This article lists the heads of state of Poland. Currently, the
President of Poland
The president of Poland ( ), officially the president of the Republic of Poland (), is the head of state of Poland. His or her prerogatives and duties are determined in the Constitution of Poland. The president jointly exercises the executive ...
is the
head of state
A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "he head of state
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads
* He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English
* He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana)
* Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...
being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...
of the country.
Poland in the Early Middle Ages
Legendary rulers
Most of these rulers appear for the first time in chronicles from the 13th century.
Semi-legendary dukes of the Polans in
Greater Poland
Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; ), is a Polish Polish historical regions, historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed by Kalisz, the oldest city in Poland.
The bound ...
Several historians tend to believe that three legendary rulers of early Poland before Mieszko I might actually be historical persons. They appear in the oldest Polish chronicle, ''
Gesta principum Polonorum
The (; "''Deeds of the Princes of the Poles''") is the oldest known medieval chronicle documenting the history of Poland from the legendary times until 1113. Written in Latin by an anonymous author, it was most likely completed between 1112 an ...
'' from the early 12th century.
Kingdom of Poland and Duchy of Poland (966–1569)
Piast dukes and kings
Fragmentation of the Kingdom of Poland, 1138–1314
Piast high dukes
Reunification attempts in the Kingdom of Poland 1232–1305
=Piast kings
=
=Přemyslid kings
=
Reunited Kingdom of Poland, 1314–1569
Piast kings
Anjou kings
Jagiellonian kings
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1795)
Duchy of Warsaw (1807–1815)
Republic of Poland (1918–1939)
Chief of State
President of the Republic
Government of the Republic of Poland in Exile (1939–1990)
After the German conquest of Poland, a Polish government-in-exile was formed under the protection of
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
and
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales
* The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...
. The President of the Republic and the government-in-exile were recognised by the United Kingdom and, later, by the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
until 6 July 1945, when the Western Allies accepted the Communist-led government backed by
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
. Despite having lost recognition by other governments, the government-in-exile continued in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
until the election of
Lech Wałęsa
Lech Wałęsa (; ; born 29 September 1943) is a Polish statesman, dissident, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who served as the president of Poland between 1990 and 1995. After winning the 1990 Polish presidential election, 1990 election, Wałę ...
as President of the Republic of Poland in December 1990, upon which it handed over its formal powers and the insignia of the Polish Second Republic to President-elect Wałęsa in a ceremony at the
Warsaw Royal Castle on 22 December 1990.
The sole internationally recognised president of the exiled government was
Władysław Raczkiewicz
Władysław Raczkiewicz (; 28 January 1885 – 6 June 1947) was a Polish politician, lawyer, diplomat and President of Poland-in-exile from 1939 until his death in 1947. Until 1945, he was the internationally recognized Polish head of state, ...
, who took office after Ignacy Mościcki's resignation in September 1939.
Polish People's Republic (1944–1989)
President of the State National Council
The
Provisional Government of the Republic of Poland
The Provisional Government of the Republic of Poland (, RTRP) was created by the State National Council () on the night of 31 December 1944.Norman Davies, 1982 and several reprints, ''God's Playground'' 2 vols. New York: Columbia Univ. Press. a ...
was founded under Soviet protection on 31 December 1944 and recognised by the United States and the United Kingdom since 6 July 1945. It evolved into the
Government of National Unity
A national unity government, government of national unity (GNU), or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other nati ...
on 28 June 1945, and eventually into the
Polish People's Republic
The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. ...
on 19 February 1947.
President of the Republic
Chairman of the Council of State
In 1952, the
July Constitution abolished the office of president and made the Council of State the collective head of state, chairmen of which are listed below. Real power rested with 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 ...
(PZPR), its Central Committee, and the
secretary general/first secretary.
First Secretaries of the Polish Workers' Party (PPR)/Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR)
Since 1954, the head of the party was also the Chairman of the Central Committee.
* By the second half of 1989, the office of First Secretary, occupied at the time by Mieczysław Rakowski, ceased to hold any real power.
Republic of Poland (1989–present)
President of the Republic
Timeline since 1918
See also
*
List of Polish monarchs
Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...
*
Prime Minister of Poland
A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only wa ...
**
List of prime ministers of Poland
This is a list of the prime ministers of Poland. The Prime Minister of Poland is both the leader of the cabinet and the head of government of Poland.
Great Chancellors of Poland (1107–1795)
Prime Ministers of the Duchy of Warsaw (1807–181 ...
References
{{Years in Poland
*List
Polish presidents
Heads of state
A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "he head of state
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads
* He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English
* He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana)
* Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...
being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...