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A sołtys () is a head of a
A sołtys () is a head of a sołectwo
A sołectwo ( Polish plural: ''sołectwa'') is an administrative unit in Poland, an optional subdivision of a gmina
The gmina (Polish: , plural ''gminy'' ) is the basic unit of the administrative division of Poland, similar to a municipality. ...
elected by its permanent citizens in a village meeting (''zebranie wiejskie''). According to data from 2010, Poland had 40 thousand sołtys, 30.7% of which were women.
Role and powers
Since 1990, a sołtys is an executive of a sołectwo that is supported by a sołectwo council. The detailed powers, duties and responsibilities of the sołtys are decided in thestatute
A statute is a law or formal written enactment of a legislature. Statutes typically declare, command or prohibit something. Statutes are distinguished from court law and unwritten law (also known as common law) in that they are the expressed wil ...
made by the gmina council. The sołtys can use the legal protection of a civil servant in his favour.
Duties
A sołtys has the duty to: *Represent the sołectwo *Organise village meetings *Introduce laws made by the gmina to the sołectwo *Collect taxes *Participate in gmina council meetingsHistory
The office of the sołtys was introduced during the Partitions of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It varied among countries. InCongress Poland
Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It was established w ...
, a sołtys was an executive branch of a gromada. He was supposed to guard order in the city. In Congress Poland, a gmina was made up of a few gromadas. In the Grand Duchy of Posen a sołtys usually served the role of a village owner.
In 1934, sołectwa were introduced once again to Poland, which mainly held control over business relating to the people.
In 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. ...
, the role of a sołtys was replaced from 1954 to 1958 with a different position, though it was quickly changed to sołtys.''Ustawa z dnia 25 stycznia 1958 r. o radach narodowych'' A sołtys was the executive of a village government which, until 1973, ruled a gromada. From 1973 a sołtys governed a sołectwo.
See also
* Schultheiß * Wójt * Wąchock jokesReferences