Country name
conventional long form: Republic of Poland
conventional short form: Poland
local long form: Rzeczpospolita Polska
local short form: Polska

Data code PL

Government type democratic state

National capital Warsaw

Administrative divisions 49 provinces (wojewodztwa, singular - wojewodztwo); Biala Podlaska, Bialystok, Bielsko Biala, Bydgoszcz, Chelm, Ciechanow, Czestochowa, Elblag, Gdansk, Gorzow, Jelenia Gora, Kalisz, Katowice, Kielce, Konin, Koszalin, Krakow, Krosno, Legnica, Leszno, Lodz, Lomza, Lublin, Nowy Sacz, Olsztyn, Opole, Ostroleka, Pila, Piotrkow, Plock, Poznan, Przemysl, Radom, Rzeszow, Siedlce, Sieradz, Skierniewice, Slupsk, Suwalki, Szczecin, Tarnobrzeg, Tarnow, Torun, Walbrzych, Warszawa, Wloclawek, Wroclaw, Zamosc, Zielona Gora

Independence 11 November 1918 (independent republic proclaimed)

National holiday Constitution Day, 3 May (1791); Independence Day, November 11 (1918)

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

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 although under the new constitution, the Constitutional Tribunal ruling will become final as of October 1999; court decisions can be appealed to the European Court of Justice in Strasbourg

Suffrage 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
chief of state: President Aleksander KWASNIEWSKI (since 23 December 1995)
head of government: Prime Minister Jerzy BUZEK (since NA October 1997), Deputy Prime Ministers Leszek BALCEROWICZ (since 31 October 1997), Janusz TOMASZEWSKI (since 31 October 1997)
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 first round held 5 November 1995, second round held 19 November 1995 (next to be held NA November 2000); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the Sejm
election results: Aleksander KWASNIEWSKI elected president; percent of legislative vote, second round - Aleksander KWASNIEWSKI 51.7%, Lech WALESA 48.3%; Jerzy BUZEK selected prime minister

Legislative branch bicameral National Assembly or Zgromadzenie Narodowe consists of the Sejm (460 seats; members are elected under a complex system of proportional representation to serve four-year terms) and the Senate or Senat (100 seats; members are elected by a majority vote on a provincial basis to serve four-year terms)
elections: Sejm elections last held 21 September 1997 (next to be held by NA September 2001); Senate - last held 21 September 1997 (next to be held by NA September 2001)
election results: Sejm - percent of vote by party - AWS 33.8%, SLD 27.1%, UW 13.4%, PSL 7.3%, ROP 5.6%, German Minority 0.4%, other 12.4%; seats by party - AWS 201, SLD 164, UW 60, PSL 27, ROP 6, German Minority 2; Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - AWS 51, SLD 28, UW 8, ROP 5, PSL 3, independents 5; note - seats by party in the Sejm as of December 1997: AWS 200, SLD 164, UW 60, PSL 26, ROP 4, German Minority 2, other 4
note: four seats are constitutionally assigned to ethnic German parties

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 a 9-year term

Political parties and leaders
post-Communist: Democratic Left Alliance or SLD (Social Democracy of Poland) [Leszek MILLER]; Polish Peasant Party or PSL [Jaroslaw KALINOWSKI]
post-Solidarity parties: Freedom Union or UW; note - Democratic Union and Liberal Democratic Congress merged to form Freedom Union [Leszek BALCEROWICZ]; Christian-National Union or ZCHN [Marian PILKA]; Center Alliance Party or PC [Jaroslaw KACZYNSKI]; Peasant Alliance or PL [Gabriel JANOWSKI]; Solidarity Electoral Action or AWS [Marian KRZAKLEWSKI]; Union of Labor or UP [Aleksander MALACHOWSKI]; Conservative Party or PK [Aleksander HALL]; Nonparty Reform Bloc or BBWR [Jacek LIPINSKI]; Nonparty Reform Block United for Elections or BBWR-SW [Jerzy GWIZDZ]
non-Communist, non-Solidarity: Movement for the Reconstruction of Poland or ROP [Jan OLSZEWSKI]; Confederation for an Independent Poland or KPN [Leszek MOCZULSKI]; German Minority or MN [Gerhardt BARTODZIEJ]; Union of Real Politics or UPR [Mariusz DZIERZAWSKY]

Political pressure groups and leaders powerful Roman Catholic Church; Solidarity (trade union); All Poland Trade Union Alliance or OPZZ (trade union)

International organization participation Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS, CCC, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNPREDEP, UPU, WCL, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US
chief of mission: Ambassador Jerzy KOZMINSKI
chancery: 2640 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone: [1] (202) 234-3800 through 3802
FAX: [1] (202) 328-6271
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York

Diplomatic representation from the US
chief of mission: Ambassador Daniel FRIED
embassy: Aleje Ujazdowskie 29/31 00-054, Warsaw
mailing address: American Embassy Warsaw, US Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-5010 (pouch)
telephone: [48] (22) 628-30-41
FAX: [48] (22) 628-82-98
consulate(s) general: Krakow

Flag description two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red; similar to the flags of Indonesia and Monaco which are red (top) and white

NOTE: The information regarding Poland on this page is re-published from the 1998 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Poland Government 1998 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Poland Government 1998 should be addressed to the CIA.