Kazimierz Świtalski | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Prime Minister of Poland | |
| In office 14 April 1929 – 29 December 1929 | |
| President | Ignacy Mościcki |
| Preceded by | Kazimierz Bartel |
| Succeeded by | Kazimierz Bartel |
| Marshal of the Sejm | |
| In office 9 December 1930 – 3 October 1935 | |
| President | Ignacy Mościcki |
| Prime Minister | Walery Sławek Aleksander Prystor Janusz Jędrzejewicz Leon Kozłowski Walery Sławek |
| Preceded by | Ignacy Daszyński |
| Succeeded by | Stanisław Car |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Kazimierz Stanisław Świtalski (1886-03-04)4 March 1886 |
| Died | 28 December 1962(1962-12-28) (aged 76) |
| Political party | BBWR[1] |
| Signature |  |
Kazimierz Stanisław[citation needed] Świtalski (Polish pronunciation:[kaˈʑimjɛʂstaˈɲiswafɕfiˈtalskʲi]; 4 March 1886 – 28 December 1962) was a Polish politician, diplomat, soldier, military officer in thePolish Legions andPrime Minister of Poland between April and December 1929.
Kazimierz Świtalski was born on 4 March 1886 as the son of Albin Świtalski, governor ofRudki andSanok, and his second wife Marie Antoinette Veith, whose grandfather, by the order ofEmperor Francis I, arrived inAustrian Poland in 1834, together with eight other German families. Between 1897 and 1904 Kazimierz attended the Queen Sofia High School located in Sanok (his classmates included Zdzisław Adamczyk, Witold Fusek, Bolesław Mozołowski and Bronisław Praszałowicz). At that time, the school was led by the Organization called "Radius" (also participating in the organization were brothers Stefan and Włodzimierz Mozołowski and Samuel Herzig). On 21 June 1904 Świtalski received a certificate of maturity with honors and began studying at the Faculty of Philology at thePolish Academy in Lwów. After graduation, he received a doctorate of philosophy in 1910. In the same year he became a professor at a local high school called "gymnasium".
Even in his youth Świtalski belonged to an organization of socialist independence parties called "Flame" and "Life". Along withStanisław Kot he directed the work of the Representative Commission of Progressive Youth. In 1910 Świtalski joined theZwiązek Walki Czynnej (ZWC), an underground organisation formed by futureMarshal of Poland and chief-of-stateJózef Piłsudski and since October 1912 he was a member of the Rifle Association. In ZWC for the first time he met with Józef Piłsudski. Shortly before the outbreak ofWorld War I, he was an adjutant for Marian Kukiel at the Headquarters of the Rifle Associations in Eastern Galicia and Lwów. From 24 August until 27 October 1914 he was a soldier in the Polish Legions. On 4 November 1914, he was appointed to the rank of lieutenant. Since February 1915 he served as a military office clerk in the Military Department.
From 5 January 1916 he was the head of the office of the Legion Brigade Headquarters. He held this position until theOath crisis. On 9 July 1917, he was arrested, and four days later dismissed from service in the Legions. As a result, he went to Lwów, where on 1 September, he joined the Polish Military Organization. During thePolish–Ukrainian War he became a member of the Polish National Committee, which played a major role in the conflict. Then he managed to escape from the besieged city with an aircraft. He went to a nearby city calledPrzemyśl, and later toKraków, where he sought help for Lwów. By mid December 1918 he took part in the work of the Polish Liquidation Committee and the Interim Governing Committee.
During the1926 May Coup d'état in Poland, Świtalski supported Marshal Piłsudski, rather than PresidentStanisław Wojciechowski. Following the Coup, he was given several political posts. In the same year he appointed the Head of the Civil Chancellery of the President and between 1926 and 1928 he was the director of the Political Department of the Ministry of the Interior. In June 1928 Świtalski became Minister of Education and from April to December 1929 he served asPrime Minister of Poland in competition withKazimierz Bartel. In 1930 he was elected to theSejm and between 1933 and 1935 he was itsMarshal.[2] He was appointed by the President to the Senate in 1935, where he was also Vice-Marshal.[3] In parallel, he was also theVoivode of Kraków from December 1935 until April 1936.
After thePolish Defensive War of 1939 Kazimierz Świtalski was takenprisoner of war and taken toWoldenberg camp, where he spent the entirety ofWorld War II. His only child, Jacek Świtalski, was killed on the first day of theWarsaw Uprising.[4] In 1945 he returned toPoland and was imprisoned by the communist authorities from 1948 to 1956. He died in Warsaw in 1962, following injuries in a tram accident.
Kazimierz Świtalski was awarded the Silver Cross of the Order ofVirtuti Militari, theOrder of Polonia Restituta Classes I and IV,Cross of Independence, the War Memorial Medal 1918 – 1921 and the Decade of Independence Medal,[2] as well as the EstonianOrder of the Cross of the Eagle Class I (1934).[5]
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| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Poland 1929 | Succeeded by |
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