State Defense Committee (Poland)

Last updated
State Defense Committee
Komitet Obrony Kraju
Agency overview
Formed18 February 1959;65 years ago (1959-02-18)
Jurisdiction Poland
Headquarters Warsaw, Poland
Agency executive

State Defense Committee (Polish : Komitet Obrony Kraju; KOK) was a government organization which existed from 1959 in the Polish People's Republic and continued to exist following the demise of the communist system, until 2002 when it was dissolved.

Contents

History

The process of creatin of a body which would create and coordinated integrated state defense system in the Polish People's Republic began in the mid-50s Poland in the mid 50s. In a document dated 3 November 1955, a note was written with the handwritten signature of Prime Minister Józef Cyrankiewicz. It contained the first official information about the planned State Defense Committee. [1] For this, a body with political and military competences was needed. The National Defense Committee was established by Resolution No. 66 of the Council of Ministers of February 18, 1959. In times of peace, the committee had the authority to coordinate and supervise the implementation of defense tasks by other state authorities on an ongoing basis, while in state of emergency the committee was empowered to take over full power which was composed of the leadership of the party and the government under the leadership of the Prime Minister. The priority task of KOK was an attempt to develop a concept of the functioning of central and local authorities during war and to synchronize the states of combat readiness of operational troops with the states of defense readiness of the state. [2]

The committee was to consist of eleven members responsible for appropriately grouped ministries and state institutions, with specified minimum personnel necessary for their functioning. The Committee gained legal authority under the Act on the general duty to defend of November 21, 1967, which entrusted it with determining threats to state security and managing all related matters. The KOK resolution of December 7, 1981 extended the competences of provincial defense committees, thanks to which they were to be structures responsible for introducing and maintaining martial law. Despite this, with some exceptions, provincial defense committees did not play a significant role during martial law. After martial law, the Act of 1983 allowed any person appointed by the Sejm (the 1st Secretary of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party) to become the chairman of the State Committee. Moreover, the chairman of the KOK gained competences in the event of a state of emergency newly introduced into the legislation, and in the event of its introduction, he would become the commander-in-chief of the state's armed forces, while the committee itself was to lead the restoration of order in the state. [3]

Following the fall of the communist system in Poland, the National Defense Committee was subordinated to the National Security Bureau until it was formally dissolved in 2002.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sejm</span> Lower house of Polands national legislature

The Sejm, officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland, is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prime Minister of Poland</span> Head of government of Poland

The president of the Council of Ministers, colloquially and commonly referred to as the prime minister, is the head of the cabinet and the head of government of Poland. The responsibilities and traditions of the office stem from the creation of the contemporary Polish state, and the office is defined in the Constitution of Poland. According to the Constitution, the president nominates and appoints the prime minister, who will then propose the composition of the Cabinet. Fourteen days following their appointment, the prime minister must submit a programme outlining the government's agenda to the Sejm, requiring a vote of confidence. Conflicts stemming from both interest and powers have arisen between the offices of President and Prime Minister in the past.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polish United Workers' Party</span> Ruling party of Poland from 1948 to 1989

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 parties together as the Front of National Unity and later Patriotic Movement for National Rebirth. Ideologically, it was based on the theories of Marxism-Leninism, with a strong emphasis on left-wing nationalism. The Polish United Workers' Party had total control over public institutions in the country as well as the Polish People's Army, the UB and SB security agencies, the Citizens' Militia (MO) police force and the media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martial law</span> Imposition of direct military control or suspension of civil law by a government

Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties may be suspended for as long as martial law continues. Most often, martial law is declared in times of war and/or emergencies such as civil unrest and natural disasters. Alternatively, martial law may be declared in instances of military coup d'états.

The government of Poland takes the form of a unitary parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the president is the head of state and the prime minister is the head of government. However, its form of government has also been identified as semi-presidential.

Voivode, also spelled voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode, voivoda, vojvoda or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe in use since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the medieval rulers of the Romanian-inhabited states and of governors and military commanders of Ukrainian Cossacks, Hungarian, Balkan, Russian people and other Slavic-speaking populations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Józef Oleksy</span> 7th Prime Minister of Poland

Józef Oleksy was a Polish left-wing politician who served as Prime Minister of Poland from 7 March 1995 to 7 February 1996, when he resigned due to espionage allegations. He was chairman of the Democratic Left Alliance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zbigniew Messner</span> Polish Communist economist and politician (1929–2014)

Zbigniew Stefan Messner was a Polish communist politician and economist. His ancestors were of German Polish descent who had assimilated into Polish society. In 1972, he became Professor of Karol Adamiecki University of Economics in Katowice. In the 1980s, Messner held numerous high ranking posts within communist party apparatus. He was a member of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) from 1981 to 1990, when PZPR was dissolved, member of the PZPR Politburo from 1981 to 1988, Deputy Prime Minister from 1983 to 1985, member of Sejm from 1985 to 1989, Prime Minister of Polish People's Republic from 1985 to 1988 and member of the State Council of the Polish People's Republic from 1988 to 1989. Additionally in the 1960s Messner was the chairman of Piast Gliwice football club.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Council of Ministers (Poland)</span> Cabinet of Poland

The Council of Ministers of the Republic of Poland is the collective executive decision-making body of the Polish government. The cabinet consists of the Prime Minister, also known as the President of the Council of Ministers, the Deputy Prime Minister, who acts as a vice-chairman of the council, and other ministers. The current competences and procedures of the cabinet are described between Articles 146 to 162 of the constitution.

The Committee for Social Self-Defense KOR or KSS KOR was a Polish civil society group that emerged under the communist rule. It was created in 1977-1978 from the Workers' Defense Committee. It was one of the movements whose activities led to the creation of Solidarity. The KOR was absorbed into Solidarity in 1981.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constitution of the Polish People's Republic</span> Polish constitution passed by polish communists in Polish People Republic

The Constitution of the Polish People's Republic was a supreme law passed in communist-ruled Poland on 22 July 1952. It superseded the post-World War II provisional Small Constitution of 1947, which in turn replaced the pre-war April Constitution of 1935.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jan Józef Lipski</span> Polish critic, literature historian, politician and freemason

Jan Józef Lipski was a Polish critic, literature historian, politician and freemason. As a soldier of the Home Army, he fought in the Warsaw Uprising. Editor of collected works by Jan Kasprowicz, Benedykt Chmielowski and Gabriela Zapolska.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Solidarity</span> History of the Polish trade union

Solidarity, a Polish non-governmental trade union, was founded on August 14, 1980, at the Lenin Shipyards by Lech Wałęsa and others. In the early 1980s, it became the first independent labor union in a Soviet-bloc country. Solidarity gave rise to a broad, non-violent, anti-Communist social movement that, at its height, claimed some 9.4 million members. It is considered to have contributed greatly to the Fall of Communism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patriotic Movement for National Rebirth</span> Political party in Poland

Patriotyczny Ruch Odrodzenia Narodowego was a Polish popular front that ruled the Polish People's Republic. It was created in the aftermath of the martial law in Poland (1982). Gathering various pro-communist and pro-government organizations, it was attempted to show unity and support for the government and the Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR). PRON was created in July 1982 and dissolved in November 1989.

The Council of National Defense was an extraordinary temporary governmental body created by a decree of the Sejm of the Second Polish Republic, of 1 July 1920.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Territorial Defense Forces (Poland)</span> Military unit

The Territorial Defense Forces was an armed force responsible for the internal security of Poland and separate from the Polish Army. The OTK existed from 1965 until 2008. As initially organized, OTK forces included both an "Internal Defense Army" and the "Border Defense Force". This style of internal security organization corresponded to that used by the Soviet Union during the same period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Committee for the Defence of Democracy</span>

The Committee for the Defence of Democracy, CDD is a Polish-born civic organization and NGO with goals that includes promoting the European values, especially democracy, rule of law, and human rights. It was founded in November 2015 by a group of citizens including Mateusz Kijowski, in anticipation of the Polish constitutional crisis, 2015. The organization declares its independence of any political parties and states that it has no intention to transform into one. It opposed the actions of the government led by the Law and Justice (PiS) party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Main Directorate of Special Programs of the President of the Russian Federation</span> Russian federal government agency

The Main Directorate of Special Programs of the President of the Russian Federation, abbreviated as GUSP is a federal executive agency that performs functions to ensure the fulfillment of the authority of the President of the Russian Federation in the field of mobilization training and mobilization in the Russian Federation. The scope of their competence is described in the Federal Law "On Mobilization Preparation and Mobilization in the Russian Federation."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aleksander Smolar</span>

Aleksander Smolar is a Polish writer, political activist and adviser, vice-president of Institute for Human Sciences and president of the Stefan Batory Foundation. He is son of prominent communist activist Grzegorz Smolar.

Internal Defense Forces was one of the types of troops of the Polish People's Army.

References

  1. ↑ Mrówka, Przemysław (2012). "Komitet Obrony Kraju: struktura i zadania w latach 1959-1973" (PDF). Niepodległość i Pamięć (in Polish). 1 (19): 161–162.
  2. ↑ Kuliczkowski, Marian (2016). Pozamilitarne przygotowania obronne w Polsce (in Polish). Warsaw: Akademia Obrony Narodowej. pp. 16–17.
  3. ↑ "Ustawa z dnia 21 listopada 1983 r. o zmianie ustawy o powszechnym obowiązku obrony Polskiej Rzeczypospolitej Ludowej" (in Polish). Sejm. 1983-11-21. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.