Country name:
conventional long form:
Republic of Poland
conventional short form:
Poland
local long form:
Rzeczpospolita Polska
local short form:
Polska
Data code:
PL
Government type:
democratic state
Capital:
Warsaw
Administrative divisions:
16 provinces (wojewodztwa, singularwojewodztwo); Dolnoslaskie,
Kujawsko-Pomorskie, Lodzkie, Lubelskie, Lubuskie, Malopolskie, Mazowieckie,
Opolskie, Podkarpackie, Podlaskie, Pomorskie, Slaskie, Swietokrzyskie,
Warminsko-Mazurskie, Wielkopolskie, Zachodniopomorskie
Independence:
11 November 1918 (independent republic proclaimed)
National holiday:
Constitution Day, 3 May (1791); Independence Day, November 11 (1918)
Constitution:
16 October 1997; adopted by the National Assembly on 2 April 1997; passed
by national referendum 23 May 1997
Legal system:
mixture of Continental (Napoleonic) civil law and holdover communist legal
theory; changes being gradually introduced as part of broader
democratization process; limited judicial review of legislative acts
although under the new constitution, the Constitutional Tribunal ruling
will become final as of October 1999; court decisions can be appealed to
the European Court of Justice in Strasbourg
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state:
President Aleksander KWASNIEWSKI (since 23 December 1995)
head of government:
Prime Minister Jerzy BUZEK (since NA October 1997), Deputy Prime Ministers
Leszek BALCEROWICZ (since 31 October 1997), Janusz TOMASZEWSKI (since 31
October 1997)
cabinet:
Council of Ministers responsible to the prime minister and the Sejm; the
prime minister proposes, the president appoints, and the Sejm approves the
Council of Ministers
elections:
president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election first
round held 5 November 1995, second round held 19 November 1995 (next to be
held NA November 2000); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed
by the president and confirmed by the Sejm
election results:
Aleksander KWASNIEWSKI elected president in 1995; percent of popular vote,
second roundAleksander KWASNIEWSKI 51.7%, Lech WALESA 48.3%; Jerzy BUZEK
selected prime minister in 1997
Legislative branch:
bicameral National Assembly or Zgromadzenie Narodowe consists of the Sejm
(460 seats; members are elected under a complex system of proportional
representation to serve four-year terms) and the Senate or Senat (100
seats; members are elected by a majority vote on a provincial basis to
serve four-year terms)
elections:
Sejm elections last held 21 September 1997 (next to be held by NA September
2001); Senatelast held 21 September 1997 (next to be held by NA
September 2001)
election results:
Sejmpercent of vote by partyAWS 33.8%, SLD 27.1%, UW 13.4%, PSL 7.3%,
ROP 5.6%, MN 0.4%, other 12.4%; seats by partyAWS 201, SLD 164, UW 60,
PSL 27, ROP 6, MN 2; Senatepercent of vote by partyNA; seats by partyAWS 51, SLD 28, UW 8, ROP 5, PSL 3, independents 5; noteseats by party
in the Sejm as of December 1997: AWS 200, SLD 164, UW 60, PSL 26, ROP 4, MN
2, other 4
note:
four seats are constitutionally assigned to ethnic German parties
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the president on the recommendation
of the National Council of the Judiciary for an indefinite period;
Constitutional Tribunal, judges are chosen by the Sejm for nine-year terms
Political parties and leaders:
post-Communist:
Democratic Left Alliance or SLD (Social Democracy of Poland) [Leszek
MILLER]; Polish Peasant Party or PSL [Jaroslaw KALINOWSKI]
post-Solidarity parties:
Freedom Union or UW; noteDemocratic Union and Liberal Democratic
Congress merged to form Freedom Union [Leszek BALCEROWICZ];
Christian-National Union or ZCHN [Marian PILKA]; Center Alliance Party or
PC [Jaroslaw KACZYNSKI]; Peasant Alliance or PL [Gabriel JANOWSKI];
Solidarity Electoral Action Social Movement or RS AWS [Jerzy BUZEK]; Union
of Labor or UP [Aleksander MALACHOWSKI]; Conservative Party or PK
[Aleksander HALL]
non-Communist, non-Solidarity:
Movement for the Reconstruction of Poland or ROP [Jan OLSZEWSKI];
Confederation for an Independent Poland or KPN [Adam SLOMKA]; German
Minority or MN [Henryk KROLL]; Union of Real Politics or UPR [Stanislaw
MICHALKIEWICZ]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
powerful Roman Catholic Church; Solidarity (trade union); All Poland Trade
Union Alliance or OPZZ (trade union)
International organization participation:
Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS, CCC, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC,
EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA
(observer), IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol,
IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MONUA, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), OECD,
OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL,
UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNPREDEP, UPU, WCL, WEU (associate
partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Jerzy KOZMINSKI
chancery:
2640 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone:
[1] (202) 234-3800 through 3802
FAX:
[1] (202) 328-6271
consulate(s) general:
Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Daniel FRIED
embassy:
Aleje Ujazdowskie 29/31 00-054, Warsaw P1
mailing address:
American Embassy Warsaw, US Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-5010
(pouch)
telephone:
[48] (22) 628-30-41
FAX:
[48] (22) 625-67-31
consulate(s) general:
Krakow
Flag description:
two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red; similar to the flags of
Indonesia and Monaco which are red (top) and white