Editing President of Poland

{{Short description|Head of state of Poland}}
{{For|a list of holders of the office|List of presidents of Poland}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2015}}
{{Infobox official post
| post = President
| body = the Republic of Poland
| native_name = {{native name|pl|Prezydent Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej}}
| insignia = 
| insigniasize = 
| insigniacaption = 
| insigniaalt = 
| flag = Flag of the President of Poland.svg
| flagsize = 
| flagalt = 
| flagborder = 
| flagcaption = [[Pennant of the president of the Republic of Poland|Presidential pennant]]
| image = President of Poland Andrzej Duda Full Resolution (cropped).jpg
| imagesize = 
| alt = 
| imagecaption = 
| incumbent = [[Andrzej Duda]]
| acting = 
| incumbentsince = 6 August 2015
| department = [[Politics of Poland#Executive branch|Executive branch of the Polish Government]]
| style = [[President (government title)|Mr. President]]<br />(informal)<br />[[Excellency|His Excellency]]<br />(diplomatic)
| type = 
| status = [[Head of state]]<br />[[Commander-in-chief]]
| abbreviation = 
| member_of = {{ubl|[[National Security Bureau (Poland)|National Security Council]]|[[National Development Council (Poland)|National Development Council]]}}
| reports_to = 
| residence = [[Presidential Palace, Warsaw|Presidential Palace]] (current)<br />[[Belweder]] (alternative)
| seat = 
| nominator = 
| appointer = [[Direct election|Popular vote]]
| appointer_qualified = 
| termlength = Five years, 
| termlength_qualified = renewable once
| constituting_instrument = [[Constitution of Poland]] (1997)
| precursor = [[Chief of State (Poland)|Chief of State]]
| formation = {{start date and age|df=y|1922|12|11}}{{-}}{{start date and age|df=y|1989|7|19}} (current form)
| first = [[Gabriel Narutowicz]]
| last = 
| abolished = 
| superseded_by = 
| succession = 
| unofficial_names = 
| deputy = [[Marshal of the Sejm]]
| salary = 294,000 [[Polish złoty|zł]] annually<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gowork.pl/poradnik/20/zarobki/pensja-prezydenta-ile-wynosi-jaka-jest-wysokosc-emerytury-prezydenta-polski|title = Zarobki Prezydenta RP}}</ref>
| website = {{url|https://www.president.pl/|Official website}}
| footnotes = 
}}
{{Politics of Poland}}
The '''president of Poland''' ({{langx|pl|Prezydent RP}} {{IPA|pl|ˈprɛ.zɘ.dɛnt ɛrˈpɛ|}}), officially the '''president of the Republic of Poland''' ({{langx|pl|Prezydent Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej}}), is the head of state of the Republic of [[Poland]]. His or her perogatives and duties are determined in the [[Constitution of Poland]]. The president jointly exercises the executive power together with the Council of Ministers headed by the prime minister. The president has a right to dissolve both chambers of parliament in certain cases determined by the constitution, can [[veto]] [[legislation]], represents the Republic on the international stage, and is the [[commander-in-chief]] of the nation's Armed Forces.

==History==
The first president of Poland, [[Gabriel Narutowicz]], was [[Polish presidential inauguration|sworn in as president]] of the [[Second Polish Republic]] on 11 December 1922. He was elected by the [[National Assembly]] (the [[Sejm]] and the [[Senate of Poland|Senate]]) under the terms of the 1921 [[March Constitution (Poland)|March Constitution]]. Narutowicz [[Assassination of Gabriel Narutowicz|was assassinated]] on 16 December 1922. Previously [[Józef Piłsudski]] had been "Chief of State" (''[[Chief of State (Poland)|Naczelnik Państwa]]'') under the provisional [[Small Constitution of 1919]]. In 1926 Piłsudski staged the "[[May Coup (Poland)|May Coup]]", overthrew President [[Stanisław Wojciechowski]] and had the National Assembly elect a new one, [[Ignacy Mościcki]], thus establishing the "[[Sanation]] regime". Before Piłsudski's death, parliament passed a more [[Authoritarianism|authoritarian]] 1935 [[April Constitution of Poland]] (not in accord with the amendment procedures of the 1921 March Constitution).<ref>{{Cite web|author=Garlicki, Andrzej |date=2001|title=Majowa, marcowa, kwietniowa: Kto nam pisał konstytucje (The valley between the March and the April: We who wrote the constitutions) |language=pl|publisher=Polityki Cyfrowej|url=http://www.konstytucje.pl/pub/t019.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071018023756/http://www.konstytucje.pl/pub/t019.htm |archive-date=18 October 2007 |url-status=dead}}, which first appeared in {{Cite journal|author=Garlicki, Andrzej |year=2001|title=Kto nam pisał konstytucje: majowa, marcowa, kwietniowa |journal=Polityka |volume=2001|issue=11 |pages=78, 80, 82}}</ref> Mościcki continued as president until he resigned in 1939 in the aftermath of the German [[invasion of Poland]]. Mościcki and his [[Polish government-in-exile|government went into exile]] in [[Kingdom of Romania|Romania]], where Mościcki was interned. In [[Angers]], [[French Third Republic|France]], [[Władysław Raczkiewicz]], at the time the speaker of the Senate, assumed the presidency after Mościcki's resignation on 29 September 1939.<ref name="Rojek">{{Cite book|author=Rojek, Wojciech |chapter=Chapter 4: The government of the Republic of Poland in exile, 1945–92|editor=Stachura, Peter D.|editor-link=Peter Stachura |year=2004|title=The Poles in Britain 1940–2000: from betrayal to assimilation |url=https://archive.org/details/polesbritainfrom00stac |url-access=limited |location=London |publisher=Frank Cass |page=[https://archive.org/details/polesbritainfrom00stac/page/n46 33] |isbn=978-0-7146-5562-8 }}</ref> Following the [[Battle of France|fall of France]], the president and the [[Polish government-in-exile]] were evacuated to [[London]], [[United Kingdom]]. The transfer from Mościcki to Raczkiewicz was in accordance with Article 24 of the 1935 April Constitution.<ref name="Garlinski">{{Cite book|author=Garliński, Józef |year=1985|title=Poland in the Second World War |location=Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England|publisher=Macmillan |page=48 |isbn=978-0-333-39258-4 }}</ref><ref name="Jedrzejewicz">{{Cite book|editor=Jędrzejewicz, Wacław |year=1946 |title=Poland in the British Parliament 1939–1945 Volume I: British guarantees to Poland to the Atlantic Charter (March 1939 – August 1941) |location=New York |publisher=Jósef Piłsudski Institute of America for Research in the Modern History of Poland |page=318 |oclc=312889779}}</ref> Raczkiewicz was followed by a succession of presidents in exile, of whom the last one was [[Ryszard Kaczorowski]].

In 1945–54, [[Polish People's Republic|Poland]] became a part of [[Soviet Union|Soviet]]-controlled [[Eastern Bloc|central-eastern Europe]]. [[Bolesław Bierut]] assumed the reins of government and in July 1945 was internationally recognised as the head of state. The Senate was abolished in 1946 by the [[1946 Polish people's referendum|Polish people's referendum]]. When the Sejm passed the [[Small Constitution of 1947]], based in part on the 1921 March Constitution, Bierut was elected president by that body. He served until the [[Constitution of the Polish People's Republic]] of 1952 eliminated the office of the president, replacing it with a collective leadership called the [[State Council of the Polish People's Republic|Council of State]] ({{langx|pl|Rada Państwa}}).<ref name="Simons">{{Cite book|author=Simons, William B. |chapter=Constitution of the Polish People's Republic|editor=Simons, William B. |year=1980 |title=The Constitutions of the Communist World |location=Alphen ann den Rijn, the Netherlands|publisher=Sijthoff & Noordhoff |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=SVl4sNPzWlwC&pg=PA288 288–310] |isbn=978-90-286-0070-6}}</ref>

Following the 1989 amendments to the constitution which restored the presidency,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ustawa z dnia 29 grudnia 1989 r. o zmianie Konstytucji Polskiej Rzeczypospolitej Ludowej (An Act of 29 December 1989 to amend the Constitution of the Polish People's Republic) |series=Dz.U. 1989 Nr. 75, pos 444|language=pl|publisher=Sejm, Government of Poland |url=http://isap.sejm.gov.pl/Download?id=WDU19890750444&type=3|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415010203/http://isap.sejm.gov.pl/Download?id=WDU19890750444&type=3 |archive-date=15 April 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> general [[Wojciech Jaruzelski]], the existing head of state, took office. In Poland's first [[direct election|direct]] [[1990 Polish presidential election|presidential election]], [[Lech Wałęsa]] won and was sworn in on 22 December 1990. The office of the president was preserved in the [[Constitution of Poland]] passed in 1997; the constitution now provides the requirements for, the duties of and the authority of the office.

The topic of creation the presidency role as a single-person position was meant to safeguard slow, gentle political change to keep the interests of the ruling party. By March 1989, a compromise regarding the creation of the institution of the presidency was reached between the government and the opposition. In return for a constitutionally defined presidency with various competences, the ruling party agreed to relinquish its position as managing organ within the state. The presidency would be created along with the restoration of a freely elected upper house, the Senate. The president would be elected by a joint session of the lower house (Sejm) and the Senate. By this way, representatives of the opposition, sitting in the Senate, would be involved in the political process of electing the president.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.studiapolitologiczne.pl/pdf-143453-69471?filename=How%20the%20means%20of%20electing.pdf|title=How the means of electing the President of Poland acts to distort roles within the country’s political system|author=Tomasz Słomka|journal=Studia Politologiczne|year=2021|accessdate=2023-09-18}}</ref>

The Small constitution of October 17, 1992 created a parliamentarisation of the political system and while the presidency remained in the active model, it was deprived of far-reaching governing powers.

In recent years, newly elected presidents have renounced formal ties with their political party before taking office.

==Election==
The president of Poland is elected directly by the people to serve for five years and can be reelected only once. Pursuant to the provisions of the Constitution, the president is elected by an absolute majority. If no candidate succeeds in passing this threshold, a second round of voting is held with the participation of the two candidates with the largest and second largest number of votes respectively.

In order to be registered as a candidate in the presidential election, one must be a Polish citizen, be at least 35 years old on the day of the first round of the election, and collect at least 100,000 signatures of registered voters.

==Powers==
[[Image:Pałac Prezydencki w Warszawie korpus główny 2019.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Presidential Palace, Warsaw|Presidential Palace]] in [[Warsaw]]. It serves as the official seat of presidency.]]
Article 126 paragraph 1 states that the president is the supreme representative of the state, rather than the people, a privilege reserved for the deputies of the Sejm and senators of the Senate. The constitution confirms for the president the role of securing the continuity of state authority. The position of the presidency has an arbiter function (while not directly mentioned, unlike [[France]] or [[Romania]]), with the president playing a major role in the political system, assisted by a set of legal instruments with which they can exert influence on the organs of state authority and the political system.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.studiapolitologiczne.pl/pdf-143453-69471?filename=How%20the%20means%20of%20electing.pdf|title=How the means of electing the President of Poland acts to distort roles within the country’s political system|author=Tomasz Słomka|journal=Studia Politologiczne|year=2021|accessdate=2023-09-18}}</ref>

The president has a free choice in selecting the [[Prime Minister of Poland|prime minister]], yet in practice they usually give the task of forming a new government to a politician supported by the political party with the majority of seats in the Sejm (usually, though not always, it is the leader of that political party).

The president has the right to initiate the legislative process. They also have the opportunity to directly influence it by using their veto to stop a bill; however, a veto can be overruled by a three-fifths majority vote in the presence of at least half of the statutory number of members of the Sejm (230). Before signing a bill into law, the president can also ask the [[Constitutional Tribunal (Poland)|Constitutional Tribunal]] to verify its compliance with the Constitution, which in practice bears a decisive influence on the legislative process.

In their role as supreme representative of the Polish state, the president has the power to ratify and revoke international agreements, nominates and recalls ambassadors, and formally accepts the accreditations of representatives of other states. The president also makes decisions on award of highest academic titles, as well as state distinctions and orders. In addition, they have the right of clemency, viz. they can dismiss final court verdicts (in practice, the president consults such decisions with the [[Ministry of Justice (Poland)|minister of justice]]).

The president is also the commander-in-chief of the [[Polish Armed Forces|armed forces]]; they appoint the chief of the general staff and the commanders of all of the service branches; in wartime, they nominate the supreme commander of the Armed Forces and can order a general mobilisation. The president performs their duties with the help of the following offices: the [[Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland|Chancellery of the President]], the Office of National Security, and the Body of Advisors to the President.{{clear|left}}

==Presidential residencies and properties==
[[Image:Belweder (2).JPG|thumb|right|The [[Belweder]] Palace, often known simply as 'Belvedere', is the traditional (now secondary) official residence of the president.]]
Several properties are owned by the Office of the President and are used by the head of state as their official residence, private residence, residence for visiting foreign officials etc.

* The [[Presidential Palace, Warsaw|Presidential Palace in Warsaw]] is the largest palace in [[Warsaw]] and the official seat of the president of the Republic of Poland since 1993. The first presidential tenant was [[Lech Wałęsa]] when he moved to the Palace from Belweder in 1994.
* [[Belweder]], in Warsaw, was the official seat of the president until 1993. It is currently owned by the Office of the President as the ''official residence of the President'' and is used by the president and the government for ceremonial purposes. The palace also serves as an official residence for heads of state on official visits to Poland and other important guests.
* The [[Wisła|Presidential Castle in Wisła]] in a château built for the [[House of Habsburg|Habsburgs]] as their hunting cottage. It was rebuilt 1929–1931 and used as recreational residence by [[Ignacy Mościcki]], President 1916—1939. Since 2002 it is again a property of the president, restored and opened in 2005 by President [[Aleksander Kwaśniewski|Kwaśniewski]]. It is today a recreational and conference centre for the president and a hotel.
* Residence of the President of the Republic of Poland in [[Lucień]]
* Manor House of the President of the Republic of Poland in [[Ciechocinek]]
* Presidential Residence "''Jurata-Hel''" in [[Hel, Poland|Hel]], the president's [[Baltic region|Baltic]] coastal retreat
* Summer residence at the [[Hel Peninsula]]
* Presidential Villa in [[Promnik]]
* Presidential Villa in [[Klarysew]]

==Acting president of Poland==
{{main|Acting President of Poland}}
[[Image:POL palac prezydencki gabinet prezydenta.jpg|thumb|right|The office of the president at the [[Presidential Palace, Warsaw|Presidential Palace]] in Warsaw]]
The constitution states that the president is an elected office, there is no directly elected presidential line of succession. If the president is unable to execute their powers and duties, the marshal of the Sejm will have the powers of a president for a maximum of 60 days until elections are called.

On 10 April 2010, a plane carrying Polish president [[Lech Kaczyński]], [[Maria Kaczyńska|his wife]], and 94 others including many Polish officials [[Smolensk air disaster|crashed]] near [[Smolensk North Airport]] in [[Russia]]; there were no survivors.<ref name="crash">"[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8612825.stm Polish President Lech Kaczynski dies in plane crash ]", ''[[BBC]]'', 10 April 2010, Retrieved 10 April 2010</ref> [[Bronisław Komorowski]] took over acting presidential powers following the incident. On 8 July, Komorowski resigned from the office of [[Marshal of the Sejm]] after winning the presidential election. According to the constitution, the acting president then became the [[Marshal of the Senate of Poland|marshal of the Senate]], [[Bogdan Borusewicz]]. In the afternoon [[Grzegorz Schetyna]] was elected as a new marshal of the Sejm and he became acting president. Schetyna served as the interim head of state until the swearing-in of Komorowski on 6 August.

==Former presidents==
{{further|List of heads of state of Poland}}
Within Poland, former presidents are entitled to lifetime personal security protection by [[State Protection Service]] officers, in addition to receiving a substantial pension and a private office. On 10 April 2010, Lech Kaczyński, president at the time, along with Ryszard Kaczorowski, the last president-in-exile although not internationally recognised, died in the crash of a [[Smolensk air disaster|Polish Air Force Tu-154]] en route to Russia.<ref name="NYT-crash">{{Cite news|last=Kulish |first=Nicholas |title=Polish President Dies in Jet Crash in Russia |newspaper=The New York Times |date= 10 April 2010 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/11/world/europe/11poland.html | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100411090512/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/11/world/europe/11poland.html | archive-date= 11 April 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of heads of state of Poland]]
* [[List of Polish monarchs]]
* [[Chief of State (Poland)|''Naczelnik Państwa'']]
* [[Polish government-in-exile]]
* Polish presidential elections of
** [[1990 Polish presidential election|1990]], [[1995 Polish presidential election|1995]], [[2000 Polish presidential election|2000]], [[2005 Polish presidential election|2005]], [[2010 Polish presidential election|2010]], [[2015 Polish presidential election|2015]], [[2020 Polish presidential election|2020]]
* [[Prime Minister of Poland]]
* [[Smolensk air disaster]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Presidents of Third Polish Republic}}
* [http://www.president.pl/ President of Poland Official Website]

{{Heads of state of Poland}}
{{Heads of state of the European Union member states}}
{{Heads of state and government of Europe}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Presidents by country|Poland]]
[[Category:Presidents of Poland| ]]
[[Category:1922 establishments in Poland]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:President of Poland}}