Polish General Staff, formally known as the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces (Polish: Sztab Generalny Wojska Polskiego) is the highest professional body within the Polish Armed Forces. Organizationally, it is an integral part of the Ministry of National Defence and the Chief of the General Staff is the highest ranking military officer at the Ministry. It was created in 1918, and for a time bore the name Main Staff (Sztab Główny). Currently General Wiesław Kukuła holds the position of Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces (Szef Sztabu Generalnego Wojska Polskiego).[1]
| Chief of the General Staff | |
|---|---|
| Szef Sztabu Generalnego Wojska Polskiego | |
 Emblem of the PGS | |
 Flag of the PGS Chief | |
| Polish Armed Forces | |
| Member of | General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces |
| Reports to | Minister of National Defence |
| Appointer | President of Poland |
| Formation | 28 October 1918 |
| First holder | Tadeusz Jordan-Rozwadowski |
| Website | www |
History and structure edit
On 25 October 1918, a decision was made to establish the directorate of the chief of staff of the Polish Army. In 1928 the General Headquarters of the Polish Army was established, known commonly at the time as the Main Staff (Sztab Główny). In September 1939, during the Invasion of Poland by the Wehrmacht and the Red Army, all the institutions of the General Staff ceased to function and were transferred to joint German and Soviet. control. On 8 August 1944, the General Command of the Polish Army was created and on 1 January 1945, the National Council of Poland decided to establish the General Staff of the Polish Army, the head of which was appointed Soviet-Polish General Vladislav Korchits.
The General Staff consists of the following command personnel and organizational units at the Ministry of National Defence (MON):
Command personnel (Kadra kierownicza):[2]
- Chief of the General Staff (Szef Sztabu Generalnego WP) - Generał broni Wiesław Kukuła
- First Deputy Chief of the General Staff (I Zastępca szefa Sztabu Generalnego WP) - Generał broni Piotr Błazeusz
- Deputy Chief of Staff (Zastępca szefa Sztabu Generalnego WP) - Generał dywizji Dariusz Pluta
- Deputy Chief of Staff (Zastępca szefa Sztabu Generalnegi WP) - Generał dywizji Karol Dymanowski
- Director of the Chief of the GS's Secretariat (Szef Sekretariatu Szefa SG WP) - Col. Cezary Kiszkowiak
- Director of the Legal Department (Szef Zespołu Prasowego - rzecznik prasowy SG WP) - Col. Joanna Klejszmit
- Director of the Coordination Center (Szef Centrum Koordynacyjnego) - Col. Adam Górecki
- Chief NCO (Starszy podoficer SG WP) - Starszy chorąży sztabowy Andrzej Woltmann
General Staff Directorates (Zarządy Sztabu Generalnego WP):[3]
- Organization and Manpower Complement Directorate (Zarząd Organizacji i Uzupełnień P1) - Colonel
- Intelligence and Reconnaissance Analysis Directorate (Zarząd Analiz Wywiadowczych i Rozpoznawczych P2) - Generał brygady
- Armed Forces Application Planning and Training Directorate (Zarząd Planowania Użycia Sił Zbrojnych i Szkolenia - P3/P7) - Generał brygady
- Logistics Directorate (Zarząd Logistyki - P4) - Colonel
- Armed Forces Development Planning and Programming Directorate (Zarząd Planowania i Programowania Rozwoju Sił Zbrojnych - P5) - Colonel
- Management and Command Directorate (Zarząd Kierowania i Dowodzenia - P6) - Colonel
- Material Planning Directorate (Zarząd Planowania Rzeczowego - P8) - Colonel
List of Chiefs edit
Kingdom of Poland (1917–1918) edit
- Head of the Inspectorate
| No. | Portrait | Head of the Inspectorate | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | gen. piech. Felix von Barth (1851–1931) | 23 April 1917 | 19 October 1918 | 18 days | |
| 2 | płk Henryk Minkiewicz (1880–1940) | 19 October 1918 | 28 October 1918 | 9 days |
![Felix von Barth [pl]](/wiki/File:No_image.png)
.jpg)
- Chief of Staff
| No. | Portrait | Chief of Staff | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | gen. ppor. Tadeusz Rozwadowski (1866–1928) | 28 October 1918 | 14 November 1918 | 17 days |
Second Polish Republic (1918−1939) edit
| No. | Portrait | Chief of the General Staff | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | gen. ppor. Tadeusz Rozwadowski (1866–1928) | 14 November 1918 | 15 November 1918 | 1 day | |
| 2 | gen. broni Stanisław Szeptycki (1867–1950) | 16 November 1918 | 7 February 1919 | 84 days | |
| 3 | gen. ppor. Stanisław Haller (1872–1940) | 8 February 1919 | 22 July 1920 | 1 year, 165 days | |
| (1) | gen. por. Tadeusz Rozwadowski (1866–1928) | 22 July 1920 | 1 April 1921 | 253 days | |
| 4 | gen. dyw. Władysław Sikorski (1881–1943) | 1 April 1921 | 6 December 1922 | 1 year, 249 days | |
| 5 | Pierwszy Marszałek Polski Józef Piłsudski (1867–1935) | 17 December 1922 | 9 June 1923 | 174 days | |
| (3) | gen. dyw. Stanisław Haller (1872–1940) | 9 June 1923 | 16 December 1925 | 2 years, 190 days | |
| 6 | gen. bryg. Edmund Kessler (1880–1930) | 16 December 1925 | 12 May 1926 | 147 days | |
| (3) | gen. dyw. Stanisław Haller (1872–1940) | 12 May 1926 | 15 May 1926 | 3 days | |
| 7 | gen. bryg. Stanisław Burhardt-Bukacki (1890–1942) | 17 May 1926 | 28 June 1926 | 42 days | |
| 8 | gen. bryg. Tadeusz Piskor (1889–1951) | 28 June 1926 | 5 December 1931 | 5 years, 160 days | |
| 9 | gen. bryg. Janusz Gąsiorowski (1889–1949) | 3 December 1931 | 7 June 1935 | 3 years, 186 days | |
| 9 | gen. bryg. Wacław Stachiewicz (1894–1973) | 7 June 1935 | 18 September 1939 | 4 years, 103 days |
![Edmund Kessler [pl]](/wiki/File:Edmund_Kessler.jpg)
Polish government-in-exile (1939−1946) edit
| No. | Portrait | Chief of the General Staff | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | płk Aleksander Kędzior (1897–1986) | 7 November 1939 | 5 June 1940 | 211 days | |
| 2 | gen. bryg. Tadeusz Klimecki (1895–1943) | 5 June 1940 | 4 July 1943 † | 3 years, 29 days | |
| 3 | gen. dyw. Stanisław Kopański (1895–1976) | 21 July 1943 | 3 September 1946 | 3 years, 44 days |
![Aleksander Kędzior [pl]](/wiki/File:Aleksander_K%C4%99dzior.jpg)
Republic of Poland / People's Republic of Poland (1945−1989) edit
| No. | Portrait | Chief of the General Staff | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | gen. broni Władysław Korczyc (1893–1966) | 9 May 1945 | 18 January 1954 | 8 years, 254 days | |
| – | gen. broni Borys Pigarewicz (1898–1961) Acting | 18 January 1954 | 23 March 1954 | 64 days | |
| 2 | gen. broni Jerzy Bordziłowski (1900–1983) | 23 March 1954 | 6 February 1965 | 10 years, 320 days | |
| 3 | gen. dyw. Wojciech Jaruzelski (1923–2014) | 6 February 1965 | 10 April 1968 | 3 years, 64 days | |
| 4 | gen. dyw. Bolesław Chocha (1923–1987) | 10 April 1968 | 11 January 1973 | 4 years, 276 days | |
| 5 | gen. broni Florian Siwicki (1925–2013) | 12 January 1973 | 21 November 1983 | 10 years, 313 days | |
| 6 | gen. broni Józef Użycki (born 1932) | 22 November 1983 | 1 January 1990 | 6 years, 40 days |
![Bolesław Chocha [pl]](/wiki/File:Boles%C5%82aw_Chocha.jpg)
Third Polish Republic (1990−present) edit
| No. | Portrait | Chief of the General Staff | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | gen. broni Józef Użycki (born 1932) | 1 January 1990 | 24 September 1990 | 266 days | |
| 2 | gen. broni Zdzisław Stelmaszuk (born 1936) | 25 September 1990 | 4 August 1992 | 1 year, 314 days | |
| 3 | gen. broni Tadeusz Wilecki (born 1945) | 4 August 1992 | 9 March 1997 | 4 years, 216 days | |
| 4 | gen. broni Henryk Szumski (1941–2012) | 10 March 1997 | 29 September 2000 | 3 years, 203 days | |
| 5 | gen. Czesław Piątas (born 1946) | 30 September 2000 | 31 January 2006 | 5 years, 123 days | |
| – | gen. broni Mieczysław Cieniuch (born 1951) Acting | 31 January 2006 | 27 February 2006 | 27 days | |
| 6 | gen. Franciszek Gągor (1951–2010) | 27 February 2006 | 10 April 2010 † | 4 years, 42 days | |
| – | gen. broni Mieczysław Stachowiak (born 1952) Acting | 10 April 2010 | 7 May 2010 | 27 days | |
| 7 | gen. Mieczysław Cieniuch (born 1951) | 7 May 2010 | 6 May 2013 | 2 years, 364 days | |
| 8 | gen. Mieczysław Gocuł (born 1963) | 7 May 2013 | 31 January 2017 | 3 years, 269 days | |
| 9 | gen. Leszek Surawski (born 1960) | 31 January 2017 | 2 July 2018 | 1 year, 152 days | |
| 10 | gen. Rajmund Andrzejczak (born 1967) | 2 July 2018 | 10 October 2023 | 5 years, 100 days | |
| 11 | gen. broni Wiesław Kukuła (born 1972) | 10 October 2023 | Incumbent | 194 days |
![Mieczysław Stachowiak [pl]](/wiki/File:Mieczys%C5%82aw_Stachowiak.JPG)
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "Polish president appoints new army chiefs". Polskie Radio. 2023-10-10. Retrieved 2023-10-26.
- ^ "Kadra Kierownicza". Wojsko-Polskie.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2023-10-26.
- ^ "Zarządy SGWP". Wojsko-Polskie.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2021-02-25.
External links edit
- Official website
(in Polish)
