sapieha Nonpartisan Bloc for Cooperation with the Government politicians Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Poland Members of the Sejm of the Second Polish Republic (1928–1930) Ambassadors of Poland to the United Kingdom People educated at Eton College Polish people of the Polish–Soviet War Polish people detained by the NKVD Polish deportees to Soviet Union Foreign Gulag detainees Polish exiles Recipients of the Order of the Star of Romania {{Poland-politician-stub