Janusz Jędrzejewicz (; 21 June 1885 – 16 March 1951) was a Polish politician and educator, a leader of the

Sanacja Sanation ( pl, Sanacja, ) was a Polish political movement that was created in the interwar period, prior to Józef Piłsudski's May 1926 ''Coup d'État'', and came to power in the wake of that coup. In 1928 its political activists would go on ...

political group, and 24th

Prime Minister of Poland The President of the Council of Ministers ( pl, Prezes Rady Ministrów, lit=Chairman of the Council of Ministers), colloquially referred to as the prime minister (), is the head of the cabinet and the head of government of Poland. The responsibi ...

from 1933 to 1934.

Life

He joined

Józef Piłsudski Józef Klemens Piłsudski (; 5 December 1867 – 12 May 1935) was a Polish statesman who served as the Naczelnik państwa, Chief of State (1918–1922) and Marshal of Poland, First Marshal of Second Polish Republic, Poland (from 1920). He was ...

Polish Socialist Party The Polish Socialist Party ( pl, Polska Partia Socjalistyczna, PPS) is a socialist political party in Poland. It was one of the most important parties in Poland from its inception in 1892 until its merger with the communist Polish Workers' ...

in 1904. After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

broke out, he joined the Polish Legions and the

Polish Military Organization The Polish Military Organisation, PMO ( pl, Polska Organizacja Wojskowa, POW) was a secret military organization which formed during World War I (1914-1918). Józef Piłsudski founded the group in August 1914; it adopted the name ''POW'' in Novem ...

. In 1918 he joined the

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 62,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history stre ...

and served as aide to Piłsudski. In 1919, he was transferred to Section II (

Intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can be des ...

) at the Lithuanian-Belarusian Front Headquarters, and later to the General Staff. After the

Polish–Soviet War The Polish–Soviet War (Polish–Bolshevik War, Polish–Soviet War, Polish–Russian War 1919–1921) * russian: Советско-польская война (''Sovetsko-polskaya voyna'', Soviet-Polish War), Польский фронт (' ...

, in 1923 Jędrzejewicz became a politician. He was elected a deputy to the Polish

Sejm The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland ( Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of ...

(1928–35) and later a senator. In 1930–1935 he was vice-president of 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 wit ...

(BBWR). From 12 August 1931, to 22 February 1934, he served as minister of education. He introduced a reform of Poland's educational system that came to be named, after him, "

Jędrzejewicz reform Jędrzejewicz reform was a major reform of the education in the Second Polish Republic, implemented in 1932. It reorganized the structure of Polish education, which diverged into three different systems during the era of partitions of Poland.Jaros ...

." From 10 May 1933, to 13 May 1934, he was Prime Minister of Poland. In 1926, he founded the monthly, '' Wiedza i Życie''. In 1929, he organized a teachers' union, ''Zrąb'', and other educational societies, including the

Polish Academy of Literature The Polish Academy of Literature ( pl, Polska Akademia Literatury, PAL) was one of the most important state institutions of literary life in the Second Polish Republic, operating between 1933 and 1939 with the headquarters in Warsaw. It was foun ...

. He was also co-author of the 1935

Polish Constitution The current Constitution of Poland was founded on 2 April 1997. Formally known as the Constitution of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Konstytucja Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej), it replaced the Small Constitution of 1992, the last amended version of ...

. After Piłsudski's death in 1935, he opposed the

Camp of National Unity ''Obóz Zjednoczenia Narodowego'' (, en, Camp of National Unity; abbreviated "''OZN''"; and often called "''Ozon''" (Polish for "ozone") was a Polish political party founded in 1937 by sections of the leadership in the Sanacja movement. A yea ...

(OZN, ''Ozon'') and the right wing of the

movement, and retired from political life. After the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

invasion during the Polish Defensive War of 1939, he fled to

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

and later through Palestine to London. In 1948, he was chosen to be head of Liga Niepodległości Polski, a political party in exile. He died in 1951. He was a brother of Wacław Jędrzejewicz and married Cezaria Baudouin de Courtenay Ehrenkreutz Jędrzejewiczowa, a pioneer of ethnography in Poland.

Honours and awards

:Silver Cross of

Virtuti Militari The War Order of Virtuti Militari (Latin: ''"For Military Virtue"'', pl, Order Wojenny Virtuti Militari) is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war. It was created in 1792 by Polish King St ...

Cross of Independence with Swords Cross of Independence ( pl, Krzyż Niepodległości) was second highest Polish military decorations between World Wars I and II. It was awarded to individuals who had fought actively for the independence of Poland, and was released in three cl ...

: Cross of Valour – twice :

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on foreigners for outstanding achievement ...

Order of the Cross of the Eagle The Order of the Cross of the Eagle ( et, Kotkaristi teenetemärk; french: Ordre de la Croix de l'Aigle) was instituted in 1928 by the Estonian Defence League to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Estonian independence. It was adopted as a st ...

, First Class (Estonia, 1938)

References

* "Jędrzejewicz, Janusz," '' Encyklopedia Polski'', p. 256. {{DEFAULTSORT:Jedrzejewicz, Janusz 1885 births 1951 deaths People from Vinnytsia Oblast People from Berdichevsky Uyezd People from the Russian Empire of Polish descent Polish Socialist Party politicians Nonpartisan Bloc for Cooperation with the Government politicians Prime Ministers of Poland Education ministers of Poland Government ministers of Poland Members of the Sejm of the Second Polish Republic (1928–1930) Members of the Sejm of the Second Polish Republic (1930–1935) Senators of the Second Polish Republic (1935–1938) Polish exiles Polish legionnaires (World War I) Recipients of the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari Recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Cross of Independence with Swords Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Poland) Recipients of the Military Order of the Cross of the Eagle, Class I

Life

Honours and awards

See also

References