Chancellery of the Prime Minister of Poland
Encyclopedia
The Chancellery of the Prime Minister of Poland (Polish
: Kancelaria Prezesa Rady Ministrów), or KPRM, is a governmental apparatus serving as the executive office for the Prime Minister of Poland. Created under the administrative reorganization reforms by the government of Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz in 1996 and implemented in the following year, the Chancellery assumed many responsibilities of the previous Office of the Council of Ministers. The chief of the Chancellery (Szef Kancelarii Premiera) holds a separate position outside of the Council of Ministers, while the Chancellery itself is represented in the cabinet by a separate minister
. The Chancellery primarily serves as technical, legislative, legal and organizational support for the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister
and the Council of Ministers. The current chief of the Chancellery is Tomasz Arabski. The Chancellery's minister within the cabinet
is Michał Boni.
The Chancellery of the Prime Minister is also the name of the building holding the working offices and support staff of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers. Formerly the Cadet Building, the Chancellery is located along 1/3 Ujazdów Avenue
in the Śródmieście borough of Warsaw
.
In addition to acting as the coordinator of executive and ministerial affairs, the Chancellery building also acts as the location for cabinet meetings every Tuesday
, with the Prime Minister chairing the Council of Ministers. In addition, the Prime Minister and the office's support staff meet visiting foreign and domestic delegations within the Chancellery.
former Cadet Corps building along Ujazdów Avenue
in central Warsaw
. Built between 1900 to 1903 during Warsaw's later Russian era
, the building originally provided the home to the Alexander Suvorov
Cadet Corps of the Imperial Russian Army
. At the outbreak of the First World War, the Cadet Corps building was transformed into a municipal hospital, and following the Russian retreat, a German Army
hospital. Shortly following Poland's independence on 11 November, 1918, troops from the Polish Infantry Academy in Ostrów Mazowiecka
negotiated the withdrawal of German troops and medical patients out of the Cadet Corps building in return of safe passage out of the new republic. The building quickly came under the administration of the new Polish Army's
Infantry Academy. During the 1926 May Coup, the Infantry Academy supported the government of President Stanisław Wojciechowski and Prime Minister Wincenty Witos
against Marshal
Józef Piłsudski. As a consequence, the victorious Piłsudski-influenced government forced the Infantry Academy to vacate the building's premises, beginning a two-year period of refurbishing the structure. The General Inspectorate of the Armed Forces
moved into the structure in 1928; Piłsudski himself moved nearby to a connecting palace, living there until shortly before his death in 1935. At the start of Second World War four years later, the southern wing of the building suffered damage during the Siege of Warsaw
, with the structure's surviving floors and wings transforming into an SS barracks and its damaged southern portion into an execution ground during the Nazi occupation.
After the war's conclusion, the ushering in of the communist era
brought extensive reconstruction, floor and room additions of the Cadet Corps building, lasting until 1948. From 1953 until the dissolution of the People's Republic of Poland
, the building served as the home to the Office of the Council of Ministers; additional wings and floors of the structure were transformed into the ruling PZPR's
social science academy, as well as the secretariat offices of the Prime Minister. The building served as the host to the historic Round Table Talks
in 1989, signaling both an end to communist dominance in Poland and the fall of communism
throughout the Eastern Bloc
. In 1995, the former Cadet Corps building was entered into the registry of historic monuments within Warsaw Voivodeship
for its architecture and unique role in the history of the republic. Since 1997, the building has served as the home of the Chancellery. Today, the building is considered one of the most politically important centers of decision making in Poland.
Wiesław Walendziak, 1997-1999
Jerzy Widzyk, 1999-2000
Maciej Musiał, 2000-2001
Marek Wagner, 2001-2004
Sławomir Cytrycki, 2004-2005
Mariusz Błaszczak, 2005-2007
Tomasz Arabski, 2007-
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
: Kancelaria Prezesa Rady Ministrów), or KPRM, is a governmental apparatus serving as the executive office for the Prime Minister of Poland. Created under the administrative reorganization reforms by the government of Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz in 1996 and implemented in the following year, the Chancellery assumed many responsibilities of the previous Office of the Council of Ministers. The chief of the Chancellery (Szef Kancelarii Premiera) holds a separate position outside of the Council of Ministers, while the Chancellery itself is represented in the cabinet by a separate minister
Minister (government)
A minister is a politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional government. Senior ministers are members of the cabinet....
. The Chancellery primarily serves as technical, legislative, legal and organizational support for the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland
Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland is the deputy of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland and member of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Poland. He can also be one of the ministers of Poland.-People's Poland :...
and the Council of Ministers. The current chief of the Chancellery is Tomasz Arabski. The Chancellery's minister within the cabinet
Cabinet of Donald Tusk
The First Cabinet of Donald Tusk was the government of Poland from November 16, 2007 to November 18, 2011, during the 6th legislature of the Sejm and the 7th legislature of the Senate. It was appointed by President Lech Kaczyński on November 16, 2007, and passed the vote of confidence in Sejm on...
is Michał Boni.
The Chancellery of the Prime Minister is also the name of the building holding the working offices and support staff of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers. Formerly the Cadet Building, the Chancellery is located along 1/3 Ujazdów Avenue
Ujazdów Avenue
Ujazdów Avenue is a major thoroughfare parallel to the Vistula River in the Śródmieście district of Warsaw, Poland.Origins of the avenue go to 1724-1731, when King August II ordered construction of the Calvary Road . By 1766 it was already a part of the Royal Route as Belweder Avenue leading to...
in the Śródmieście borough of Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
.
History
The evolution of the executive support staff of the Prime Minister and the cabinet pertains to four distinct eras:- 1918–1939: The Presidium of the Council of Ministers (Prezydium Rady Ministrów) assisted the upper tier bureaucracy of the Second Polish RepublicSecond Polish RepublicThe Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
. The Presidium continued its functions until the Invasion of Poland in September 1939 forced the government into exile. - 1945–1952: The Presidium of the Council of Ministers is revived following the end of the Second World War. After 1948, the Presidium's decision-making comes increasingly under the control of the Polish United Workers' PartyPolish United Workers' PartyThe Polish United Workers' Party was the Communist party which governed the People's Republic of Poland from 1948 to 1989. Ideologically it was based on the theories of Marxism-Leninism.- The Party's Program and Goals :...
(PZPR). - 1952–1996: The Office of the Council of Ministers (Urząd Rady Ministrów) or URM, is created by the PZPR, with Kazimierz MijalKazimierz MijalKazimierz Mijal was a Polish politician, collaborator of Polish communist leader Bolesław Bierut, next dissident, best known for founding the illegal Communist Party of Poland in opposition to the Polish United Workers' Party in 1965...
as its first chief minister following the proclamation of the People's Republic of PolandPeople's Republic of PolandThe People's Republic of Poland was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990. Although the Soviet Union took control of the country immediately after the liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944, the name of the state was not changed until eight years later...
with the Constitution of 1952Constitution of the People's Republic of PolandThe Constitution of the People's Republic of Poland was passed on 22 July 1952. Created by the Polish communists in the People's Republic of Poland, it was based on the 1936 Soviet Constitution , and it superseded the post-war provisional Small Constitution of 1947 which, at its turn, had declared...
. The URM acts under the shadow of the ruling PZPR following the abolition of the presidency and the consolidation of the one-party state. The Office of the Council of Ministers remained a facet of Polish political culture following the dissolution of the communist state with the events of 1989 and 1990. - 1997–present: Administrative reforms acts passed under Prime Minister Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz transform the URM into the current Chancellery at the start of 1997. Under the new Chancellery, support staff and executive services are increasingly consolidated to serve the Prime Minister rather than other members of the government as a whole.
Role in administration
As the executive office and support staff for the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers, the Chancellery serves to articulate and present cabinet positions on matters, streamline communication between the Prime Minister and the cabinet, and coordinate executive affairs.. Beginning with the start of each year (or half year periods), the chief of the Chancellery communicates to all members of the cabinet to present an agenda, while also indicating the government's goals for the coming period. Once a legislative work agenda is introduced into the cabinet, the Chancellery proceeds to scrutinize ministerial drafts for compliance in both substance and timing. Chancellery support staff include the office's chief, a minister within the cabinet, and a range of secretaries of state (Sekretarz stanu) and undersecretaries of the state (Podsekretarz stanu) holding positions for various policy agendas delegated by the Prime Minister.In addition to acting as the coordinator of executive and ministerial affairs, the Chancellery building also acts as the location for cabinet meetings every Tuesday
Tuesday
Tuesday is a day of the week occurring after Monday and before Wednesday.According to international standard ISO 8601, it is the second day of the week, although in some traditions it is the third....
, with the Prime Minister chairing the Council of Ministers. In addition, the Prime Minister and the office's support staff meet visiting foreign and domestic delegations within the Chancellery.
The Chancellery building
At its inception in 1997, the Chancellery took its offices in the neoclassicalNeoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
former Cadet Corps building along Ujazdów Avenue
Ujazdów Avenue
Ujazdów Avenue is a major thoroughfare parallel to the Vistula River in the Śródmieście district of Warsaw, Poland.Origins of the avenue go to 1724-1731, when King August II ordered construction of the Calvary Road . By 1766 it was already a part of the Royal Route as Belweder Avenue leading to...
in central Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
. Built between 1900 to 1903 during Warsaw's later Russian era
Vistula land
Vistula Land or Vistula Country was the name applied to the lands of the Kingdom of Poland following the defeats of the November Uprising and January Uprising as it was increasingly stripped of autonomy and incorporated into Imperial Russia...
, the building originally provided the home to the Alexander Suvorov
Alexander Suvorov
Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov , Count Suvorov of Rymnik, Prince in Italy, Count of the Holy Roman Empire , was the fourth and last generalissimo of the Russian Empire.One of the few great generals in history who never lost a battle along with the likes of Alexander...
Cadet Corps of the Imperial Russian Army
Imperial Russian Army
The Imperial Russian Army was the land armed force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian army consisted of around 938,731 regular soldiers and 245,850 irregulars . Until the time of military reform of Dmitry Milyutin in...
. At the outbreak of the First World War, the Cadet Corps building was transformed into a municipal hospital, and following the Russian retreat, a German Army
German Army (German Empire)
The German Army was the name given the combined land forces of the German Empire, also known as the National Army , Imperial Army or Imperial German Army. The term "Deutsches Heer" is also used for the modern German Army, the land component of the German Bundeswehr...
hospital. Shortly following Poland's independence on 11 November, 1918, troops from the Polish Infantry Academy in Ostrów Mazowiecka
Ostrów Mazowiecka
Ostrów Mazowiecka is a town in northeastern Poland with 23,486 inhabitants . Situated in the Masovian Voivodeship , previously in Ostroleka Voivodeship . It is the capital of Ostrów Mazowiecka County....
negotiated the withdrawal of German troops and medical patients out of the Cadet Corps building in return of safe passage out of the new republic. The building quickly came under the administration of the new Polish Army's
Polish Land Forces
The Polish Land Forces are a branch of Poland's Armed Forces. They currently contain some 65,000 active personnel and form many components of EU and NATO deployments around the world.-History:...
Infantry Academy. During the 1926 May Coup, the Infantry Academy supported the government of President Stanisław Wojciechowski and Prime Minister Wincenty Witos
Wincenty Witos
Wincenty Witos was a prominent member of the Polish People's Party from 1895, and leader of its "Piast" faction from 1913. He was a member of parliament in the Galician Sejm from 1908–1914, and an envoy to Reichsrat in Vienna from 1911 to 1918...
against Marshal
Marshal of Poland
Marshal of Poland is the highest rank in the Polish Army. It has been granted to only six officers. At present, this rank is equivalent to a Field Marshal or General of the Army in other NATO armies.-History:...
Józef Piłsudski. As a consequence, the victorious Piłsudski-influenced government forced the Infantry Academy to vacate the building's premises, beginning a two-year period of refurbishing the structure. The General Inspectorate of the Armed Forces
General Inspector of the Armed Forces
General Inspector of the Armed Forces was an office created in Poland in 1926. The General Inspector reported directly to the President, and was not responsible to the Sejm or the government. In the event of war, the General Inspector was to become the Commander-in-Chief.-See also:*Captain...
moved into the structure in 1928; Piłsudski himself moved nearby to a connecting palace, living there until shortly before his death in 1935. At the start of Second World War four years later, the southern wing of the building suffered damage during the Siege of Warsaw
Siege of Warsaw (1939)
The 1939 Battle of Warsaw was fought between the Polish Warsaw Army garrisoned and entrenched in the capital of Poland and the German Army...
, with the structure's surviving floors and wings transforming into an SS barracks and its damaged southern portion into an execution ground during the Nazi occupation.
After the war's conclusion, the ushering in of the communist era
History of Poland (1945–1989)
The history of Poland from 1945 to 1989 spans the period of Soviet Communist dominance imposed after the end of World War II over the People's Republic of Poland...
brought extensive reconstruction, floor and room additions of the Cadet Corps building, lasting until 1948. From 1953 until the dissolution of the People's Republic of Poland
People's Republic of Poland
The People's Republic of Poland was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990. Although the Soviet Union took control of the country immediately after the liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944, the name of the state was not changed until eight years later...
, the building served as the home to the Office of the Council of Ministers; additional wings and floors of the structure were transformed into the ruling PZPR's
Polish United Workers' Party
The Polish United Workers' Party was the Communist party which governed the People's Republic of Poland from 1948 to 1989. Ideologically it was based on the theories of Marxism-Leninism.- The Party's Program and Goals :...
social science academy, as well as the secretariat offices of the Prime Minister. The building served as the host to the historic Round Table Talks
Polish Round Table Agreement
The Polish Round Table Talks took place in Warsaw, Poland from February 6 to April 4, 1989. The government initiated the discussion with the banned trade union Solidarność and other opposition groups in an attempt to defuse growing social unrest.-History:...
in 1989, signaling both an end to communist dominance in Poland and the fall of communism
Revolutions of 1989
The Revolutions of 1989 were the revolutions which overthrew the communist regimes in various Central and Eastern European countries.The events began in Poland in 1989, and continued in Hungary, East Germany, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia and...
throughout the Eastern Bloc
Eastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
. In 1995, the former Cadet Corps building was entered into the registry of historic monuments within Warsaw Voivodeship
Warsaw Voivodeship
Warszawa Voivodeship was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland in years 1975–1998, superseded by Masovian Voivodeship.Capital city: WarsawMajor cities and towns: :* Warsaw ;...
for its architecture and unique role in the history of the republic. Since 1997, the building has served as the home of the Chancellery. Today, the building is considered one of the most politically important centers of decision making in Poland.
Chiefs of the Chancellery
Grzegorz Rydlewski, 1997Wiesław Walendziak, 1997-1999
Jerzy Widzyk, 1999-2000
Maciej Musiał, 2000-2001
Marek Wagner, 2001-2004
Sławomir Cytrycki, 2004-2005
Mariusz Błaszczak, 2005-2007
Tomasz Arabski, 2007-
See also
- Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland
- SejmSejmThe Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....
- Senat
- Government of Poland