Tomasz Arciszewski
Tomasz Arciszewski | |
---|---|
31st Prime Minister of Poland 3rd Prime Minister of Polish government in exile | |
In office 29 November 1944 – 2 July 1947 | |
President | Władysław Raczkiewicz August Zaleski |
Deputy | Jan Kwapiński Jan Stanisław Jankowski |
Preceded by | Stanisław Mikołajczyk |
Succeeded by | Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski |
Personal details | |
Born | 4 November 1877 Sierzchowy, Piotrków Governorate, Congress Poland |
Died | 20 November 1955 London, United Kingdom | (aged 78)
Political party | Polish Socialist Party |
Tomasz Stefan Arciszewski (Polish pronunciation: [ˈtɔmaʂ art͡ɕiˈʂɛfskʲi]; 4 November 1877 – 20 November 1955) was a Polish socialist politician, a member of the Polish Socialist Party and the 31st Prime Minister of Poland, 3rd Prime Minister of the Polish government-in-exile in London from 1944 to 1947 during which the government lost the recognition of the Western powers.
Early life
Tomasz Stefan Arciszewski was born in Sierzchowy, a tiny town halfway between Warsaw and Łódź, to Mikołaj Arciszewski, a veteran of the January Uprising, and Helena Młynarska.
After graduating from trade schools in Lubań and
Career
Initially active in
Released in 1903, Arciszewski returned to active service in the ranks of the socialists. He became one of the PPS' members used to develop the organization and structures of illegal party in poorly developed areas of Poland. He spent some time in
In 1904 he joined the
In 1906 Arciszewski, along with Piłsudski, joined the newly found
In August 1914 he joined the
After the collapse of Germany and Austria-Hungary at the end of World War I, on 7 November 1918 Arciszewski was appointed the minister of labour and social affairs in the Provisional Government of the Polish Republic led by Ignacy Daszyński. After Daszyński's government passed its responsibilities to Piłsudski and the consolidation of power in all parts of Poland occurred, Arciszewski was appointed the minister of postal services and telegraphic communication in the government of Jędrzej Moraczewski. He served at that post until 16 January 1919. Soon afterwards he was elected a member of the Sejm.
During the
One of the most prominent leaders of the socialists (between 1919 and 1939 he was the member of the Main Council of the PPS), Arciszewski gradually broke up with his former colleague Piłsudski, who abandoned the socialist ideas after Poland regained her independence. This made him one of the prominent leaders of the Centrolew coalition of centrist and leftist parties. Apart from his seat in the Sejm, between 1919 and 1934, and then from 1938 until the outbreak of World War II, Arciszewski was a member of the Warsaw's city council. Among other duties, he was also the founder of the Workers' Society of Friends of Children.
After the outbreak of the
Shortly before the outbreak of the
Critical towards the pressure of the Soviet Union and Stanisław Mikołajczyk's attempts at compromise with Joseph Stalin, Arciszewski focused on trying to convince the Allied leaders (notably Winston Churchill) to help fighting Warsaw – to little avail. After Mikołajczyk's resignation, on 29 November 1944, Arciszewski became the Prime Minister of Poland and at the same time he became the minister of labour and welfare in his government.
He died on 20 November 1955 at aged 78, and is buried in Brompton Cemetery, London.
References
- ^ Aleksy Rżewski (1931). "Wódz bojowców (Tomasz Arciszewski)". W walce z trójzaborcami o Polskę Niepodległą. Wspomnienia (in Polish). Wydawnictwo Księgarni Łódzkiej "Czytaj", Łódź 1931 (made available by Lewicowo.pl). Retrieved 28 December 2012.
External links
- Media related to Tomasz Arciszewski at Wikimedia Commons