Eustachy Kajetan Sapieha (2 August 1881 – 20 February 1963) was a Polish nobleman, prince of the Sapieha family, politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs, and deputy to the Polish parliament ( Sejm).

Politics

In 1900–04, he studied forestry in Zurich and afterwards earned a degree as an engineer. He was a conservative activist from Kresy, and worked with the German installed Regency Council and Józef Piłsudski during the First World War. In 1917 he unsuccessfully negotiated with the Polish National Committee. Afterwards, disappointed with Piłsudski's leftist policies, he was an organizer of the failed 1919 ''coup d'état''; despite that, he subsequently worked with Piłsudski and supported him. During the Polish-Soviet War, he served in the cavalry.

Diplomatic career

On 16 June 1919, Sapieha was delegated as the ambassador of Poland to the United Kingdom. On 4 June 1920 he and Erazm Piltz, representing the Polish government, signed the Treaty of Trianon in Paris. In 1920, he was chosen by Prime Minister Władysław Grabski to be Minister of Foreign Affairs. Although he successfully negotiated several agreements with Western powers, he was faced with the delicate situation over the plebiscites in Upper Silesia. On 24 March 1921 the British Embassy at Warsaw wrote to Earl Curzon in London to say that he had just called upon Prince Sapieha whom he found "very depressed at the result of voting in Upper Silesia, which has on the whole turned out far worse than the Polish Government had anticipated...He agreed with me that the victory reports in the newspapers were foolish and any public rejoicing regrettable."Medlicott, Prof.W.N., Dakin, Douglas, M.A., Lambert, M.E., M.A., editors, ''Documents on British Foreign Policy 1919-1939, First series, vol.xvi, HMSO, London, 1968, p.2. His negotiations over federation with Lithuania also failed and, faced with criticism from the National Democrats, he resigned his post later in the year.

Parliament and WWII

In 1928–29 he was a Sejm deputy from the

Nonpartisan Bloc for Cooperation with the Government The Nonpartisan Bloc for Cooperation with the Government ( pl, Bezpartyjny Blok Współpracy z Rządem, ; abbreviated ''BBWR'') was a "non-political" organization in the interwar Second Polish Republic, in 1928–35. It was closely affiliated with ...

. After the

Soviet invasion of Poland The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military operation by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the west. Subs ...

in 1939 he was arrested by the Soviets and imprisoned in the

Lubyanka prison The Lubyanka ( rus, Лубянка, p=lʊˈbʲankə) is the popular name for the building which contains the headquarters of the FSB, and its affiliated prison, on Lubyanka Square in the Meshchansky District of Moscow, Russia. It is a large Ne ...

. After the Sikorski-Mayski Agreement, he joined

Anders' Army Anders' Army was the informal yet common name of the Polish Armed Forces in the East in the 1941–42 period, in recognition of its commander Władysław Anders. The army was created in the Soviet Union but, in March 1942, based on an understand ...

. In 1941 he travelled to Kenya. He did not return to post-war communist Poland, and remained in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ...

. In 1956 he was awarded the Order of the White Eagle by the

Polish government in exile The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile ( pl, Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Pola ...

References

1881 births 1963 deaths People from Lviv Oblast People from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria Polish Austro-Hungarians Eustachy Sapieha Nonpartisan Bloc for Cooperation with the Government politicians Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Poland Members of the Sejm of the Second Polish Republic (1928–1930) Ambassadors of Poland to the United Kingdom People educated at Eton College Polish people of the Polish–Soviet War Polish people detained by the NKVD Polish deportees to Soviet Union Foreign Gulag detainees Polish exiles Recipients of the Order of the Star of Romania {{Poland-politician-stub