Government and Politics of Poland

Government Type

republic

Administrative Divisions

16 provinces (wojewodztwa, singular - wojewodztwo); Dolnoslaskie, Kujawsko-Pomorskie, Lodzkie, Lubelskie, Lubuskie, Malopolskie, Mazowieckie, Opolskie, Podkarpackie, Podlaskie, Pomorskie, Slaskie, Swietokrzyskie, Warminsko-Mazurskie, Wielkopolskie, Zachodniopomorskie

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, but rulings of the Constitutional Tribunal are final; court decisions can be appealed to the European Court of Justice in Strasbourg

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Citizenship

citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: both parents must be citizens of Poland dual citizenship recognized: no residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years

Executive Branch

chief of state: President Lech KACZYNSKI (since 23 December 2005) head of government: Prime Minister Kazimierz MARCINKIEWICZ (since 31 October 2005); Deputy Prime Ministers Ludwik DORN (since 23 November 2005) and Zyta GILOWSKA (since 7 January 2006) 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 last held 9 and 23 October 2005 (next to be held October 2010); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the Sejm election results: Lech KACZYNSKI elected president; percent of popular vote - Lech KACZYNSKI 54%, Donald Tusk 46%

Legislative Branch

bicameral legislature consisting of an upper house, the Senate or Senat (100 seats; members are elected by a majority vote on a provincial basis to serve four-year terms), and a lower house, the Sejm (460 seats; members are elected under a complex system of proportional representation to serve four-year terms); the designation of National Assembly or Zgromadzenie Narodowe is only used on those rare occasions when the two houses meet jointly elections: Senate - last held 25 September 2005 (next to be held by September 2009); Sejm elections last held 25 September 2005 (next to be held by September 2009) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PiS 49, PO 34, LPR 7, SO 3, PSL 2, independents 5; Sejm - percent of vote by party - PiS 27%, PO 24.1%, SO 11.4%, SLD 11.3%, LPR 8%, PSL 7%, other 11.2%; seats by party - PiS 155, PO 133, SO 56, SLD 55, LPR 34, PSL 25, German minorities 2 note: two seats are assigned to ethnic minority parties in the Sejm only

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

Catholic-National Movement or RKN [Antoni MACIEREWICZ]; Civic Platform or PO [Donald TUSK]; Conservative Peasants Party or SKL [Artur BALAZS]; Democratic Left Alliance or SLD [Wojciech OLEJNICZAK]; Democratic Party or PD [Wladyslaw FRASYNIUK]; Dom Ojczysty (Fatherland Home) [leader NA]; German Minority of Lower Silesia or MNSO [Henryk KROLL]; Law and Justice or PiS [Jaroslaw KACZYNSKI]; League of Polish Families or LPR [Marek KOTLINOWSKI]; Peasant-Democratic Party or PLD [Roman JAGIELINSKI]; Polish Accord or PP [Jan LOPUSZANSKI]; Polish Peasant Party or PSL [Waldemar PAWLAK]; Ruch Patriotyczny or RP [Jan OLSZEWSKI]; Samoobrona or SO [Andrzej LEPPER]; Social Democratic Party of Poland or SDPL [Marek BOROWSKI]; Social Movement or RS [Krzysztof PIESIEWICZ]; Union of Labor or UP [Andrzej SPYCHALSKI]

Head of State

Acting President Bronislaw Komorowski. Became acting president following the death of Lech KACZYNSKI in an airplane crash

Head of Government

Prime Minister Donald TUSK

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 (eligible for a second term); election last held 9 and 23 October 2005 (next to be held in the fall 2010); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the Sejm

Election Results

Lech KACZYNSKI elected president; percent of popular vote - Lech KACZYNSKI 54%, Donald Tusk 46%

Constitution

16 October 1997; adopted by the National Assembly 2 April 1997; passed by national referendum 23 May 1997

Independence

11 November 1918 (independent republic proclaimed)

National Holiday

Constitution Day, 3 May (1791)

International Organization Participation

ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EU (new member), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic Representation in the U.S.

chief of mission: Ambassador Janusz REITER chancery: 2640 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-3800 through 3802 FAX: [1] (202) 328-6270 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York

U.S. Diplomatic Representation

chief of mission: Ambassador Victor ASHE embassy: Aleje Ujazdowskie 29/31 00-540 Warsaw mailing address: American Embassy Warsaw, US Department of State, 5010 Warsaw Place, Washington, DC 20521-5010 (pouch) telephone: [48] (22) 504-2000 FAX: [48] (22) 504-2688 consulate(s) general: Krakow

Capital City

Warsaw

Location

52 15 N, 21 00 E

Time Difference

UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

History

the origin of the name is unknown; the Polish designation "Warszawa" was the name of a fishing village and several legends/traditions link the city's founding to a man named Wars or Warsz

U.S. Embassy Warsaw Aleje Ujazdowskie 29/31, 00-540 Warszawa Telephone: (48) (22) 504-2784 Emergency after-hours telephone: (48) (22) 504-2000 Fax: (48) (22) 504-2122 U.S. Consulate General Kraków Ulica Stolarska 9, 31-043 Kraków Telephone: (48) (12) 424-5100 Emergency after-hours telephone: (48) 601-483-348 Fax: (48) (12) 424-5103 Consular Agency Pozna? Ulica Paderewskiego 8, 61-770 Pozna? Telephone: (48) (61) 851-8516 Fax: (48) (61) 851-8966 Please check the individual web page for the embassy or consulate you will visit to verify the public hours and security regulations. You are not allowed to bring electronic devices such as cell phones and laptops into our facilities. You need an appointment for most services; you can find instructions for making appointments on our website.

Military Branches

Polish Armed Forces: Land Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Aviation Forces, Special Forces

Service Age and Obligation

18-28 years of age for male and female voluntary military service; conscription phased out in 2009-12; service obligation shortened from 12 to 9 months in 2005; women only allowed to serve as officers and noncommissioned officers