The Polish People's Party is an agrarian political party in Poland. It is currently led by Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz.
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.
The Polish Round Table Talks took place in Warsaw, Poland, from 6 February to 5 April 1989. The government initiated talks with the banned trade union Solidarność and other opposition groups to defuse growing social unrest.
The Council of State of the Republic of Poland was introduced by the Small Constitution of 1947 as an organ of executive power. The Council of State consisted of the President of the Republic of Poland as chairman, the Marshal and Vice-marshals of the Sejm, President of the Supreme Audit Office, and potential other members. The Council of State had the power to approve decrees issued by the Council of Ministers, exercise supreme control over the local national councils, approve promulgation of laws concerning the budget and military draft, declare a state of emergency and martial law, initiate legislation, and others.
Stanisław Kania was a Polish communist politician who served as the de facto leader of the Polish People's Republic as First Secretary of the ruling Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) between September 1980 and October 1981.
Presidential elections were held in Poland on 25 November 1990, with a second round on 9 December. They were the first direct presidential elections in the history of Poland, and the first free presidential elections since the May Coup of 1926. Before World War II, presidents were elected by the Sejm. From 1952 to 1989—the bulk of the Communist era—the presidency did not exist as a separate institution, and most of its functions were fulfilled by the State Council of Poland, whose chairman was considered the equivalent of a president.
The history of Poland from 1945 to 1989 spans the period of Marxist–Leninist regime in Poland after the end of World War II. These years, while featuring general industrialization, urbanization and many improvements in the standard of living,[a1] were marred by early Stalinist repressions, social unrest, political strife and severe economic difficulties. Near the end of World War II, the advancing Soviet Red Army, along with the Polish Armed Forces in the East, pushed out the Nazi German forces from occupied Poland. In February 1945, the Yalta Conference sanctioned the formation of a provisional government of Poland from a compromise coalition, until postwar elections. Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union, manipulated the implementation of that ruling. A practically communist-controlled Provisional Government of National Unity was formed in Warsaw by ignoring the Polish government-in-exile based in London since 1940.
The Alliance of Democrats is a Polish centre-left party. Initially formed in 1937, the party underwent a revival in 2009, when it was joined by liberal politician Paweł Piskorski, formerly a member of the Civic Platform.
Parliamentary elections were held in Poland on 4 June 1989 to elect members of the Sejm and the recreated Senate, with a second round on 18 June. They were the first elections in the country since the communist government abandoned its monopoly of power in April 1989 and the first elections in the Eastern Bloc that resulted in the communist government losing power.
The People's Party was a Polish political party, active from 1931 in the Second Polish Republic. An agrarian populist party, its power base was mostly farmers and rural population.
The deputy president of the Council of Ministers, colloquially known as the Deputy Prime Minister, is the deputy of the Prime Minister of Poland and a member of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Poland. They can also be one of the Ministers of the Republic of Poland. The Constitution of the Republic does not limit the number of persons who can hold the position of deputy prime minister simultaneously.
Parliamentary elections were held in Poland on 20 January 1957. They were the second election to the Sejm – the unicameral parliament of the People's Republic of Poland, and the third ever in the history of Communist Poland. It took place during the liberalization period, following Władysław Gomułka's ascension to power. Although conducted in a more liberal atmosphere than previous elections, they were far from free. Voters had the option of voting against some official candidates; de facto having a small chance to express a vote of no confidence against the government and the ruling Communist Polish United Workers Party. However, as in all Communist countries, there was no opportunity to elect any true opposition members to the Sejm. The elections resulted in a predictable victory for the Front of National Unity, dominated by the PZPR.
Parliamentary elections were held in Poland on 26 October 1952. They were the first elections to the Sejm, the parliament of the Polish People's Republic. The official rules for the elections were outlined in the new Constitution of the Polish People's Republic and lesser acts.
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 Ministry of National Education is a ministerial department of the government of Poland, established on 1 January 2024 after being separated from the Ministry of Education and Science. The ministry's prerogatives include setting educational standards and youth activities. It does not oversee higher education, which falls under Ministry of Science and Higher Education. The two were created in May 2006 by splitting the Ministry of Education and Science. In January 2021, the two were merged, only to be separated again in 2024.
The Labour Faction was a Polish Christian democratic political party, active from 1937 in the Second Polish Republic and later part of the Polish government in exile. Its founders and main activists were Wojciech Korfanty and Karol Popiel.
Stefan Jędrychowski was a Polish communist politician, economist, and journalist, who served as deputy prime minister, minister of foreign affairs, and minister of finance.
The governments of Bolesław Bierut and Józef Cyrankiewicz were governments led first by Bolesław Bierut from 1952 to 1954, and then by Józef Cyrankiewicz from 1954 to 1956. Bolesław Bierut, who served as President of Poland from 1947 to 1952 and as General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party from 1948 to 1956, was elected Prime Minister of Poland on November 20, 1952, by the 1st Sejm of the People's Republic of Poland, after the first government of Józef Cyrankiewicz resigned. On November 21, 1952, the Sejm appointed the ministers of the Bierut government. The Council of Ministers was composed of 39 members: the Prime Minister, 8 Deputy Prime Ministers and 30 ministers. Four ministries remained vacant. In 1954, Bolesław Bierut was dismissed from the position of Prime Minister and replaced by the former Deputy Prime Minister, Józef Cyrankiewicz. There were major changes in the composition of the Council of Ministers, first caused by the dismissal of Bolesław Bierut in 1954 and later by the events of Polish October. On February 20, 1957, the government submitted the resignation of the cabinet to the 2nd Sejm, which officially ended a week later when the second government of Józef Cyrankiewicz was appointed.
Stefan Ignar, who went by "Kurek" and "Sylwester",. was a Polish communist politician, a member of the rural movement, a soldier in the Peasants' Battalions, a full professor of economic sciences, and the chairman of the United People's Party from 1956 to 1962 and in 1981, as well as the chairman of the Central Board of the Polish-Soviet Friendship Society from 1955 to 1957. He served as a deputy to the Sejm of the Polish People's Republic during the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th convocations of the Sejm of the Polish People's Republic, Deputy Prime Minister of Poland from 1956 to 1969, deputy chairman of the Council of State from 1952 to 1956, and a member of the Council of State from 1969 to 1972.
