Count Stanisław Małachowski, of the

Nałęcz coat-of-arms Nałęcz may refer to: * Nałęcz, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, a village in north-central Poland * Tomasz Nałęcz Tomasz Nałęcz (born 10 October 1949 in Gołymin) is a Polish historian, leftist politician, former vice-Speaker of the Se ...

(; 1736–1809) was the first

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 ...

, a member of the

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government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

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 ...

(

Rada Nieustająca 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 ...

) (1776–1780),

Marshal of the Crown Courts of Justice Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...

from 1774,

Crown Grand Referendary A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

(1780–1792) and Marshal of the

Four-Year Sejm The Great Sejm, also known as the Four-Year Sejm (Polish: ''Sejm Wielki'' or ''Sejm Czteroletni''; Lithuanian: ''Didysis seimas'' or ''Ketverių metų seimas'') was a Sejm (parliament) of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that was held in Wars ...

(1788–1792). The son of Jan Małachowski, the royal grand chancellor, Małachowski was named marshal (speaker) of the

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 ...

(Diet) in 1788. He was the prime force behind a constitution, adopted in 1791, that embodied such modern western European reforms as majority rule in parliament, separation of powers, and enfranchisement of the middle classes; this constitution was abrogated at the

Second Partition of Poland The 1793 Second Partition of Poland was the second of three partitions (or partial annexations) that ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The second partition occurred in the aftermath of the Polish–Russian W ...

in 1792. In 1807–09 Małachowski served as president of the senate (government) of 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 ...

, promoted by

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

Biography

Born on 24 August 1736, Stanisław Małachowski came from a wealthy, powerful and influential noble family and was the son of statesman and nobleman Jan Małachowski. He studied law and was elected provincial deputy to the

in 1764 . In 1771 he was appointed clerk of the United

Polish crown The Crown of the Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Korona Królestwa Polskiego; Latin: ''Corona Regni Poloniae''), known also as the Polish Crown, is the common name for the historic Late Middle Ages territorial possessions of the King of Poland, incl ...

. As a member of the House of Deputies in the Sejm, he earned great respect. He belonged to a member of the Permanent Council of the Government and was appointed Marshal (President) of the

Four-year Sejm The Great Sejm, also known as the Four-Year Sejm (Polish: ''Sejm Wielki'' or ''Sejm Czteroletni''; Lithuanian: ''Didysis seimas'' or ''Ketverių metų seimas'') was a Sejm (parliament) of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that was held in Wars ...

(1788-1792). In this capacity he was one of the main authors of 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 ...

. He signed, as Marshal of the Sejm in 1790, the treaty of alliance with

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

with the aim to protect Poland from foreign domination. In 1792 he negotiated in vain with a Saxon delegation on the introduction of the hereditary transmission of the Polish crown to the

King of Saxony This article lists dukes, electors, and kings ruling over different territories named Saxony from the beginning of the Saxon Duchy in the 6th century to the end of the German monarchies in 1918. The electors of Saxony from John the Steadfast on ...

. Małachowski was stricter than patriot opponents of the Russian party, whose main proponents scored his brother Hyacinth Małachowski. During the Russo-Polish war of 1792, he provided substantial funds and large quantities of food for the Polish troops available from his own resources. But since he could not prevent the pro-Russian

Targowica Confederation The Targowica Confederation ( pl, konfederacja targowicka, , lt, Targovicos konfederacija) was a confederation established by Polish and Lithuanian magnates on 27 April 1792, in Saint Petersburg, with the backing of the Russian Empress Cather ...

, he fled abroad. He did not take part in the Kościuszko Uprising of 1794. In 1799, he was nevertheless arrested in

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 ...

and imprisoned for a year in

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

as a state prisoner, being accused of responsibility for a meeting of the Polish Sejm in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

. After the founding of the

Grand 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 ...

in 1807, he was first chairman of a provisional government commission and soon became President of the Senate. Małachowski died on 28 December 1809 and his tomb is located in the Holy Cross Church in Warsaw.

Legacy

From his youth Małachowski laboured zealously for the good of his country, and as president of the royal court of justice won the honourable title of the "Polish Aristides." He was first elected a deputy to the Coronation

Diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

of 1764, and the great Four-Years Sejm unanimously elected him its speaker at the beginning of its session in 1788. Accurately gauging the situation, Małachowski speedily gathered round him all those who were striving to uphold the falling Commonwealth and warmly supported every promising project of reform. He was one of the framers of the constitution of 3 May 1791, exceeding in liberality all his colleagues and advocating the extension of the franchise to the towns and the emancipation of the serfs. He was the first to enter his name as a citizen of

in the civic register and to open negotiations with his own peasantry for their complete liberation. Disappointed in his hopes by the overthrow of the constitution, he resigned office and left the country in 1792, going first to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and subsequently to his estates in Galicia, where he was imprisoned for a time on a false suspicion of conspiracy. In 1807 Małachowski was placed at the head of the executive committee appointed at Warsaw after its evacuation by the Prussians, and when the grand duchy of Warsaw was created Małachowski became president of the senate under King

Frederick Augustus I of Saxony pl, Fryderyk August Józef Maria Antoni Jan Nepomucen Alojzy Ksawery , image = Frederick Augustus I of Saxony by Marcello Bacciarelli (ca 1808-1809).png , caption = Portrait by Marcello Bacciarelli (1809) , succession = King of Saxony , coron ...

. In the negotiations with the

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n government concerning the Galician salt-mines, Małachowski came to the assistance of the depleted treasury by hypothesising all his estates as an additional guarantee. His death was regarded as a public calamity. In all the other towns of the grand duchy funeral services were held simultaneously as a tribute of the respect and gratitude of the Polish nation.

Remembrance

He is one of the figures immortalized in Jan Matejko's 1891 painting, ''

.'' A monument in his honor has been proposed in the Polish city of

Płock Płock (pronounced ) is a city in central Poland, on the Vistula river, in the Masovian Voivodeship. According to the data provided by GUS on 31 December 2021, there were 116,962 inhabitants in the city. Its full ceremonial name, according to th ...

on the grounds of the school which bears his name.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Malachowski, Stanislaw 1736 births 1809 deaths People from Końskie County Polish nobility Polish generals Members of the Great Sejm Senators of the Duchy of Warsaw Burials at St. John's Archcathedral, Warsaw Radom confederates Polish Roman Catholics Signers of the Polish Constitution of May 3, 1791 Stanislaw Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)

Biography

Legacy

Remembrance

See also

References

External links