Jack of the President of the Republic of Poland
Encyclopedia
Polish Armed Forces
Siły Zbrojne Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej are the national defense forces of Poland...
to mark the presence and pay respect to the President of the Republic of Poland
President of the Republic of Poland
The President of the Republic of Poland is the Polish head of state. His or her rights and obligations are determined in the Constitution of Poland....
who is also ex officio the commander-in-chief
Commander-in-Chief
A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
of the Armed Forces. The jack is raised on Polish Navy
Polish Navy
The Marynarka Wojenna Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej - MW RP Polish Navy, is the branch of Republic of Poland Armed Forces responsible for naval operations...
ships when the president is officially on board, as well as on land, if the president is present. The design of the jack is based directly on the pre-war
History of Poland (1918–1939)
The History of interwar Poland comprises the period from the re-recreation of the independent Polish state in 1918, until the joint Invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in 1939 at the onset of World War II...
Banner of the Republic of Poland
Banner of Poland
Throughout most of the history of Poland, the banner of Poland was one of the main symbols of the Polish State, normally reserved for use by the head of state. Although its design changed with time, it was generally a heraldic banner, i.e., one based directly on the national coat of arms: a crowned...
which used to be part of presidential insignia.
Legal specifications
Coat of arms of Poland
The White Eagle is the national coat of arms of Poland. It is a stylized white eagle with a golden beak and talons, and wearing a golden crown, in a red shield.- Legal basis :...
) in the middle, bordered with a wężyk generalski", an ornate wavy line used in the Polish military as a symbol of general's rank. The hoist to fly ratio is 5:6. The proportion of the eagle's height to the fly is 3:5.
Usage
The presidential jack is used in military ceremonies attended by the commander-in-chief. Celebrations of the Constitution Day, May 3; Polish Armed Forces Day, August 15; and Independence Day, November 11 (see Public holidays in PolandPublic holidays in Poland
Holidays in Poland are regulated by the Non-working Days Act of 18 January 1951 — Journal of Laws, No. 4 of 1960, item No. 28. The Act, as amended in 2010, currently defines thirteen public holidays....
) are typical occasions. For example, during the grand military parade on August 15, 2007 in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, President Lech Kaczyński
Lech Kaczynski
Lech Aleksander Kaczyński was Polish lawyer and politician who served as the President of Poland from 2005 until 2010 and as Mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 22 December 2005. Before he became a president, he was also a member of the party Prawo i Sprawiedliwość...
rode in a convertible jeep preceded by a mounted cavalry
Polish cavalry
The Polish cavalry can trace its origins back to the days of Medieval mounted knights. Poland had always been a country of flatlands and fields and mounted forces operate well in this environment...
officer carrying the presidential jack,
while a smaller jack was attached to the president's jeep as a car flag. The jack also draped President Kaczyński's coffin during his state funeral
Death and state funeral of Lech Kaczyński and Maria Kaczyńska
Lech Kaczyński, the fourth President of the Republic of Poland, died on 10 April 2010, after a Polish Air Force Tu-154 crashed outside of Smolensk, Russia, killing all 96 aboard...
on 18 April 2010.
History
A state banner was used in Poland as insignia of the head of state (king, president, etc.) as early as the 11th century CE. Although its design changed with time, it was always a heraldic banner, i.e. one based directly on the national coat of arms: a crowned White Eagle in a red field. In 1919, the Sejm
Sejm
The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....
(lower house of parliament) established the Banner of the Republic of Poland, reserved for use by the head of state – the State Leader (Naczelnik Państwa
Naczelnik panstwa
Naczelnik Państwa was the title of Poland's head of state in the early years of the Second Polish Republic. This office was held only by Józef Piłsudski, from 1918 to 1922. Until 1919 it was called tymczasowy naczelnik państwa...
) and, later, President of the Republic. In 1927, it was modified to reflect the adoption of a new official rendering of the national coat of arms. At this point the banner was virtually identical to the current design for the presidential jack.
After the Second World War, the Banner of the Republic was still used by presidents-in-exile while a variant with a crownless eagle was used by Communist authorities at home. Officially abandoned in 1955, the banner continued to be used in practice by the prime minister
Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland
The Prime Minister of Poland heads the Polish Council of Ministers 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...
and, during the 1960s, by the Council of State
Polish Council of State
The Council of State of the Republic of Poland was introduced by the 1947 Small Constitution. It consisted of the President of the Republic of Poland, the Marshal and Vicemarshals of Constituent Sejm, President of the Supreme Chamber of Control and could consist of other members...
, a collective head of state of the time.
The modern Jack of the President of the Republic of Poland was established by the Minister of National Defense on January 29, 1996 with the sole purpose of flying it on Polish Navy ships while the commander-in-chief is on board. On December 14, 2005, the use of the presidential jack was extended to all branches of Polish Armed Forces. It was first flown on land during a Constitution Day ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw on May 3, 2005.
See also
- Banner of PolandBanner of PolandThroughout most of the history of Poland, the banner of Poland was one of the main symbols of the Polish State, normally reserved for use by the head of state. Although its design changed with time, it was generally a heraldic banner, i.e., one based directly on the national coat of arms: a crowned...
- Flag of PolandFlag of PolandThe flag of Poland consists of two horizontal stripes of equal width, the upper one white and the lower one red. The two colors are defined in the Polish constitution as the national colors. A variant of the flag with the national coat of arms in the middle of the white stripe is legally reserved...
- Coat of arms of PolandCoat of arms of PolandThe White Eagle is the national coat of arms of Poland. It is a stylized white eagle with a golden beak and talons, and wearing a golden crown, in a red shield.- Legal basis :...
- President of the Republic of PolandPresident of the Republic of PolandThe President of the Republic of Poland is the Polish head of state. His or her rights and obligations are determined in the Constitution of Poland....
- List of Polish flags