Poland Government - 2024

Country name

conventional long form: Republic of Poland

conventional short form: Poland

local long form: Rzeczpospolita Polska

local short form: Polska

former: Polish People's Republic

etymology: name derives from the Polanians, a west Slavic tribe that united several surrounding Slavic groups (9th-10th centuries A.D.) and who passed on their name to the country; the name of the tribe likely comes from the Slavic "pole" (field or plain), indicating the flat nature of their country

Government type

parliamentary republic

Capital

name: Warsaw

geographic coordinates: 52 15 N, 21 00 E

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

daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

etymology: 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

Administrative divisions

16 voivodships [provinces] (wojewodztwa, singular - wojewodztwo); Dolnoslaskie (Lower Silesia), Kujawsko-Pomorskie (Kuyavia-Pomerania), Lodzkie (Lodz), Lubelskie (Lublin), Lubuskie (Lubusz), Malopolskie (Lesser Poland), Mazowieckie (Masovia), Opolskie (Opole), Podkarpackie (Subcarpathia), Podlaskie, Pomorskie (Pomerania), Slaskie (Silesia), Swietokrzyskie (Holy Cross), Warminsko-Mazurskie (Warmia-Masuria), Wielkopolskie (Greater Poland), Zachodniopomorskie (West Pomerania)

Independence

11 November 1918 (republic proclaimed); notable earlier dates: 14 April 966 (adoption of Christianity, traditional founding date), 1 July 1569 (Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth created)

National holiday

Constitution Day, 3 May (1791)

Constitution

history: several previous; latest adopted 2 April 1997, approved by referendum 25 May 1997, effective 17 October 1997

amendments: proposed by at least one fifth of Sejm deputies, by the Senate, or by the president of the republic; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote in the Sejm and absolute majority vote in the Senate; amendments to articles relating to sovereignty, personal freedoms, and constitutional amendment procedures also require passage by majority vote in a referendum; amended 2006, 2009

Legal system

civil law system; judicial review of legislative, administrative, and other governmental acts; constitutional law rulings of the Constitutional Tribunal are final

International law organization participation

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

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

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch

chief of state: President Andrzej DUDA (since 6 August 2015)

head of government: Prime Minister Donald TUSK (since 11 December 2023); Deputy Prime Ministers Wladyslaw KOSINIAK-KAMYSZ, Krzysztof GAWKOWSKI (both since 11 December 2023)

cabinet: Council of Ministers proposed by the prime minister, appointed by the president, and approved by the Sejm

elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 28 June 2020 with a second round on 12 July 2020 (next to be held in 2025); prime minister, deputy prime ministers, and Council of Ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the Sejm; all presidential candidates resign their party affiliation

election results:
2020: Andrzej DUDA reelected president in second round; percent of vote - Andrzej DUDA (independent) 51%, Rafal TRZASKOWSKI (KO) 49%

2015: Andrzej DUDA elected president in second round; percent of vote - Andrzej DUDA (independent) 51.5%, Bronislaw KOMOROWSKI (independent) 48.5%

Legislative branch

description: bicameral Parliament consists of:
Senate or Senat (100 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 4-year terms)
Sejm (460 seats; members elected in multi-seat constituencies by party-list proportional representation vote with 5% threshold of total votes needed for parties and 8% for coalitions to gain seats; minority parties exempt from threshold; members serve 4-year terms)

elections:
Senate - last held on 15 October 2023 (next to be held in 2027)
Sejm - last held on 15 October 2023 (next to be held in 2027)

election results:
Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA

Sejm (preliminary results as of 10/15/2023): PiS 35.4%, KO 30.7%, TD 14.4%, Lewica 8.6%, Konf 7.2%; seats by party - PiS 194, KO 157, TD 65, Lewica 26, Konf 18

note: the designation National Assembly or Zgromadzenie Narodowe is only used on those rare occasions when the 2 houses meet jointly

Judicial branch

highest court(s): Supreme Court or Sad Najwyzszy (consists of the first president of the Supreme Court and 120 justices organized in criminal, civil, labor and social insurance, and extraordinary appeals and public affairs and disciplinary chambers); Constitutional Tribunal (consists of 15 judges, including the court president and vice president)

judge selection and term of office: president of the Supreme Court nominated by the General Assembly of the Supreme Court and selected by the president of Poland; other judges nominated by the 25-member National Judicial Council and appointed by the president of Poland; judges serve until retirement, usually at age 65, but tenure can be extended; Constitutional Tribunal judges chosen by the Sejm for single 9-year terms

subordinate courts: administrative courts; military courts; local, regional and appellate courts subdivided into military, civil, criminal, labor, and family courts

Political parties and leaders

Agreement [Jaroslaw GOWIN]
Civic Platform or PO [Donald TUSK]
Konfederajca [Krzysztof BOSAK]
Law and Justice or PiS [Jaroslaw KACZYNSKI]
New Left or NL [Wlodzimierz CZARZASTY and Robert BIEDRON]
Poland 2050 [Szymon HOLOWNIA]
Polish People's Party or PSL [Wladyslaw KOSINIAK-KAMYSZ]
Republican Party or R [Adam BIELAN]
United Poland or SP [Zbigniew ZIOBRO]

International organization participation

Arctic Council (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS, CD, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MONUSCO, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, Schengen Convention, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNHRC, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOCI, UN Security Council (temporary), UNWTO, UPU, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Marek Grzegorz MAGIEROWSKI (since 13 January 2022)

chancery: 2640 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009

telephone: [1] (202) 499-1700

FAX: [1] (202) 328-2152; [1] (202) 328-6271

email address and website:
washington.amb.sekretariat@msz.gov.pl

https://www.gov.pl/web/usa-en/embassy-washington

consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Mark BRZEZINSKI (since 19 January 2022)

embassy: Aleje Ujazdowskie 29/31, 00-540 Warsaw

mailing address: 5010 Warsaw Place, Washington, DC 20521-5010

telephone: [48] (22) 504-2000

FAX: [48] (22) 504-2088

email address and website:
acswarsaw@state.gov

https://pl.usembassy.gov/

consulate(s) general: Krakow

Flag description

two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red; colors derive from the Polish emblem - a white eagle on a red field

note: similar to the flags of Indonesia and Monaco which are red (top) and white

National symbol(s)

white crowned eagle; national colors: white, red

National anthem

name: "Mazurek Dabrowskiego" (Dabrowski's Mazurka)

lyrics/music: Jozef WYBICKI/traditional

note: adopted 1927; the anthem, commonly known as "Jeszcze Polska nie zginela" (Poland Has Not Yet Perished), was written in 1797; the lyrics resonate strongly with Poles because they reflect the numerous occasions in which the nation's lands have been occupied

National heritage

total World Heritage Sites: 17 (15 cultural, 2 natural)

selected World Heritage Site locales: Historic Krakow (c); Historic Warsaw (c); Medieval Torun (c); Wooden Tserkvas of the Carpathian Region (c); Castle of the Teutonic Order in Malbork (c); (c); (c); Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians (n); Białowieza Forest (n); Old City of Zamość (c)