Politics of Poland
Encyclopedia
The politics of Poland
take place in the framework of a parliamentary
representative democratic
republic
, whereby the Prime Minister
is the head of government
of a multi-party system
and the President is the head of state
.
Executive power
is exercised by the Council of Ministers. Legislative power is vested in both the government
and the two chambers of parliament (known together by the very same name as the lower house "Sejm"), the Sejm and the Senate. The Judiciary
is independent of the executive and the legislature.
Executive power
is exercised by the government, which consists of a council of ministers led by the Prime Minister
. Its members are typically chosen from a majority coalition in the lower house of parliament (the Sejm
), although exceptions to this rule are not uncommon. The government is formally announced by the president, and must pass a motion of confidence in the Sejm within two weeks.
Legislative power is vested in both the government
and the two chambers of parliament, Sejm and Senate. Members of parliament are elected by proportional representation, with the proviso that non-ethnic-minority parties must gain at least 5% of the national vote to enter the lower house. Currently four parties are represented. Parliamentary elections occur at least every four years.
The president
, as the head of state
, is the supreme commander of the Armed Forces
and has the power to veto legislation passed by parliament, but otherwise has a mostly representative role. Presidential elections occur every 5 years.
The political system is defined in the Polish Constitution, which also guarantees a wide range of individual freedoms.
The judicial branch
plays a minor role in politics, apart from the Constitutional Tribunal, which can annul laws that violate the freedoms guaranteed in the constitution.
The President, as representative of the state in foreign affairs, shall ratify and renounce international agreements, appoint and recall the plenipotentiary representatives of the Republic of Poland and shall cooperate with the Prime Minister and the appropriate minister in respect of foreign policy.
As Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, the President shall appoint the Chief of the General Staff and commanders of branches of the Armed Forces.
The President may, regarding particular matters, convene the Cabinet Council, although it does not possess the competence of the Council of Ministers.
Official acts of the President shall require, for their validity, the signature of the Prime Minister, nevertheless this does not apply to:
|Bronisław Komorowski
|PO
|6 August 2010
|-
|Prime Minister
|Donald Tusk
|PO
|16 November 2007
|}
The president is elected by popular vote for a five-year term, the prime minister and deputy prime ministers are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Sejm. The Council of Ministers
is responsible to the prime minister and the Sejm
; the prime minister proposes, the president appoints, and the Sejm approves the Council of Ministers.
has two chambers
. The lower chamber (Sejm
) has 460 members, elected for a four year term by proportional representation
in multi-seat constituencies using the d'Hondt method
similar to that used in many parliamentary political systems, with a 5 % threshold (8% for coalitions, threshold waived for national minorities). The Senate
(Senat) has 100 members elected for a four year term in 40 multi-seat constituencies
under a rare plurality bloc voting
method where several candidates with the highest support are elected from each electorate
. When sitting in joint session, members of the Sejm and Senate form the National Assembly, (Polish
Zgromadzenie Narodowe). The National Assembly is formed on three occasions: Taking the oath of office by a new president, bringing an indictment against the President of the Republic to the Tribunal of State, and declaration of a President's permanent incapacity to exercise their duties due to the state of their health. Only the first kind has occurred to date. Since 1991 elections are supervised by the National Electoral Commission (Państwowa Komisja Wyborcza), whose administrative division is called the National Electoral Office (Krajowe Biuro Wyborcze).
Leszek Balcerowicz
, Marek Belka
, Marek Borowski
, Bogdan Borusewicz
, Jerzy Buzek
, Ludwik Dorn
, Bronisław Geremek, Roman Giertych
, Zyta Gilowska
, Danuta Hübner
, Marek Jurek
, Jarosław Kaczyński, Lech Kaczyński
, Jarosław Kalinowski, Bronisław Komorowski, Aleksander Kwaśniewski
, Andrzej Lepper
, Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz
, Stefan Meller
, Wojciech Olejniczak
, Zbigniew Religa
, Jan Rokita
, Jacek Saryusz-Wolski
, Donald Tusk
, Zbigniew Wassermann
, Zbigniew Ziobro
.
See :Category:Polish politicians
goal is to further integrate with NATO and other west European
defense, economic, and political institutions via a modernization and reorganization of its military. Polish military doctrine reflects the same defense nature as its NATO partners.
The combined consists of 100,300 active duty personnel and in addition 234,000 reserves.
In 2009 the Armed Forces transformed into a fully professional organization and compulsory military service was abolished. Personnel levels and organization in the different branches are as follows (2004):
The Polish military continues to restructure and to modernize its equipment. The Polish Defense Ministry General Staff and the Land Forces staff have recently reorganized the latter into a NATO-compatible J/G-1 through J/G-6 structure. Budget constraints hamper such priority defense acquisitions as a multi-role fighter, improved communications systems, and an attack helicopter.
Poland continues to be a regional leader in support and participation in the NATO Partnership for Peace Program and has actively engaged most of its neighbors and other regional actors to build stable foundations for future European security arrangements. Poland continues its long record of strong support for UN Peacekeeping Operations by maintaining a unit in Southern Lebanon, a battalion in NATO's Kosovo
Force (KFOR), and by providing and actually deploying the KFOR strategic reserve to Kosovo. Poland is a strong ally of the US in Europe and leads the Multinational Division Central-South
in Iraq
.
(BOR), or Government Protection Bureau, is Poland's equivalent of the Secret Service in the United States- providing antiterrorism and VIP security detail services for the government.
, singular - województwo
); Lower Silesia
, Kuyavia-Pomerania
, Łódź, Lubelskie
, Lubusz
, Lesser Poland
, Masovia
, Opole
, Subcarpathia
, Podlaskie
, Pomerania
, Silesia
, Świętokrzyskie
, Warmia-Masuria
, Greater Poland
, and West Pomerania
.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
take place in the framework of a parliamentary
Parliamentary system
A parliamentary system is a system of government in which the ministers of the executive branch get their democratic legitimacy from the legislature and are accountable to that body, such that the executive and legislative branches are intertwined....
representative democratic
Representative democracy
Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principle of elected individuals representing the people, as opposed to autocracy and direct democracy...
republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
, whereby 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...
is the head of government
Head of government
Head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled prime minister, chief minister, premier, etc...
of a multi-party system
Multi-party system
A multi-party system is a system in which multiple political parties have the capacity to gain control of government separately or in coalition, e.g.The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition in the United Kingdom formed in 2010. The effective number of parties in a multi-party system is normally...
and the President is the head of state
Head of State
A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
.
Executive power
Executive Power
Executive Power is Vince Flynn's fifth novel, and the fourth to feature Mitch Rapp, an American agent that works for the CIA as an operative for a covert counter terrorism unit called the "Orion Team."-Plot summary:...
is exercised by the Council of Ministers. Legislative power is vested in both the government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
and the two chambers of parliament (known together by the very same name as the lower house "Sejm"), the Sejm and the Senate. The Judiciary
Judiciary
The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes...
is independent of the executive and the legislature.
Executive power
Executive Power
Executive Power is Vince Flynn's fifth novel, and the fourth to feature Mitch Rapp, an American agent that works for the CIA as an operative for a covert counter terrorism unit called the "Orion Team."-Plot summary:...
is exercised by the government, which consists of a council of ministers led 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...
. Its members are typically chosen from a majority coalition in the lower house of parliament (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 ....
), although exceptions to this rule are not uncommon. The government is formally announced by the president, and must pass a motion of confidence in the Sejm within two weeks.
Legislative power is vested in both the government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
and the two chambers of parliament, Sejm and Senate. Members of parliament are elected by proportional representation, with the proviso that non-ethnic-minority parties must gain at least 5% of the national vote to enter the lower house. Currently four parties are represented. Parliamentary elections occur at least every four years.
The president
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....
, as the head of state
Head of State
A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
, is the supreme commander of the Armed Forces
Polish Armed Forces
Siły Zbrojne Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej are the national defense forces of Poland...
and has the power to veto legislation passed by parliament, but otherwise has a mostly representative role. Presidential elections occur every 5 years.
The political system is defined in the Polish Constitution, which also guarantees a wide range of individual freedoms.
The judicial branch
Judiciary
The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes...
plays a minor role in politics, apart from the Constitutional Tribunal, which can annul laws that violate the freedoms guaranteed in the constitution.
The President
The President is elected by popular vote for a maximum of two 5-year terms. She/he is head of state, supreme commander of the Armed Forces and supreme representative of the Republic of Poland. The President has the right to veto legislation, although veto may be overridden by the assembly by a three-fifths majority vote.The President, as representative of the state in foreign affairs, shall ratify and renounce international agreements, appoint and recall the plenipotentiary representatives of the Republic of Poland and shall cooperate with the Prime Minister and the appropriate minister in respect of foreign policy.
As Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, the President shall appoint the Chief of the General Staff and commanders of branches of the Armed Forces.
The President may, regarding particular matters, convene the Cabinet Council, although it does not possess the competence of the Council of Ministers.
Official acts of the President shall require, for their validity, the signature of the Prime Minister, nevertheless this does not apply to:
- nominating and appointing the Prime Minister
- shortening of the term of office of the Sejm in the instances specified in the Constitution
- introducing legislation
- requesting the Sejm to appoint the President of the National Bank of Poland
- appointing judges
- proclaiming the holding of a nationwide referendum (a consent of the Senate is required)
- signing or refusing to sign a bill
- appointing the First President of the Supreme Court, President of the Constitutional Tribunal, members of the Council for Monetary Policy, appointing and dismissing members of the National Security Council
- exercising the power of pardon
- convening the Cabinet Council
Executive
|PresidentPresident 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....
|Bronisław Komorowski
|PO
Civic Platform
Civic Platform , abbreviated to PO, is a centre-right, liberal conservative political party in Poland. It has been the major coalition partner in Poland's government since the 2007 general election, with party leader Donald Tusk as Prime Minister of Poland and Bronisław Komorowski as President...
|6 August 2010
|-
|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...
|Donald Tusk
Donald Tusk
Donald Franciszek Tusk is a Polish politician who has been Prime Minister of Poland since 2007. He was a co-founder and is chairman of the Civic Platform party....
|PO
Civic Platform
Civic Platform , abbreviated to PO, is a centre-right, liberal conservative political party in Poland. It has been the major coalition partner in Poland's government since the 2007 general election, with party leader Donald Tusk as Prime Minister of Poland and Bronisław Komorowski as President...
|16 November 2007
|}
The president is elected by popular vote for a five-year term, the prime minister and deputy prime ministers are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Sejm. The Council of Ministers
Council of Ministers of Poland
The Cabinet of Poland consists of the Prime Minister and ministers. Deputy Prime Ministers and presidents of committees specified in statutes may also be appointed to the Cabinet...
is responsible to the prime minister and 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 ....
; the prime minister proposes, the president appoints, and the Sejm approves the Council of Ministers.
Legislative
The Polish ParliamentPolish parliament
Polish parliament is an expression referring to the historical Polish parliaments. It implies chaos and general disorder, and that no real decision can be reached during sessions...
has two chambers
Bicameralism
In the government, bicameralism is the practice of having two legislative or parliamentary chambers. Thus, a bicameral parliament or bicameral legislature is a legislature which consists of two chambers or houses....
. The lower chamber (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 ....
) has 460 members, elected for a four year term by proportional representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
in multi-seat constituencies using the d'Hondt method
D'Hondt method
The d'Hondt method is a highest averages method for allocating seats in party-list proportional representation. The method described is named after Belgian mathematician Victor D'Hondt who described it in 1878...
similar to that used in many parliamentary political systems, with a 5 % threshold (8% for coalitions, threshold waived for national minorities). The Senate
Senate of Poland
The Senate is the upper house of the Polish parliament, the lower house being the 'Sejm'. The history of the Polish Senate is rich in tradition and stretches back over 500 years, it was one of the first constituent bodies of a bicameral parliament in Europe and existed without hiatus until the...
(Senat) has 100 members elected for a four year term in 40 multi-seat constituencies
Electoral district
An electoral district is a distinct territorial subdivision for holding a separate election for one or more seats in a legislative body...
under a rare plurality bloc voting
Plurality-at-large voting
Plurality-at-large voting is a non-proportional voting system for electing several representatives from a single multimember electoral district using a series of check boxes and tallying votes similar to a plurality election...
method where several candidates with the highest support are elected from each electorate
Electoral district
An electoral district is a distinct territorial subdivision for holding a separate election for one or more seats in a legislative body...
. When sitting in joint session, members of the Sejm and Senate form the National Assembly, (Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
Zgromadzenie Narodowe). The National Assembly is formed on three occasions: Taking the oath of office by a new president, bringing an indictment against the President of the Republic to the Tribunal of State, and declaration of a President's permanent incapacity to exercise their duties due to the state of their health. Only the first kind has occurred to date. Since 1991 elections are supervised by the National Electoral Commission (Państwowa Komisja Wyborcza), whose administrative division is called the National Electoral Office (Krajowe Biuro Wyborcze).
Political parties and elections
Some contemporary Polish politicians in alphabetical order:Leszek Balcerowicz
Leszek Balcerowicz
Leszek Balcerowicz is a Polish economist, the former chairman of the National Bank of Poland and Deputy Prime Minister in Tadeusz Mazowiecki's government...
, Marek Belka
Marek Belka
Marek Marian Belka is a Polish professor of Economics, a former Prime Minister and Finance Minister of Poland, former Director of the International Monetary Fund's European Department and current Head of National Bank of Poland.- Biography :...
, Marek Borowski
Marek Borowski
Marek Stefan Borowski is a Polish left-wing politician. He led the Democratic Left Alliance for a time and was Speaker of the Sejm from 2001 to 2004....
, Bogdan Borusewicz
Bogdan Borusewicz
Bogdan Michał Borusewicz, is the Speaker in the Polish Senate since 20 October 2005. Borusewicz was a democratic opposition activist under the Communist regime, a member of the Polish parliament for three terms and first Senate Speaker to serve two terms in this office.Borusewicz briefly served...
, Jerzy Buzek
Jerzy Buzek
Jerzy Karol Buzek is a Polish engineer, academic lecturer and politician who was the ninth post-Cold War Prime Minister of Poland from 1997 to 2001...
, Ludwik Dorn
Ludwik Dorn
Ludwik Dorn is a Polish conservative politician, former Deputy Prime Minister and member of Sejm elected on November 5, 2007.From October 31, 2005 to February 7, 2007 he was Minister of Interior and Administration, resigned after conflict with the Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński...
, Bronisław Geremek, Roman Giertych
Roman Giertych
Roman Jacek Giertych is a Polish politician; he was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education until August 2007. He was a member of the Sejm from 2001 until October 2007, and chairman of the League of Polish Families party.- Biography :Roman Giertych comes from a prominent family of Polish...
, Zyta Gilowska
Zyta Gilowska
Zyta Gilowska is a Polish economist and politician. From 7 January until 23 June 2006 she was Deputy Prime Minister of Poland and Finance Minister in the Law and Justice government under Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz and then Jaroslaw Kaczynski.Gilowska is a former vice-chairman of the Citizens...
, Danuta Hübner
Danuta Hübner
Danuta Hübner is a Polish economist, academic, and policy maker. She served as European Commissioner for Regional Policy from 22 November 2004 until 4 July 2009, when she resigned to become a Member of European Parliament for the Civic Platform....
, Marek Jurek
Marek Jurek
Marek Jurek is a Polish right-wing politician, who does not have a parliamentary seat. Since 20 April 2007 he has been the leader of the aspirant party Right of the Republic, which does not have any MPs....
, Jarosław Kaczyński, 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...
, Jarosław Kalinowski, Bronisław Komorowski, Aleksander Kwaśniewski
Aleksander Kwasniewski
Aleksander Kwaśniewski is a Polish politician who served as the President of Poland from 1995 to 2005. He was born in Białogard, and during communist rule he was active in the Socialist Union of Polish Students and was the Minister for Sport in the communist government in the 1980s...
, Andrzej Lepper
Andrzej Lepper
Andrzej Zbigniew Lepper was a Polish politician who was the leader of Samoobrona RP political party....
, Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz
Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz
Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz is a Polish conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of Poland from October 31, 2005 to July 14, 2006...
, Stefan Meller
Stefan Meller
Stefan Meller was a Polish diplomat and academician. He served as foreign minister of Poland from 31 October 2005, to 9 May 2006, in the cabinet of Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz....
, Wojciech Olejniczak
Wojciech Olejniczak
Wojciech Michał Olejniczak is a Polish leftist politician and member of the European Parliament.He was the chairman of the Democratic Left Alliance from May 29, 2005, to May 31, 2008 and the vice-speaker of Sejm since October 26, 2005...
, Zbigniew Religa
Zbigniew Religa
Zbigniew Eugeniusz Religa was a prominent cardiac surgeon and politician.- Career as physician :Religa finished his studies at the Medical University of Warsaw in 1963. From 1966 to 1980 he worked in the Szpital Wolski in Warsaw, where he qualified in surgery...
, Jan Rokita
Jan Rokita
Jan Rokita is a Polish conservative politician, a member of the Sejm, the lower chamber of the Polish parliament. He was chairman of the parliamentary club of Platforma Obywatelska from 2003 to 2005....
, Jacek Saryusz-Wolski
Jacek Saryusz-Wolski
Jacek Emil Saryusz-Wolski is a Polish diplomat, politician and a MEP: member of the European Parliament...
, Donald Tusk
Donald Tusk
Donald Franciszek Tusk is a Polish politician who has been Prime Minister of Poland since 2007. He was a co-founder and is chairman of the Civic Platform party....
, Zbigniew Wassermann
Zbigniew Wassermann
Zbigniew Wassermann was a Polish politician. He was an MP representing Law and Justice .Wassermann was born in Kraków...
, Zbigniew Ziobro
Zbigniew Ziobro
Zbigniew Tadeusz Ziobro is a Polish politician, since October 2005 until November 2007 Minister of Justice and Public Prosecutor General. He was elected to the Sejm on September 25, 2005 in the 13th Kraków district, running on the Prawo i Sprawiedliwość list...
.
See :Category:Polish politicians
National security
Poland's top national securityNational security
National security is the requirement to maintain the survival of the state through the use of economic, diplomacy, power projection and political power. The concept developed mostly in the United States of America after World War II...
goal is to further integrate with NATO and other west European
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
defense, economic, and political institutions via a modernization and reorganization of its military. Polish military doctrine reflects the same defense nature as its NATO partners.
The combined consists of 100,300 active duty personnel and in addition 234,000 reserves.
In 2009 the Armed Forces transformed into a fully professional organization and compulsory military service was abolished. Personnel levels and organization in the different branches are as follows (2004):
- Land Forces: 60,000 (4 divisions, independent units and territorial forces)
- Air Force: 26,000 (Air and Air Defense Corps)
- Navy: 14,300 (2 Fleets)
- Special Forces: 1,700 (4 Special Units - GROMGROMGROM is one of five special forces units of the Polish Armed Forces. It was officially activated on July 8, 1990...
, 1 PSK1st Special Commando RegimentThe 1 Pułk Specjalny Komandosów, 1 PSK is one of the three special operations forces currently operating within the Polish military's structure, Special Forces of Poland....
, "FormozaFORMOZAFormoza, MJDS en. "Naval Special Operations Unit", is a new name of the Polish Navy Special Operations Sections , now Special forces of Poland , which used to operate also under the name of Special Naval Frogmen Group...
", special logistics Military Unit)
The Polish military continues to restructure and to modernize its equipment. The Polish Defense Ministry General Staff and the Land Forces staff have recently reorganized the latter into a NATO-compatible J/G-1 through J/G-6 structure. Budget constraints hamper such priority defense acquisitions as a multi-role fighter, improved communications systems, and an attack helicopter.
Poland continues to be a regional leader in support and participation in the NATO Partnership for Peace Program and has actively engaged most of its neighbors and other regional actors to build stable foundations for future European security arrangements. Poland continues its long record of strong support for UN Peacekeeping Operations by maintaining a unit in Southern Lebanon, a battalion in NATO's Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
Force (KFOR), and by providing and actually deploying the KFOR strategic reserve to Kosovo. Poland is a strong ally of the US in Europe and leads the Multinational Division Central-South
Multinational Division Central-South
Multinational Division Central-South , created in September 2003, and supported by NATO, was a part of the Multinational Force Iraq. Headquartered in Camp Echo, it was under Polish command until October 2008, when the last of Poland's troops were withdrawn. Polish contingent was its largest...
in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
.
Biuro Ochrony Rządu
The Biuro Ochrony RząduBiuro Ochrony Rzadu
The Government Protection Bureau is Poland's equivalent of the United States Secret Service, providing antiterrorism and VIP security services for the Polish government.-Subjects of protection:* President of the Republic of Poland...
(BOR), or Government Protection Bureau, is Poland's equivalent of the Secret Service in the United States- providing antiterrorism and VIP security detail services for the government.
Administrative divisions
Poland is divided in 16 provinces or Voivodeships (województwaVoivodeships of Poland
The voivodeship, or province, called in Polish województwo , has been a high-level administrative subdivision of Poland since the 14th century....
, singular - województwo
Voivodeship
Voivodship is a term denoting the position of, or more commonly the area administered by, a voivod. Voivodeships have existed since medieval times in Poland, Romania, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Russia and Serbia....
); Lower Silesia
Lower Silesian Voivodeship
Lower Silesian Voivodeship, or Lower Silesia Province , is one of the 16 voivodeships into which Poland is currently divided. It lies in southwestern Poland...
, Kuyavia-Pomerania
Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship
-Transportation:Transportation infrastructure is of critical importance to the voivodeship's economy. Kuyavia-Pomerania is a major node point in the Polish transportation system. Railway lines from the South and East pass through Bydgoszcz in order to reach the major ports on the Baltic Sea...
, Łódź, Lubelskie
Lublin Voivodeship
- Administrative division :Lublin Voivodeship is divided into 24 counties : 4 city counties and 20 land counties. These are further divided into 213 gminas....
, Lubusz
Lubusz Voivodeship
- Administrative division :Lubusz Voivodeship is divided into 14 counties : 2 city counties and 12 land counties. These are further divided into 83 gminas....
, Lesser Poland
Lesser Poland Voivodeship
Małopolska Voivodeship , or Lesser Poland Voivodeship, is a voivodeship, in southern Poland...
, Masovia
Masovian Voivodeship
-Administrative division:Masovian Voivodeship is divided into 42 counties : 5 city counties and 37 "land counties"...
, Opole
Opole Voivodeship
- Administrative division :Opole Voivodeship is divided into 12 counties : 1 city county and 11 land counties. These are further divided into 71 gminas.The counties are listed in the following table .- Economy :...
, Subcarpathia
Subcarpathian Voivodeship
Podkarpackie Voivodeship , or Subcarpathian Voivodeship, is a voivodeship, or province, in extreme-southeastern Poland. Its administrative capital and largest city is Rzeszów...
, Podlaskie
Podlaskie Voivodeship
Podlaskie Voivodeship , is a voivodeship in northeastern Poland. It borders on Masovian Voivodeship to the west, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship to the northwest, Lublin Voivodeship to the south, the Belarusssian Voblasts of Grodno and Brest to the east, the Lithuanian Counties of Alytus and...
, Pomerania
Pomeranian Voivodeship
Pomeranian Voivodeship, or Pomerania Province , is a voivodeship, or province, in north-central Poland. It comprises most of Pomerelia , as well as an area east of the Vistula River...
, Silesia
Silesian Voivodeship
Silesian Voivodeship, or Silesia Province , is a voivodeship, or province, in southern Poland, centering on the historic region known as Upper Silesia...
, Świętokrzyskie
Swietokrzyskie Voivodeship
Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, or Świętokrzyskie Province , is one of the 16 voivodeships into which Poland is presently divided. It is situated in central Poland, in the historical province of Lesser Poland, and takes its name from the Świętokrzyskie mountain range...
, Warmia-Masuria
Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship
Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, or Warmia-Masuria Province , is a voivodeship in northeastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Olsztyn...
, Greater Poland
Greater Poland Voivodeship
Wielkopolska Voivodeship , or Greater Poland Voivodeship, is a voivodeship, or province, in west-central Poland. It was created on 1 January 1999 out of the former Poznań, Kalisz, Konin, Piła and Leszno Voivodeships, pursuant to the Polish local government reforms adopted in 1998...
, and West Pomerania
West Pomeranian Voivodeship
West Pomeranian Voivodeship, , is a voivodeship in northwestern Poland. It borders on Pomeranian Voivodeship to the east, Greater Poland Voivodeship to the southeast, Lubusz Voivodeship to the south, the German federal-state of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania to the west, and the Baltic Sea to the north...
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See also
- Political parties in Poland
- Liberalism in PolandLiberalism in PolandThis article gives an overview of liberalism in Poland. It is limited to liberal parties with substantial support, mainly proved by having had a representation in parliament. The sign ⇒ denotes another party in that scheme...
- Far right in PolandFar right in PolandLike in other nations across the world, there are several far-right organizations in Poland. Public support of these parties is marginal, as they received 2.8% of the popular vote in the 2007 parliamentary elections. There is also a limited amount of nonparliamentary far-right extremism. Poland's...
- Anarchism in PolandAnarchism in PolandThe anarchist movement in Poland first developed at the turn of the 20th century under the influence of anarchist ideas from Western Europe and Russia....