Stanisław Ostrowski (29 October 1892 – 22 November 1982) was a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

politician, best known for serving as the last Polish Mayor of

Lwow Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukrain ...

, and was

President of Poland The president of Poland ( pl, Prezydent RP), officially the president of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Prezydent Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej), is the head of state of Poland. Their rights and obligations are determined in the Constitution of Pola ...

- in-exile.

Life and career

Ostrowski was born in Lemberg,

Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria,, ; pl, Królestwo Galicji i Lodomerii, ; uk, Королівство Галичини та Володимирії, Korolivstvo Halychyny ta Volodymyrii; la, Rēgnum Galiciae et Lodomeriae also known as ...

. His father, Michał Ostrowski, had earlier fought in the pro-Polish January Uprising of 1863 for which he was sent to the Russian

katorga Katorga ( rus, ка́торга, p=ˈkatərɡə; from medieval and modern Greek: ''katergon, κάτεργον'', " galley") was a system of penal labor in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union (see Katorga labor in the Soviet Union). Prisone ...

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...

. Stanisław Ostrowski studied medicine at Lwow University. During the Polish-Ukrainian War (

battle of Lwów (1918) The Battle of Lemberg (Lviv, Lwów) (in Polish historiography called ', the Defense of Lwów) took place from November 1918 to May 1919 and was a six-month long conflict in the region of Galicia following the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian ...

) and the Polish-Bolshevik War (1919–1920) Ostrowski participated as a physician with the Polish Army. Following these conflicts he became Vice Mayor, and later Mayor, of Lwow. He was also a three-term member of 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 ...

from the BBWR Bloc. As a legislator he focused on health affairs as well as developing a reputation of being a defender of minorities' rights. After the

Soviet invasion of Poland (1939) 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 ...

, he was arrested and imprisoned in Moscow (until 1941). Among his fellow prisoners was

Anandyn Amar Anandyn Amar ( mn, Анандын Амар; 1886 – July 10, 1941) was the head of state of the Mongolian People’s Republic from 1932 to 1936 and twice served as prime minister from 1928–1930 and again from 1936–1939. A widely respected p ...

, former Prime Minister and President of

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

. He was released from Soviet captivity on amnesty following the Sikorski–Mayski agreement as an officer of the Polish Army in the East by efforts of (commander-in-chief general

Władysław Anders ) , birth_name = Władysław Albert Anders , birth_date = , birth_place = Krośniewice-Błonie, Warsaw Governorate, Congress Poland, Russian Empire , death_date = , death_place = London, England, United Kingdom , serviceyear ...

) in 1942. In 1944–1945 he participated in the anti-Nazi Germany Italian campaign as a physician of military hospitals. When World War II ended, he moved to England and became involved in the politics of the Polish community there, which included the Polish government in exile. Ostrowski was the third president of Poland in exile (1972–1979). He took office after death of President

August Zaleski August Zaleski (13 September 1883 – 7 April 1972) was a Polish economist, freemason, politician, and diplomat. Twice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland, he served as President of Poland- in-exile. Life and career A ...

. To begin with he had to deal with a deep crisis within the emigre circles. Zaleski, despite earlier promises, declined to step down after seven years in office (1954), which caused formation of the Council of Three, an opposition body, recognized by a part of the emigres as a collective head of state. Ostrowski's selection was recognized by the council, which then dissolved itself. Because of that Ostrowski is credited for uniting Polish emigree circles. He also strongly refused to acknowledge annexation of the eastern areas of the Second Polish Republic by the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

after World War II. As promised, President Ostrowski stepped down after a seven-years term in favor of

Edward Bernard Raczyński Count Edward Bernard Raczyński (December 19, 1891 – July 30, 1993) was a Polish diplomat, writer, politician, President of Poland- in-exile (between 1979 and 1986). He was the longest living (101), and oldest serving Polish President (f ...

. Ostrowski died in London and was buried in a Polish military cemetery in

Newark-on-Trent Newark-on-Trent or Newark () is a market town and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district in Nottinghamshire, England. It is on the River Trent, and was historically a major inland port. The A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road bypasses th ...

, along with

and

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 st ...

, other past Presidents in exile. In November 2022, the trio's remains were moved from the cemetery at Newark-on-Trent in England to the mausoleum for emigree presidents at the

Temple of Divine Providence The Temple of Divine Providence ( pl, Świątynia Opatrzności Bożej) and Pantheon of Great Poles (in Polish, Panteon Wielkich Polaków, in southern Warsaw's Wilanów district, is a principal Roman Catholic church in Poland. The backstory of i ...

in Warsaw. In 1987 a plaque dedicated to Ostrowski was unveiled in the St. Stanislaus Kostka Church, Warsaw. Ostrowski died without children.

References

Biography from an official Presidential website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ostrowski, Stanislaw 1892 births 1982 deaths People from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria Polish Austro-Hungarians Nonpartisan Bloc for Cooperation with the Government politicians Camp of National Unity politicians Members of the Sejm of the Second Polish Republic (1930–1935) Members of the Sejm of the Second Polish Republic (1935–1938) Members of the Sejm of the Second Polish Republic (1938–1939) Mayors of Lviv Polish anti-communists 20th-century Polish physicians Polish people of the Polish–Ukrainian War Polish people of the Polish–Soviet War Polish deportees to Soviet Union Foreign Gulag detainees Polish military doctors

Life and career

See also

References