Speaker of the Sejm who twice acted as president, a People's Party leader shot at Palmiry
Born into a poor farming family in Chłopy near Lwów, he studied classical philology at Lwów University and became a Latin teacher. A Polish People's Party member from his student years, he joined 'Piast' in 1914. Elected to the Sejm in 1919, he effectively led the commission that drafted the March Constitution, was minister of religion and public education in Witos's government in 1920–1921, and was Speaker of the Sejm from 1922 to 1928. He acted as president twice, after Narutowicz's assassination in 1922 and after the May Coup of 1926. A critic of the Sanacja, he became president of the People's Party in 1935. The Germans shot him at Palmiry in 1940.
Activities and affiliations
-
1914–1940
Political and party leadership
-
1919–1935
Legislature and state representation
-
1920–1921
Government and administration
Career Timeline
- 1908–1918Latin teacher at a Lwów gymnasium
- 1919Deputy to the Legislative Sejm; vice-chairman of the Constitutional Commission
- 1920.07.24–1921.09.13Minister of Religious Denominations and Public Education
- 1922.12.01–1928Marshal of the Sejm
- 1922.12Acting president after Narutowicz's assassination
- 1926.05Acting president after the May Coup
- 1935President of the People's Party; editor of Zielony Sztandar
- 1939.12Arrested by the Germans — shot at Palmiry in June 1940