Council for Defence of the Nation
Encyclopedia
The Council of National Defense was an extraordinary temporary governmental body created by a decree of the Sejm
of the Second Polish Republic
, of 1 July 1920.
Poland was then facing defeat by Bolshevik Red Armies that were approaching Warsaw
. The Council was a body that was intended to make decisions more expeditiously than the Sejm. It was fully authorized to take decisions regarding the conduct and conclusion of the war.
The Council comprised:
The Chief of State was empowered to call Council meetings, chair them and set the agenda.
The Council enjoyed very broad powers, in order to be able to exercise far-reaching autonomy and reduce bureaucratic obstacles. Its decisions were to be implemented at once.
Sejm
The 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 ....
of the Second Polish Republic
Second Polish Republic
The 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...
, of 1 July 1920.
Poland was then facing defeat by Bolshevik Red Armies that were approaching Warsaw
Polish-Soviet War
The Polish–Soviet War was an armed conflict between Soviet Russia and Soviet Ukraine and the Second Polish Republic and the Ukrainian People's Republic—four states in post–World War I Europe...
. The Council was a body that was intended to make decisions more expeditiously than the Sejm. It was fully authorized to take decisions regarding the conduct and conclusion of the war.
The Council comprised:
- Naczelnik PaństwaNaczelnik panstwaNaczelnik Państwa was the title of Poland's head of state in the early years of the Second Polish Republic. This office was held only by Józef Piłsudski, from 1918 to 1922. Until 1919 it was called tymczasowy naczelnik państwa...
(Chief of State) Józef Piłsudski, the Council's chair; - Prime Minister Wincenty WitosWincenty WitosWincenty 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...
, deputy chair; - The Marshal of the Sejm;
- Ten Sejm deputies, representing the main political parties;
- Three ministers selected by the Council of Ministers;
- Three representatives of the military, selected by the Chief of State. They varied, depending on the specific military matters under consideration.
The Chief of State was empowered to call Council meetings, chair them and set the agenda.
The Council enjoyed very broad powers, in order to be able to exercise far-reaching autonomy and reduce bureaucratic obstacles. Its decisions were to be implemented at once.