Wincenty Witos

Wincenty Witos
Prime Minister of Poland
In office
10 May 1926 – 14 May 1926
PresidentStanisław Wojciechowski
Preceded byAleksander Skrzyński
Succeeded byKazimierz Bartel
In office
18 May 1923 – 19 December 1923
PresidentStanisław Wojciechowski
DeputyStanisław Głąbiński
Wojciech Korfanty
Preceded byWładysław Sikorski
Succeeded byWładysław Grabski
In office
24 July 1920 – 19 September 1921
Chief of State
Deputy		Józef Piłsudski
Ignacy Daszyński
Preceded byWładysław Grabski
Succeeded byAntoni Ponikowski
Personal details
Born22 January 1874
Wierzchosławice, then Austro-Hungary, now Poland
Died31 October 1945(1945-10-31) (aged 71)
Kraków, Poland
Political partyPolish People's Party "Piast"
ProfessionFarmer
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Wincenty Witos (Polish pronunciation: [vinˈt͡sɛntɨ ˈvitɔs]; 21[1][2][3][4][5] or 22[6][7][8][9][10] January 1874 – 31 October 1945) was a Polish statesman, prominent member and leader of the Polish People's Party (PSL), who served three times as the Prime Minister of Poland in the 1920s.

He was a member of the Polish People's Party from 1895, and the leader of its "Piast" faction from 1913. He was a member of parliament in the Galician Sejm from 1908–1914, and an envoy to Reichsrat in Vienna from 1911 to 1918. Witos was also a leader of Polish Liquidation Committee (Polish: Polska Komisja Likwidacyjna) in 1918, head of the Piast party, and member of parliament in the Polish Sejm from 1919-1920.

He served three times as the premier of Poland, in 1920–1921, 1923 (Chjeno-Piast), and 1926. In 1926 the third Witos government was overthrown by the May coup d'état led by Józef Piłsudski. Witos had been one of the leaders of the opposition to the Sanacja-government as head of Centrolew (1929–1930) and co-founded the People's Party. He was imprisoned shortly thereafter, then lived in exile in Czechoslovakia from 1933 to 1939. Over that time, he was seen as "the messiah of the peasants."[11] Post-exile, he returned to Poland only to be imprisoned again by the invading Germans.

In ill health by March 1941, he was put on supervised release by the Germans and ordered to stay in Wierzchosławice. In July 1944 the German occupation authorities requested that he declare an anti-Soviet appeal, but he refused to do so.[12] In 1945, he was nominated one of the vice-chairmen of the State National Council (Polish: Krajowa Rada Narodowa) after World War II. In 1945-46 the People's Party was reorganized and taken over by Stanisław Mikołajczyk.

  1. ^ "Friendship Association of Wincenty Witos Museum in Wierzchosławice". www.tpmw.pl. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  2. ^ "Authors". polskietradycje.pl. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  3. ^ "150 lat temu urodził się Wincenty Witos, jeden z ojców niepodległej Polski". dzieje.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  4. ^ S.A, Telewizja Polska. "150 lat temu urodził się Wincenty Witos, jeden z ojców niepodległej Polski". polonia.tvp.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  5. ^ Opole, Radio (2024-01-21). "150. rocznica urodzin Wincentego Witosa". 150. rocznica urodzin Wincentego Witosa (in Polish). Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  6. ^ "Wincenty Witos | Polish Prime Minister, Peasant Leader | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 2024-01-18. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  7. ^ "Wincenty Witos". AncientFaces. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  8. ^ "PATRON | Zespół Szkół im. Wincentego Witosa w Zarzeczu". www.zszarzecze.com. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  9. ^ "Wincenty Witos". Lubimyczytać.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  10. ^ Redakcja (2024-01-21). "22 stycznia 1874 roku w urodził się Wincenty Witos » Historykon.pl". Historykon.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  11. ^ "Poland". Life Magazine. 29 August 1938. p. 51.
  12. ^ "Wincenty Witos (1874-1945)".