Kazimierz Aleksander Sabbat (27 February 1913 – 19 July 1989), was

President of Poland The president of Poland ( pl, Prezydent RP), officially the president of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Prezydent Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej), is the head of state of Poland. Their rights and obligations are determined in the Constitution of Pola ...

- in-exile from 8 April 1986 until his death, 19 July 1989, after serving (from 1976) as Prime Minister of 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 ...

Early life

Sabbat was born on 27 February 1913 in Bieliny Kapitulne, at the foot of the Lysa Gora mountain. Sabbat completed secondary school in

Mielec Mielec ( yi, מעליץ-Melitz) is the largest city and seat of Mielec County. Mielec is located in south-eastern Poland (Lesser Poland), in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (Województwo Podkarpackie). The population of Mielec in December 2021 wa ...

, and studied law at the

Warsaw University The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields of ...

shortly before World War II. He was a Scout, and remained dedicated to the concept of Scouting, even in his later life while in exile.

World War II

After a short service in the

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

, Sabbat was directed to the Motorized Brigade of Stanisław Maczek. Wounded during the Polish retreat in 1939, he managed to reach Great Britain where he was directed to the British General Staff as an officer responsible for youth.

Post war

After being discharged from the army in 1948, he started up his own successful business in England. He later worked for the Scouting Organization and the

Association of Polish Veterans Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

on a voluntary basis. As an executive of the National Union he managed the Treasury Division, and in 1976 became the Prime Minister of the

. He attempted to unite the various émigré circles and created ever stronger links with the opposition movement in Poland, which benefited from the Government in exile's moral and material help through different Funds. Sabbat grób

He became President of the Republic of Poland (in Exile) in 1986 succeeding Edward Raczyński. He died in London, aged 76, in 1989. Coincidentally, on the same day

Wojciech Jaruzelski Wojciech Witold Jaruzelski (; 6 July 1923 – 25 May 2014) was a Polish military officer, politician and ''de facto'' leader of the Polish People's Republic from 1981 until 1989. He was the First Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party b ...

was elected by a still unfree Parliament as the first President of the country since the 1950s. Ryszard Kaczorowski, Minister of Domestic Affairs and designated successor, took office in exile and on 22 December 1990, after the first free and fair elections in Poland since the war, handed his powers and the insignia of the

Polish Second Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of the First World ...

to President-elect

Lech Wałęsa Lech Wałęsa (; ; born 29 September 1943) is a Polish statesman, dissident, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who served as the President of Poland between 1990 and 1995. After winning the 1990 election, Wałęsa became the first democrati ...

. Sabbat is buried on Gunnersbury Cemetery in London, along with Anna Sabbat, who died on 28 April 2015. Their children all still live in areas near to London. He has eight grandchildren.

External links

* Kazimierz Sabbat webpage at th
President of the Republic of Poland
website

References

(Note: This site is derivative of the above link) {{DEFAULTSORT:Sabbat, Kazimierz 1913 births 1989 deaths People from Kielce County 20th-century Polish people Polish Scouts and Guides University of Warsaw alumni Presidents of Poland Prime Ministers of Poland Polish emigrants to the United Kingdom Polish anti-communists