Ministry of National Defense (

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

: ''Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej, MON'') is the office of government in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

under the Minister of National Defense. It is responsible for the organization and management of the

Polish Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Siły Zbrojne Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, abbreviated ''SZ RP''; popularly called ''Wojsko Polskie'' in Poland, abbreviated ''WP''—roughly, the "Polish Military") are the national armed forces of ...

. During the Second Polish Republic and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

it was called the Ministry of Military Affairs (''Ministerstwo Spraw Wojskowych''). Ministry budget for 2022 was 140 billion PLN.

History

The beginning of the Ministry of Defense's operations is connected with the 1775 establishment of the Military Department within the

Permanent Council The Permanent Council () was the highest administrative authority in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth between 1775 and 1789 and the first modern executive government in Europe. As is still typically the case in contemporary parliamentary pol ...

. In 1789, the Military Commission of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi- confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Poland and Lithuania ru ...

was established, and from the

Constitution of 3 May 1791 The Constitution of 3 May 1791,; lt, Gegužės trečiosios konstitucija titled the Governance Act, was a constitution adopted by the Great Sejm ("Four-Year Sejm", meeting in 1788–1792) for the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, a dual mo ...

was under the

Guardians of the Laws Guardians of the Laws or Guard of Laws ( pl, Straż Praw) was a short-lived supreme executive governing body of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth established by the Constitution of May 3, 1791. It was abolished, together with other reforms of th ...

. Between 1793-94, the department was restored in the Supreme National Council. When

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

became part of the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918. Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...

after the

Third Partition of Poland The Third Partition of Poland (1795) was the last in a series of the Partitions of Poland–Lithuania and the land of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth among Prussia, the Habsburg monarchy, and the Russian Empire which effectively ended Polis ...

in 1795), the Prussian Ministry of War headquarters was moved into the local

Copper-Roof Palace The Copper-Roof Palace ( pl, pałac Pod Blachą) is an 18th-century palace in Warsaw, Poland. It takes its name (which is less precisely phrased in the original Polish) from the copper roof, a rarity in the first half of the 18th century. Since 19 ...

. Another War Ministry was established in the

Duchy of Warsaw The Duchy of Warsaw ( pl, Księstwo Warszawskie, french: Duché de Varsovie, german: Herzogtum Warschau), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during ...

. After the establishment of the Stanisław Małachowski government on 5 October 1807, the War Directorate became the Minister of War. From 1807 to 1810, the number of ministry officials increased from a dozen to over one hundred. The ministry's activities ceased on 4 May 1813. In 1814, the Military Organizing Committee was established in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

to regulate the military affairs of the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to: Historical political entities * Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031 * Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exi ...

in 1815.Komisja Rządowa Wojny z lat [1811-1814] 1815-1832 [1833-1866]
/ref> After the November Uprising and the introduction of the

Organic Statute of the Kingdom of Poland The Organic Statute of the Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Statut Organiczny dla Królestwa Polskiego) was a statute which replaced the Constitution of 1815 in the aftermath of the failed November Uprising in the Russian Partition of Poland. The Statute ...

in the early 1830s, the distinctiveness of the Polish defence establishment from the Ministry of War of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

ceased to exist. On 30 January 1917, the

Provisional Council of State The Provisional Council of State ( pl, tymczasowa Rada Stanu; German: ''Provisorische Staatsrat im Koenigreich Polen'') was the first government of the Kingdom of Poland, a new state created by the military authorities of Germany and Austria on ...

created an acting military commission, which was to deal with Polish military matters until a war office was organized. MON, Warszawa

On 2 November 1918, the commission was transformed into the Ministry of Military Affairs, based at the

.VII. Narodziny Wojska Polskiego (październik – grudzień 1918)
/ref> During the London emigration of Polish power during World War II, on November 30, 1942, the name of the Ministry of Military Affairs was changed to the Ministry of National Defense. In 1944, under the

Polish Committee of National Liberation The Polish Committee of National Liberation ( Polish: ''Polski Komitet Wyzwolenia Narodowego'', ''PKWN''), also known as the Lublin Committee, was an executive governing authority established by the Soviet-backed communists in Poland at the la ...

under the

communists Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

controlled a National Defense Center to manage the war front. After the war, the

Provisional Government of National Unity The Provisional Government of National Unity ( pl, Tymczasowy Rząd Jedności Narodowej - TRJN) was a puppet government formed by the decree of the State National Council () on 28 June 1945 as a result of reshuffling the Soviet-backed Provisio ...

(TRJN) reestablished the Military Affairs Ministry, which would be replaced by the Ministry of National Defense in 1979 and was under the

Polish People's Army The Polish People's Army ( pl, Ludowe Wojsko Polskie , LWP) constituted the second formation of the Polish Armed Forces in the East in 1943–1945, and in 1945–1989 the armed forces of the Polish communist state ( from 1952, the Polish Pe ...

(LWP) in the People's Republic of Poland. The ministry would be transferred from the LWP to the Polish Army in 1990.

Organizational structure

The ministry includes political departments, Cabinet of the Minister and the following organizational units including units P1-P8 forming

Polish General Staff Polish General Staff, formally known as the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces ( Polish: ''Sztab Generalny Wojska Polskiego'') is the highest professional body within the Polish Armed Forces. Organizationally, it is an integral part of the M ...

: * Operational Center * Administrative Department * Budget Department * Department of Education, Culture and Heritage * Department of Infrastructure * Personnel Department * Department of Control * Department of Science and Military Education * Department of Protection of Classified Information * Department of International Security Policy * Armaments Policy Department * Law Department * Department of Social Affairs * Department of Strategy and Defense Planning * Department of Military Health Service * Department of Military Foreign Affairs * Office of the General Director * Office of the Minister of National Defence * Offset Contracts Office * Management Board of the Organization and Additions (P1) * Management of Intelligence and Reconnaissance Intelligence (P2) * Armed Forces Planning and Training Management Board (P3/P7) * Logistics Management (P4) * Management Board of Armed Forces Development Planning and Programming (P5) * Management and Command Board (P6) * Material Planning Board (P8) * Military Information Services **

Internal Military Service The Internal Military Service, ( pl, Wojskowa Służba Wewnętrzna, ''WSW'') Szefostwo, was an armed military counterintelligence, military police, and military secret police within the structure of Ministry of National Defense or (MON). It se ...

Military Intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...

Service Units subordinate to the MON: * Armed Forces General Command * Operational Command * Support Command *

Military Gendarmerie The Military Gendarmerie ( pl, Żandarmeria Wojskowa, abbreviated ''ŻW'') is a military police force established in 1990 in Poland as a specialized service of the Polish Armed Forces. History The Polish Military Gendarmerie is a military police ...

* Territorial Defence Force *

Warsaw Garrison Command The Warsaw Garrison Command (WGC) ( pl, Dowództwo Garnizonu Warszawa, DGW) is a military board and area of the Polish Army based in Warsaw, Poland. Despite being part of the Polish Land Forces, it is an independent formation. The command, which ...

* National Center for Kryptologii * Provincial Military Headquarters * Center of Monitoring and Analysis * Inspectorate of Armaments * Innovative Defense Technology * Inspectorate of Military Fires * Military Centre for Standardization, Quality and Codification * Military Centre of Metrology * National Military Representative to

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

* Internal Audit for the Energy Sector * Military Technical Supervision * Military Studies of Teaching Foreign Languages * Central Military-Medical Commission * Military Pension Offices * House of the Retired Military Personnel (

) * Registration Office of the Polish Army

Ministers

; Second Polish Republic * Brigadier general

Edward Rydz-Śmigły Marshal Edward Rydz-Śmigły (11 March 1886 – 2 December 1941; nom de guerre ''Śmigły, Tarłowski, Adam Zawisza''), also called Edward Śmigły-Rydz, was a Polish politician, statesman, Marshal of Poland and Commander-in-Chief of Poland ...

(1918) * (acting) Major general Jan Wroczyński (1918–1919) * Major general

Józef Leśniewski Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

(1919–1920) * Major general

Kazimierz Sosnkowski General Kazimierz Sosnkowski (; Warsaw, 19 November 1885 – 11 October 1969, Arundel, Quebec) was a Polish independence fighter, general, diplomat, and architect. He was a major political figure and an accomplished commander, notable in p ...

(1921–1923) * (acting) Major general Aleksander Osiński (1923) * Major general

Władysław Sikorski Władysław Eugeniusz Sikorski (; 20 May 18814 July 1943) was a Polish military and political leader. Prior to the First World War, Sikorski established and participated in several underground organizations that promoted the cause for Polish i ...

(1924–1925) * Lieutenant general Lucjan Żeligowski (1925–1926) * Major general

Juliusz Tadeusz Tarnawa-Malczewski Juliusz is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Juliusz Bardach (1914–2010), Polish legal historian *Juliusz Bursche (1862–1942), bishop of the Evangelical-Augsburg Church in Poland *Juliusz Bogdan Deczkowski (1924–1998), note ...

(1926) *

Marshal of Poland Marshal of Poland ( pl, Marszałek Polski) is the highest rank in the Polish Army. It has been granted to only six officers. At present, Marshal is equivalent to a Field Marshal or General of the Army (OF-10) in other NATO armies. History To ...

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 ...

(1926–1935) * Major general Tadeusz Kasprzycki (1935–1939) ;

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 ...

* Lieutenant general

(1939–1942) * Major general

Marian Kukiel Marian Włodzimierz Kukiel (pseudonyms: ''Marek Kąkol'', ''Stach Zawierucha''; 15 May 1885 in Dąbrowa Tarnowska – 15 August 1973 in London) was a Polish major general, historian, social and political activist. One of the founders of Zwi� ...

(1942–1944) ;Republic of Poland / People's Republic of Poland *

Michał Rola-Żymierski Michał Rola-Żymierski (; 4 September 189015 October 1989) was a Polish high-ranking Polish United Workers' Party, Communist Party leader, communist military commander and NKVD secret agent. He was appointed as Marshal of Poland by Joseph Stalin ...

(1945–1949) * Marshal of Poland/

Marshal of the Soviet Union Marshal of the Soviet Union (russian: Маршал Советского Союза, Marshal sovetskogo soyuza, ) was the highest military rank of the Soviet Union. The rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union was created in 1935 and abolished in 19 ...

Konstantin Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich (Xaverevich) Rokossovsky ( Russian: Константин Константинович Рокоссовский; pl, Konstanty Rokossowski; 21 December 1896 – 3 August 1968) was a Soviet and Polish officer who bec ...

(1949–1956) * Marshal of Poland

Marian Spychalski Marian "Marek" Spychalski (, 6 December 1906 – 7 June 1980) was a Polish architect in pre-war Poland, and later, military commander and a communist politician. During World War II he belonged to the Polish underground forces operating within ...

(1956–1968) * Army General

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 ...

(1968–1983) * Army General

Florian Siwicki Florian Siwicki (; 10 January 1925 – 11 March 2013) was a Polish military officer, diplomat and communism, communist politician. He was a general in the Polish Land Forces, Polish Army and Defence minister, Minister of Defense of Poland fro ...

(1983–1989) POL Flaga MON

; Third Polish Republic * Army General

(1989–1990) * Vice Admiral Piotr Kołodziejczyk (1990–1991) *

Jan Parys Jan Stanisław Parys (born 1950) was the Minister of National Defence for Poland from 1991 to 1992. He was the President of the Jagiellonian College, and is currently a Board Member at the Polish Institute of International Affairs. He holds a ...

(December 23, 1991 – 1992) * (acting) Romuald Szeremietiew (1992) *

Janusz Onyszkiewicz Janusz Adam Onyszkiewicz (, born 18 December 1937) is a Polish mathematician, alpinist, politicianEuropa Publications, "The International Who's Who 2004", Routledge, 2003pg. 1258/ref> and was a vice-president of the European Parliament's Foreign ...

(1992–1993) * Piotr Kołodziejczyk (1993–1994) * (acting) Jerzy Milewski (1994–1995) *

Zbigniew Okoński Zbigniew Wojciech Okoński (born 1949) is a Polish politician and businessman. Education Okoński is a graduate of the University of Gdańsk and the University of Agriculture in Szczecin. He completed additional coursework at Michigan University ...

(1995) * Stanisław Dobrzański (1996–1997) *

(1997–2000) *

Bronisław Komorowski Bronisław Maria Komorowski (; born 4 June 1952) is a Polish politician and historian who served as President of Poland from 2010 to 2015. Komorowski served as Minister of Defence from 2000 to 2001. As Marshal of the Sejm, Komorowski exercis ...

(2000–2001) *

Jerzy Szmajdziński Jerzy Andrzej Szmajdziński (, 9 April 1952 – 10 April 2010) was a Polish politician who was a Deputy Marshal of Polish Sejm and previously served as Minister of Defence. He was a candidate for President of Poland in the 2010 election. Szma ...

(October 19, 2001 – October 31, 2005) *

Radosław Sikorski Radosław Tomasz "Radek" Sikorski (; born 23 February 1963) is a Polish politician and journalist who is a Member of the European Parliament. He was Marshal of the Sejm from 2014 to 2015 and Minister of Foreign Affairs in Donald Tusk's cabinet ...

(October 31, 2005 – February 7, 2007) * Aleksander Szczygło (February 7, 2007 – November 16, 2007 ''excluding 7–9 October 2007'') *

Jarosław Kaczyński Jarosław Aleksander Kaczyński (; born 18 June 1949) is a Polish politician who is currently serving as leader of the Law and Justice party (known by its Polish acronym PiS), which he co-founded in 2001 with his twin brother, Lech Kaczyński, ...

(7–9 October 2007 ''as Prime Minister and Minister of ND'') *

Bogdan Klich Bogdan Adam Klich (born on 8 May 1960 in Kraków) is a former Minister of National Defence of Poland. Son to Adam Klich. Bogdan Klich was interned in 1981 during the martial law set by the communist regime. Until November 16, 2007, he was a ...

(November 16, 2007 – July 29, 2011) * Tomasz Siemoniak (August 2, 2011 – November 12, 2015) *

Antoni Macierewicz Antoni Macierewicz (; born 3 August 1948) is a Polish politician and the former Minister of National Defence. He previously served as the Minister of Internal Affairs, Head of the Military Counterintelligence Service, and Minister of State in ...

(November 16, 2015 – January 9, 2018) *

Mariusz Błaszczak Mariusz Błaszczak (born 19 September 1969, in Legionowo) is a Polish politician, historian, and local government representative. Since 9 January 2018, Blaszczak has been the Minister of National Defence of Poland. On 22 June 2022 Presiden ...

(January 9, 2018 – present)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ministry Of National Defence Of The Republic Of Poland

National Defence Poland, National Defence Military of Poland 1918 establishments in Poland

History

Organizational structure

Ministers

See also

References

External links