User:Kpalion/Polish heads of state
| Cream | Dukes |
| Gold | Kings |
| Olive | State Leader (dictator) |
| Lavender | Presidents |
| Pink | Chairmen of the Council of State |
| White | Acting and provisional heads of state, including regents and interreges |
Early dukedom, until 1138
[edit]| Portrait | House | Name | Style | From | Until | Notes |
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Siemowit | Duke of the Polans | 9th-10th century | Semi-legendary tribal ruler | |
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Lestek | Duke of the Polans | 10th century | Semi-legendary tribal ruler | |
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Siemomysł | Duke of the Polans | 10th century | Semi-legendary tribal ruler | |
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Mieszko I | Duke of Poland | Before 965 | 25 May 992 | Converted to Latin Christianity in 966. |
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Boleslaus I, the Brave Bolesław I Chrobry |
Duke of Poland | 25 May 992 | 1000 | |
| King of Poland | 1000 | 17 June 1025 | Crowned in 1000 by Emperor Otto III of the Holy Roman Empire and again in 1025 by Archbishop Hipolitus of Gniezno. | |||
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Mieszko II Lambert | King of Poland | 25 December 1025 | 10 May or 11 May 1034 | In exile from 1031 to 1032, period when his brother, Bezprym, was the de facto ruler. |
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Casimir I, the Restorer Kazimierz I Odnowiciel |
Duke of Poland | 11 May 1034 | 28 November 1058 | Did not assume de facto reign until 1039. |
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Boleslaus II, the Generous (the Bold) Bolesław II Szczodry (Śmiały) |
Duke of Poland | 28 November 1058 | 1076 | |
| King of Poland | 1076 | 2 April or 3 April 1082 | In exile from 1079. | |||
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Vladislaus I Herman Władysław I Herman |
Duke of Poland | 3 April 1082 (de facto from 1079) | 4 June 1102 | Palatine Sieciech was the virtual power behind the throne until he was deposed between 1097 and 1100 by Vladislaus's sons, Zbigniew and Boleslaus. |
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Zbigniew | Duke of Poland | 4 June 1102 | 1107 | Deposed and exiled in 1107 and blinded in 1112 by his brother, Boleslaus |
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Boleslaus III, the Wry-Mouthed Bolesław III Krzywousty |
Duke of Poland | 1107 | 28 October 1138 | |
Age of fragmentation, 1138–1306
[edit]| Portrait | House | Name | Style | From | Until | Notes |
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Vladislaus II, the Exile Władysław II Wygnaniec |
High Duke of Poland | 28 October 1138 | 1146 | Duke of Silesia 1138-1146. Deposed and exiled by younger brothers in 1146. |
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Boleslaus IV, the Curly Bolesław IV Kędzierzawy |
High Duke of Poland | 1146 | 5 January 1173 | Duke of Masovia 1138-1173, of Silesia 1146-1163, of Sandomierz 1166-1173 |
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Mieszko III, the Old Mieszko III Stary |
High Duke of Poland | 1173 | 1177 | Duke of Greater Poland 1138-ca.1178 |
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Casimir II, the Just Kazimierz II Sprawiedliwy |
High Duke of Poland | 1173 | 1191 | Duke of Sandomierz 1173-1194, of Masovia 1186-1194 |
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Mieszko III, the Old Mieszko III Stary (again) |
High Duke of Poland | 1191 | 1191 | Duke of Greater Poland (again) 1182-1202 |
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Casimir II, the Just Kazimierz II Sprawiedliwy (again) |
High Duke of Poland | 1191 | 1194 | |
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Leszek I, the White Leszek I Biały |
High Duke of Poland | 1194 | 1198 | Duke of Sandomierz 1194-1227, of Masovia 1194-1247, |
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Mieszko III, the Old Mieszko III Stary (again) |
High Duke of Poland | 1198 | 1202 | |
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Vladislaus III, Spindleshanks Władysław III Laskonogi |
High Duke of Poland | 1202 | 1206 | Duke of Greater Poland 1202-1229 |
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Leszek I, the White Leszek I Biały (again) |
High Duke of Poland | 1206 | 1210 | |
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Mieszko IV, Tanglefoot Mieszko IV Plątonogi |
High Duke of Poland | 1210 | 1211 | Duke of Silesia 1163-1173, of Racibórz 1172-1211 | |
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Leszek I, the White Leszek I Biały (again) |
High Duke of Poland | 1211 | 1227 | Assassinated |
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Vladislaus III, Spindleshanks Władysław III Laskonogi (again) |
Duke of Cracow | 1228 | 1231 | |
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Henry I, the Bearded Henryk I Brodaty |
Duke of Cracow | 1232 | 1238 | Duke of Silesia 1201-1238, of Greater Poland 1234-1238 |
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Henry II, the Pious Henryk II Pobożny |
Duke of Cracow | 1238 | 1241 | Duke of Silesia and Greater Poland 1238-1241. Killed in the Battle of Legnica. |
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Conrad Konrad Mazowiecki |
Duke of Cracow | 1241 | 1243 | Duke of Masovia 1194-1247, of Sandomierz 1194-1200 |
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Boleslaus V, the Chaste Bolesław V Wstydliwy |
Duke of Cracow | 1243 | 1279 | Duke of Sandomierz 1227-1279 |
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Leszek II, the Black Leszek II Czarny |
Duke of Cracow | 1279 | 1288 | Duke of Sandomierz 1279-1288 |
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Henry IV, the Righteous Henryk II Probus |
Duke of Cracow | 1288 | 1290 | Duke of Silesia 1288-1290 |
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Premislaus Przemysł |
Duke of Cracow | 1290 | 1291 | Duke of Greater Poland 1273-1296 |
| King of Poland | 26 June 1295 | 8 February 1296 | Assassinated by Jakub Kaszuba | |||
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Wenceslaus Wacław II Czeski |
Duke of Cracow | 1291 | 1300 | King of Bohemia 1283-1305, Duke of Sandomierz 1292-1304, of Greater Poland 1299-1305 |
| King of Poland | 1300 | 1305 |
Reunited kingdom, 1306–1572
[edit]| Portrait | House | Name | Style | From | Until | Notes |
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Vladislaus I, the Elbow-High Władysław I Łokietek |
Duke of Cracow | 1306 | 1320 | Duke of Sandomierz 1289-1292, 1304-1320, of Greater Poland 1296-1299, 1314-1320 |
| King of Poland | 20 January 1320 | 2 March 1333 | ||||
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Casimir III, the Great Kazimierz III Wielki |
King of Poland | 25 April 1333 | 5 November 1370 | |
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Louis Ludwik Węgierski |
King of Poland | 17 November 1370 | 10 September 1382 | King of Hungary 1342–1382 |
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Hedwig Święta Jadwiga Królowa |
Queen regnant of Poland | 16 October 1384 | 17 July 1399 | Reigned together with her husband, King Vladislaus II |
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Vladislaus II Władysław II Jagiełło |
King of Poland | 4 March 1386 | 1 June 1434 | Supreme Duke of Lithuania 1386–1434 |
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Vladislaus III Władysław III Warneńczyk |
King of Poland | 25 July 1434 | 10 November 1444 | King of Hungary 1440–1444. Killed in the Battle of Varna. |
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Casimir IV Kazimierz IV Jagiellończyk |
King of Poland | 25 June 1447 | 7 June 1492 | Grand Duke of Lithuania 1440–1492 |
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John I Albert Jan I Olbracht |
King of Poland | 23 September 1492 | 17 June 1501 | |
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Alexander Aleksander |
King of Poland | 12 December 1501 | 19 August 1506 | Grand Duke of Lithuania 1492–1506 |
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Sigismund I, the Old Zygmunt I Stary |
King of Poland | 24 January 1507 | 1 April 1548 | Grand Duke of Lithuania 1506–1548 |
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Sigismund II Augustus Zygmunt II August |
King of Poland | 20 February 1530 | 7 July 1572 | Crowned vivente rege as a child; assumed actual reign after Sigismund I's death in 1548. Grand Duke of Lithuania 1548–1572. |
Elective monarchy, 1572–1795
[edit]| Portrait | House | Name | Style | From | Until | Notes |
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Jakub Uchański | Interrex | 1572 | 1574 | |
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Henry Henryk Walezy |
King of Poland | 21 February 1574 | 15 June 1575 | On 18 June 1574, on the news of his brother, King Charles IX's death, Henry escaped to France to become the new king of France and never to come back to Poland. He was dethroned by the Sejm on 15 June 1575. |
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Jakub Uchański (again) |
Interrex | 1575 | 1576 | |
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Anna Anna Jagiellonka |
Queen regnant of Poland | 1 May 1575 | 12 December 1586 | Reigned together with her husband, King Stephen |
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Stephen Stefan Batory |
King of Poland | 1 May 1575 | 12 December 1586 | Duke of Transylvania 1571–1583; from his election as king of Poland, represented in Transylavania by his brother, Voivod Christopher Báthory. |
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Stanisław Karnkowski | Interrex | 1583 | 1587 | |
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Sigismund III Zygmunt III Waza |
King of Poland | 27 December 1587 | 30 April 1632 | King of Sweden 1592–1599 |
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Jan Wężyk | Interrex | 1632 | 1633 | |
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Vladislaus IV Władysław IV |
King of Poland | 6 February 1633 | 20 May 1648 | Tsar-elect of Muscovy 1610–1613 |
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Maciej Łubieński | Interrex | 1648 | 1649 | |
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John II Casimir Jan Kazimierz |
King of Poland | 19 January 1649 | 16 September 1668 | Abdicated. |
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Mikołaj Prażmowski | Interrex | 1668 | 1669 | |
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Michael Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki |
King of Poland | 29 September 1669 | 10 November 1673 | |
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Kazimierz Florian Czartoryski | Interrex | 1673 | 15 May 1674 | Died before election of a new king |
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Andrzej Trzebicki | Interrex | 15 May 1674 | 1674 | Bishop of Cracow |
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John III Jan III Sobieski |
King of Poland | 2 February 1676 | 17 June 1696 | Elected in 1674. Coronation delayed because of war |
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Michał Stefan Cardinal Radziejowski | Interrex | 1696 | 1697 | |
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Augustus II, the Strong August II Mocny |
King of Poland | 15 September 1697 | 24 September 1706 | Prince-elector of Saxony 1694–1733. Abdicated as king of Poland in favor of Anti-King Stanislaus I by the terms of the Treaty of Altranstadt. |
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Stanislaus I Stanisław Leszczyński |
King of Poland | 24 September 1706 | 1709 | Illegitimately crowned on [[4 October 1705 as a de facto anti-king. On 24 September 1706, Augustus II abdicated in favor of him by the terms of the Treaty of Altranstadt. Deposed and exiled in 1709. |
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Augustus II, the Strong August II Mocny (again) |
King of Poland | 1709 | 1 February 1733 | Came back to Poland in 1709, in spite of his previous formal abdication, to continue his reign until his death in 1733. |
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Teodor Andrzej Potocki | Interrex | 1733 | 1733 | |
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Stanislaus I Stanisław Leszczyński (again) |
King of Poland | 12 September 1733 | 1736 | Legitimately elected in 1733 with his 1705 coronation declared valid. Abdiated on 26 January 1736 as a result of the War of the Polish Succession. Duke of Lorraine 1737–1766. |
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Augustus III August III Sas |
King of Poland | 1736 | 5 October 1763 | Prince-elector of Saxony 1733–1763. Illegimately crowned king of Poland on 17 January 1734. In the aftermath of the War of the Polish Succession, a Pacification Sejm declared his coronation valid in 1736. |
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Władysław Aleksander Łubieński | Interrex | 1763 | 1764 | |
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Stanislaus II Augustus Stanisław August Poniatowski |
King of Poland | 25 November 1764 | 25 November 1795 | Abdicated on 25 November 1795 as a result of the Third Partition of Poland. |
Time of partitions, 1795–1918
[edit]| Portrait | House | Name | Style | From | Until | Notes |
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Frederick Augustus Fryderyk August |
Duke of Warsaw | 1807 | 1815 | King of Saxony 1806–1827 |
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Alexander I Aleksander I Romanow |
King (Tsar) of Poland | 1815 | 1825 | |
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Nicholas I Mikołaj I Romanow |
King (Tsar) of Poland | 1825 | 1855 | Dethroned by the Sejm in 1831, during the November Uprising, but kept the title after the uprising's defeat by Russian forces. |
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Alexander II Aleksander II Romanow |
King (Tsar) of Poland | 1855 | 1881 | Assassinated by Ignacy Hryniewiecki |
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Alexander III Aleksander III Romanow |
King (Tsar) of Poland | 1881 | 1894 | |
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Nicholas II Mikołaj II Romanow |
King (Tsar) of Poland | 1894 | 15 March 1917 | Abdicated. |
| Wierusz | Wacław Niemojowski | Grand Crown Marshal of the Provisional Council of State | 6 December 1916 | 25 August 1917 | Head of a provisional collective head of state created by the Central Powers who occupied the Kingdom of Poland from 1915. | |
| — | Józef Mikułowski-Pomorski, Stanisław Bukowiecki, Kazimierz Natanson | Interim Commission of the Provisional Council of State | 28 August 1917 | 12 September 1917 | Replaced the Provisional Council of State after the Oath Crisis in the Polish Legions. | |
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— | Aleksander Cardinal Kakowski, Prince Zdzisław Lubomirski, Count Józef Ostrowski | Regency Council | 12 September 1917 | 14 November 1918 | Provisional collective head of state supposed to select the new king of Poland. Declared independence of Poland on 7 October 1918. Vested in Józef Piłsudski supereme military power on 11 November 1918 and all civilian power on 14 November 1918. |
Interbellum and Second World War, 1918–1945
[edit]| Portrait | Party | Name | Style | From | Until | Notes |
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nonpartisan | Józef Piłsudski | Generalissimo (Wódz Naczelny) | 14 November 1918 | 22 November 1918 | |
| Provisional State Leader | 22 November 1918 | 1919 | ||||
| State Leader | 1919 | 11 December 1922 | ||||
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nonpartisan | Gabriel Narutowicz | President of the Republic of Poland | 11 December 1922 | 16 December 1922 | Assassinated by Eligiusz Niewiadomski. |
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Polish People's Party (PSL) | Maciej Rataj | Marshal of the Sejm | 16 December 1922 | 22 December 1922 | Acting president |
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Polish People's Party – Piast (PSL Piast) | Stanisław Wojciechowski | President of the Republic of Poland | 22 December 1922 | 15 May 1926 | Forced to resign by the May Coup. |
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Polish People's Party (PSL) | Maciej Rataj (again) |
Marshal of the Sejm | 15 May 1926 | 4 June 1926 | Acting president |
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nonpartisan | Ignacy Mościcki | President of the Republic of Poland | 4 June 1926 | 30 September 1939 | On 17 September, during the German-Soviet invasion, Ignacy Mościcki fled to Romania where he was interned. |
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nonpartisan | Władysław Raczkiewicz | President of the Republic of Poland | 30 September 1939 | 6 June 1947 | President-in-exile. The London-based Polish government-in-exile lost international recognition in July 1945. |
Communist era, 1945–1990
[edit]| Portrait | Party | Name | Style | From | Until | Notes |
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Polish Workers' Party (PPR) | Bolesław Bierut | President of the State National Council | 1 January 1945 | 5 February 1947 | |
| President of the Republic of Poland | 5 February 1947 | 20 August 1952 | Office of the President of the Republic of Poland was reintroduced by Communist authorities on 5 February 1947 and abolished on 20 August 1952. | |||
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Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) | Aleksander Zawadzki | Chairman of the Council of State | 21 August 1952 | 7 August 1964 | |
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Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) | Edward Ochab | Chairman of the Council of State | 12 August 1964 | 11 April 1968 | |
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Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) | Marian Spychalski | Chairman of the Council of State | 11 April 1968 | 23 December 1970 | |
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Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) | Józef Cyrankiewicz | Chairman of the Council of State | 23 December 1970 | 28 March 1972 | |
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Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) | Henryk Jabłoński | Chairman of the Council of State | 28 March 1972 | 6 November 1985 | |
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Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) | Wojciech Jaruzelski | Chairman of the Council of State | 6 November 1985 | 19 July 1989 | |
| President of the People's Republic of Poland | 19 July 1989 | 31 December 1989 | Office of the President reintroduced on 19 July 1989 as a result of the Round Table Agreements. | |||
| President of the Republic of Poland | 31 December 1989 | 22 December 1990 | Official name of the country changed back to Republic of Poland on 31 December 1989. Jaruzelski's presidential term was shortened by a constitutional amendment of 27 September 1990 and ended with Wałęsa's inauguration. |
Third Republic, since 1990
[edit]| Portrait | Party | Name | Style | From | Until | Notes |
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Solidarity Trade Union (NSSZ Solidarność) | Lech Wałęsa | President of the Republic of Poland | 22 December 1990 | 23 December 1995 | First president elected in a popular vote |
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Social Democracy of the Republic of Poland (SdRP) | Aleksander Kwaśniewski | President of the Republic of Poland | 23 December 1995 | 23 December 2005 | First president re-elected in a popular vote, 2000 |
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Law and Justice (PiS) | Lech Kaczyński | President of the Republic of Poland | 23 December 2005 | 10 April 2010 | Killed in the Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash |
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Civic Platform (PO) | Bronisław Komorowski | Marshal of the Sejm | 10 April 2010 | 8 July 2010 | Acting president, resigned as marshal of the Sejm after he was elected president |
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nonpartisan | Bogdan Borusewicz | Marshal of the Senate | 8 July 2010 | Acting president for several hours until the Sejm elected a new marshal | |
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Civic Platform (PO) | Grzegorz Schetyna | Marshal of the Sejm | 8 July 2010 | 6 August 2010 | Acting president |
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Civic Platform (PO) | Bronisław Komorowski | President of the Republic of Poland | 6 August 2010 | 6 August 2015 | |
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Law and Justice (PiS) | Andrzej Duda | President of the Republic of Poland | 6 August 2015 | Incumbent | |