A communist leader who helped shape postwar Poland's state
At Bierut's funeral he declared, “Bierut has died, but our party, united as a monolith, lives on.”
Aleksander Zawadzki, a worker who entered the communist movement, became a leader in building postwar Poland's party, military, and state institutions. He linked the political organization of the Polish forces formed in the Soviet Union with the reconstruction of domestic power, and as Silesian administrator he also dealt with postwar recovery and the protection of local inhabitants. As chairman of the Council of State, he was a leading rival to Edward Ochab in the succession struggle after Bolesław Bierut's death, but lost at the Sixth Plenum of the Central Committee and thereafter represented the system's conservative drive for stability.
Career Timeline
- 1923–1939Communist Party of Poland activist; imprisoned
- 1943–1945Political officer in the Polish forces formed in the Soviet Union; deputy commander for political affairs
- 1944–1948Politburo member of the Polish Workers' Party
- 1945–1948Voivode of the Silesian-Dąbrowskie Voivodeship
- 1948–1954Polish United Workers' Party Central Committee secretary and Politburo member
- 1949–1952Deputy chairman of the Council of Ministers
- 1952–1964Chairman of the Council of State of Poland