Editing Prime Minister of Poland (section)

===Second Republic===
{{Main|History of Poland (1918–1939)}}
Near the end of the [[World War I|First World War]], an assortment of groups contested to proclaim an independent Polish state. In early November 1918, a socialist provisional government under [[Ignacy Daszyński]] declared independence, while a separate committee in [[Kraków]] claimed to rule [[West Galicia]].<ref name="Kochanski, p. 7">[[#Kochanski|Kochanski]], p. 7</ref> In [[Warsaw]], the [[German Empire|German]]-[[Austria-Hungary|Austrian]] appointed [[Regency Council (Poland)|Regency Council]] agreed to transfer political responsibilities to Marshal [[Józef Piłsudski]], recently released from [[Magdeburg]] fortress, as [[Chief of State (Poland)|Chief of State]] of the new Polish nation.<ref>[[#Bernhard|Bernhard]], pp. 82–83</ref> Piłsudski summoned Daszyński to the capital to form a government, where Piłsudski agreed to appoint Daszyński as the republic's first prime minister.<ref name="Kochanski, p. 7" /> Daszyński's premiership, however, remained brief, after the politician failed to form a workable coalition. Piłsudski turned instead to [[Jędrzej Moraczewski]], who successfully crafted a workable government for the [[Second Polish Republic|Second Republic]]'s first months of existence.

[[File:Gabinet Skulskiego.jpg|thumb|left|The cabinet of Prime Minister [[Leopold Skulski]] in a session in 1920. Due to the deep political divides of the early Second Republic, governments were short-lived, frequently falling within months.]]

The [[Small Constitution of 1919]] outlined Poland's form of government, with a democratically elected [[Sejm]], a prime minister and cabinet, and an executive branch. Despite outlining a [[parliamentary system]], the Small Constitution vested many executive powers into Piłsudski's position as Chief of State.<ref>[[#Ludwikowski|Ludwikowski]], p. 14</ref> The executive branch could select and organise cabinets (with the Sejm's consent), be responsible to the ministries for their duties, and require the countersignature of ministers for all official acts.<ref>[[#Lerski|Lerski]], pp. 80–81</ref> By the early 1920s, rightist nationalists within parliament, particularly [[Roman Dmowski]] and other members of the [[Popular National Union]] party and the ''[[National Democracy (Poland)|Endecja]]'' movement, advocated reforms to the republic's structure to stem the authority of the chief of state (and ultimately Piłsudski) while increasing parliamentary powers.<ref>[[#Cole|Cole]], p.28</ref> The result was the Sejm's passage of the [[March Constitution (Poland)|March Constitution of 1921]]. Modeled after the [[French Third Republic]], the March Constitution entrusted decision-making exclusively within the lower-house Sejm.<ref>[[#Garlicki|Garlicki]], p. 1</ref> The newly created [[President of Poland|presidency]], on the other hand, became a symbolic office devoid of any major authority, stripped of veto and wartime powers.<ref>[[#Biskupski|Biskupski]], pp. 76–77</ref>

Deriving authority from the powerful Sejm, the prime minister and the council of ministers, in theory, faced few constitutional barriers from the presidency to pass and proceed with legislation. In reality, however, the premiership remained extraordinarily insecure due to the harsh political climate of the early Second Republic, marked by constant fluctuating coalitions within parliament.<ref>[[#Lasok|Lasok]], pp. 19–20</ref> Fourteen governments and eleven prime ministers rose and fell between 1918 and 1926, with nine governments alone serving during the five-year March Constitution era.<ref>[[#Lesnodorski|Lesnodorski]], p. 119. During this era, two prime ministers entered the premiership more than once. [[Władysław Grabski]] served as premier first between June and July 1920 and second between December 1923 to November 1925, the longest term for any leader of the period. [[Wincenty Witos]] served as prime minister three times, between July 1920 to September 1921, May to December 1923, and May 1926. Witos' third and final government lasted only four days before being militarily deposed by Piłsudski in the [[May Coup (Poland)|May Coup]].</ref> Deeply frustrated with the republic's chaotic "sejmocracy" parliamentary structure, Piłsudski led rebellious [[Polish Land Forces|Polish Army]] units to overthrow the government in the [[May Coup (Poland)|May Coup]] of 1926, effectively ending the Second Republic's brief experiment with parliamentary democracy, as well as the prime minister's free and popular elected mandate for the next sixty years.

Distrustful of parliamentary democracy, Piłsudski and his [[Sanation]] movement assumed a semi-authoritarian [[power behind the throne]] presence over the premiership and presidency.<ref>[[#Cole|Cole]], p. 42</ref> Piłsudski's [[August Novelization|August Novelisation]] of the 1921 Constitution retained the prime minister's post and the parliamentary system, though modified the president's powers to rule by decree, dismiss the Sejm, and decide budgetary matters.<ref>[[#Lukowski and Zawadzki|Lukowski and Zawadzki]], p. 242</ref> By the mid-1930s, Piłsudski and fellow Sanationists further stripped parliament and the premier's powers by enacting a [[April Constitution of Poland|new constitution]], effectively establishing a strong "hyper-presidency" by 1935.<ref>[[#Prokrop|Prokrop]], p. 22</ref> The new constitution allowed for the president to dismiss parliament, the right to freely appoint and dismiss the prime minister, members of the cabinet and the judiciary at will, and promulgated the presidency as the supreme power of the state.<ref>[[#Fijałkowski|Fijałkowski]], pp. 41–43</ref> Until the outbreak of the [[World War II|Second World War]] and the resulting [[Polish government-in-exile|exiling of the Polish government]], the Sanation movement remained at the helm of a government dominated by the presidency with a weak, subordinate prime minister.