Jan Piłsudski (15 January 1876 – 21 December 1950), was a Polish politician and younger brother of

Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used fo ...

Józef Piłsudski. Like his famous brother, Piłsudski was born in Zalavas (),

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

, in what was then the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. He served in 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' ...

of the Republic of Central Lithuania, and after its annexation to Poland in 1922, in various positions in the Polish government. He was Minister of Finance of Poland from 1931 to 1932. As a result of the defeat following the

Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

in 1939, Piłsudski was forced to flee, but was arrested by the Soviet

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

(Wilno). He was freed as a result of a prisoner exchange in 1941, and went 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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

where he died in exile in 1950 in Penley. He is buried in Wrexham, North East Wales, United Kingdom.

References

1876 births 1950 deaths Ministers of finance of Poland People from Švenčionys District Municipality People from Sventsyansky Uyezd Nonpartisan Bloc for Cooperation with the Government politicians Deputy Marshals of the Sejm of the Second Polish Republic Members of the Sejm of the Republic of Central Lithuania Members of the Sejm of the Second Polish Republic (1928–1930) Members of the Sejm of the Second Polish Republic (1930–1935) Polish people detained by the NKVD Polish deportees to Soviet Union Jan {{Poland-Sejm-politician-stub