{{Politics of Poland}}
The '''Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland''' represents the Council of Ministers (the Cabinet) and directs their work, supervises territorial self-government within the guidelines and in ways described in the Constitution and other legislation, and acts as the superior for all government administration workers (heading the public service corps.)
The full name of the office is the "President (or Chairman) of the Council of Minsters" (in Polish ''Prezes Rady Ministrów''), but this version is very rarely used in English. In Polish the office is usually called ''Premier''. Until 1922, the Prime Minister was called "President of the Ministers" (''Prezydent Ministrów'').
Image:Belkafotografkia.jpg - former Prime Minister of Poland.]]
At the same time, the Prime Minister may fulfill the duties of a department head or a committee chairman (the current Prime Minister serves as the chairman of the European Integration Committee). The Prime Minister may also be a Representative at the Sejm of the Republic_of_Poland. He cannot, however, hold the post of the President of the RP or any other high state office such as the Chairman of the NIK (Supreme Chamber of Control), Chairman of the NBP (National Bank of Poland) or a Civil Rights Spokesman (Ombudsman).
Designated Prime Minister is free to select his co-workers - members of the Council of Ministers. The cabinet he selects must be approved by the Sejm by granting him the vote of confidence. Ministerial nominations are signed and handed out by the President of the RP.
The Prime Minister and his ministers take the following pledge before the President of the RP: "Accepting the post of the Prime Minister I solemnly swear that I will faithfully follow the articles of the Constitution and other laws of the Republic of Poland, as well as the good of the Fatherland, and for me the well-being of its citizens will always be the supreme directive." The pledge may be finished with the words "So help me God."
The Constitution of the RP safeguards a stable rule of parliamentary majority, so the dismissal of the Prime Minister from his post before the end of the term of the Sejm is complicated and difficult to achieve.
The Sejm grants the Council of Ministers vote of no confidence by a majority vote of the statutory number of Representatives at the motion put forward by at least 46 Representatives and naming a new candidate to the post of the Prime Minister (so called constructive vote of no confidence). Such motion can be put to vote not earlier than 7 days after it has been proposed. Second motion can be presented not earlier than three months from the date of submission of the prior motion. Second motion can be submitted before the period of three months expires if it is presented by at least 115 Representatives.
The Prime Minister dissolves the Council of Ministers at the first session of the newly elected Sejm, as well as in the case of: failure to pass by the Sejm of the vote of confidence for the Council of Ministers, passing of the vote of no confidence, or resignation for any other reasons.
Accepting the resignation of the Council of Ministers, the President of the Republic asks them to continue to perform their duties until the new Council of Ministers has been selected, thus preserving the continuity of government and control over the actions of the government administration.
==History==
==Former Prime Ministers==
=== Prime Ministers of semi-independent Kingdom of Poland (Nov. 5 1916 - 1918) ===
{| style="border: 1px black solid; text-align: center; width: 65%;" rules=all cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3 align=center
|- style="background-color: #efefef;"
! width=5%| No
! Name and Surname
! width=45%| Term of Office:
|-
|1
|Jan_Kucharzewski
|December_7, 1917 - February_11, 1918
|-
|2
|Antoni_Ponikowski
|February_27 1918 - April_4 1918
|-
|3
|Jan_Kanty_Steczkowski
|April_4 1918 - 1918 - October_2 1918
|-
|4
|Józef_Świerzyński
|October_23, 1918 - November_3, 1918
|-
|5
|Władysław_Wróblewski
|November_3 1918 - November_14 1918
|-
|6
|Ignacy_Daszyński
|November_14 1918 - November_17 1918
|}
=== Prime Ministers of the 2nd Republic of Poland (1918 - 1939) ===
{| style="border: 1px black solid; text-align: center; width: 65%;" rules=all cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3 align=center
|- style="background-color: #efefef;"
! width=5%| No
! Name and Surname
! width=45%| Term of Office:
|-
|3
|Ignacy_Daszyński
|November_6/7, 1918 - November_18, 1918
|-
|4
|Jędrzej_Moraczewski
|November, 1918 - January, 1919
|-
|5
|Ignacy_Paderewski
|January, 1919 - November, 1919
|-
|6
|Leopold_Skulski
|December, 1919 - June, 1920
|-
|7
|Władysław_Grabski
|June, 1920 - July, 1920
|-
|8
|Wincenty_Witos
|July, 1920 - September, 1921
|-
|9
|Antoni_Ponikowski
|September, 1921 - June, 1922
|-
|10
|Artur_Śliwiński
|June, 1922 - July, 1922
|-
|11
|Julian_Nowak
|July, 1922 - December, 1922
|-
|12
|Władysław_Sikorski
|December, 1922 - May, 1923
|-
|13
|Wincenty_Witos
|May, 1923 - December, 1923
|-
|14
|Władysław_Grabski
|December, 1923 - November, 1925
|-
|15
|Aleksander_Skrzyński
|November, 1925 - May, 1926
|-
|16
|Wincenty_Witos
|May, 1926
|-
|17
|Kazimierz_Bartel
|May, 1926 - September, 1926
|-
|18
|Józef_Piłsudski
|October, 1926 - June, 1928
|-
|19
|Kazimierz_Bartel
|June, 1928 - April, 1929
|-
|20
|Kazimierz_Świtalski
|April, 1929 - December, 1929
|-
|21
|Kazimierz_Bartel
|December, 1929 - March, 1930
|-
|22
|Walery_Sławek
|March, 1930 - August, 1930
|-
|23
|Józef_Piłsudski
|August, 1930 - December, 1930
|-
|24
|Walery_Sławek
|December, 1930 - May, 1931
|-
|25
|Aleksander_Prystor
|May, 1931 - May, 1933
|-
|26
|Janusz_Jędrzejewicz
|May, 1933 - May, 1934
|-
|27
|Leon_Kozłowski
|May, 1934 - March, 1935
|-
|28
|Walery_Sławek
|March, 1935 - October, 1935
|-
|29
|Marian Zyndram - Kościałkowski
|October, 1935 - May, 1936
|-
|30
|Felicjan Sławoj - Składkowski
|May, 1936 - September, 1939
|}
=== Prime Ministers of Polish_Government_in_Exile (1939 - 1990) ===
{| style="border: 1px black solid; text-align: center; width: 65%;" rules=all cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3 align=center
|- style="background-color: #efefef;"
! width=5%| No
! Name and Surname
! width=45%| Term of Office:
|-
|31
|Władysław_Sikorski
|September, 1939 - July, 1943
|-
|32
|Stanisław_Mikołajczyk
|July, 1943 - November, 1944
|-
|33
|Tomasz_Arciszewski
|November, 1944 - 1947
|-
|34
|Tadeusz Komorowski
|1947 - 1949
|-
|35
|Tadeusz_Tomaszewski
|1949
|-
|36
|Roman_Odzierzyński
|1949 - 1954
|-
|37
|Jerzy_Hryniewski
|1954
|-
|38
|Stanisław_Mackiewicz
|1954 - 1955
|-
|39
|Hugon_Hanke
|1955
|-
|40
|Antoni_Pająk
|1955 - 1956
|-
|41
|Aleksander_Zawisza
|1956 - 1970
|-
|42
|Zygmunt_Muchniewski
|1970 - 1972
|-
|43
|Alfred_Urbański
|1972 - 1976
|-
|44
|Kazimierz_Sabbat
|1976 - 1986
|-
|45
|Edward_Szczepanik
|1986 - 1990
|}
=== Prime Ministers of the People's Republic of Poland (1944 - 1989) ===
{| style="border: 1px black solid; text-align: center; width: 65%;" rules=all cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3 align=center
|- style="background-color: #efefef;"
! width=5%| No
! Name and Surname
! width=45%| Term of Office:
|-
|46
|Edward_Osóbka-Morawski
|July, 1944 - February, 1947
|-
|47
|Józef_Cyrankiewicz
|February, 1947 - November, 1952
|-
|48
|Bolesław_Bierut
|November, 1952 - March, 1954
|-
|49
|Józef_Cyrankiewicz
|March, 1954 - December, 1970
|-
|50
|Piotr_Jaroszewicz
|December, 1970 - February, 1980
|-
|51
|Edward_Babiuch
|February, 1980 - August, 1980
|-
|52
|Józef_Pińkowski
|September, 1980 - February, 1981
|-
|53
|Wojciech_Jaruzelski
|February, 1981 - November, 1985
|-
|54
|Zbigniew_Messner
|November, 1985 - September, 1988
|-
|55
|Mieczysław_Rakowski
|September, 1988 - August, 1989
|-
|56
|Czesław_Kiszczak1
|August, 1989
|}
=== Prime Ministers of the 3rd Republic of Poland (since 1989) ===
{| style="border: 1px black solid; text-align: center; width: 65%;" rules=all cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3 align=center
|- style="background-color: #efefef;"
! width=5%| No
! Name and Surname
! width=45%| Term of Office:
|-
|57
|Tadeusz_Mazowiecki
|August_24, 1989 - December_14, 1990
|-
|58
|Jan_Krzysztof_Bielecki
|January_12, 1991 - December_5, 1991
|-
|59
|Jan_Olszewski
|December_23, 1991 - June_5, 1992
|-
|60
|Waldemar_Pawlak1
|June_5, 1992 - July_10, 1992
|-
|61
|Hanna_Suchocka
|July_11, 1992 - October_25, 1993
|-
|62
|Waldemar_Pawlak
|October_26, 1993 - March_1, 1995
|-
|63
|Józef_Oleksy
|March_4, 1995 - January_26, 1996
|-
|64
|Włodzimierz_Cimoszewicz
|February_15, 1996 - October_17, 1997
|-
|
|Marek_Belka
|October_17,1997 - October_31, 1997 (acting)
|-
|65
|Jerzy_Buzek
|October_31, 1997 - October_19, 2001
|-
|66
|Leszek_Miller
|October_19, 2001 - May_2, 2004
|-
|67
|Marek_Belka
|May_2, 2004 - October_31, 2005
|-
|68
|Kazimierz_Marcinkiewicz
|since October_31, 2005
|}
:1 - failed to form a cabinet
==See also==
* President_of_the_Republic_of_Poland
* List_of_Polish_rulers
==External links==
* The Chancellery of the Prime Minister
Poland, Prime Ministers
Category:Government_of_Poland
De:Liste_der_Ministerpräsidenten_Polens
Fr:Premiers_ministres_de_la_Pologne
It:Primi_Ministri_della_Polonia
Pl:Premierzy_Polski