Stefan Jędrychowski (19 May 1910 – 26 May 1996) was a Polish communist politician, economist and journalist, who served as deputy prime minister, foreign minister and finance minister in Poland.

Early life and education

Born 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 ...

on 19 May 1910, Jędrychowski hailed from a middle-class

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

family, who owned properties and apartment houses in

Wilno Vilnius ( , ; see also #Etymology and other names, other names) is the capital and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the munic ...

, in the Russian part of Poland. His mother was of

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origin. He studied law and social science at

Stefan Batory University Vilnius University ( lt, Vilniaus universitetas) is a public research university, oldest in the Baltic states and in Northern Europe outside the United Kingdom (or 6th overall following foundations of Oxford, Cambridge, St. Andrews, Glasgow and ...

in Wilno, graduating in 1932. Then he obtained a master's degree in law from the same university. He also received a PhD in economics. He began his political career as a radical leftist Catholic in the group called "Odrodzenie" (renaissance) when he was an undergraduate student. Then he switched to a youth organization "Legion Mlodych" (The Legion of Youth) that was founded by

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 ...

after he took over the Polish government in 1926. Jędrychowski became a member of the group's regional command.

Career and activities

Jędrychowski began his career as an assistant lecturer in economics at Stefan Batory University. In 1936, he joined the Communist Party. In September 1939, he began to work as a journalist in Wilno. Then he was named deputy editor of the local communist daily which had been published by the Soviet authorities. He became a Soviet citizen and a member of the Soviet Communist Party. Following the annexation of Lithuania to

the Soviet Union 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 nationa ...

he served at the Supreme Soviet as a deputy. Later he continued his activities in the Polish committee of national liberation’ (PKWN), which was formed on 22 July 1944. Shortly after he began to serve as the PKWN's representative in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

. He was also the Warsaw government's delegate in

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in 1945. In addition, he headed the department of information and propaganda under the PKWN. From 1945 to 1947 he served as minister of navigation and foreign trade in the national unity government. Next he joined the Polish United Workers' party. And he became an alternate member of the party's central committee or politburo. He served as the vice president or deputy prime minister at the Polish cabinet, also known as Rada Ministrów, from 12 December 1951 to 24 October 1956. He worked as the head of the planning office, Komisja Planowania, from 1956 to 1971. He was also promoted to the full membership of the party's central committee on 21 October 1956, being one of nine members. At the committee he assumed the post of chief economic advisor. He served as the minister of foreign affairs from 22 December 1968 to 22 December 1971. In December 1971, his membership at the central committee of the party ended. Next he was named

minister of finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

on 22 December 1971, and his term ended on 21 November 1974.

Death

Jędrychowski died in Warsaw on 26 May 1996.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jedrychowski, Stefan 20th-century Lithuanian politicians 20th-century Polish journalists 1910 births 1996 deaths Ambassadors of Poland to the Soviet Union Ambassadors of Poland to Hungary Communist Party of Poland politicians Communist Party of the Soviet Union members First convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Journalists from Warsaw Lithuanian communists Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic people Members of the Politburo of the Polish United Workers' Party Deputy Prime Ministers of Poland Finance Ministers of Poland Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Poland Members of the State National Council Members of the Polish Sejm 1947–1952 Members of the Polish Sejm 1952–1956 Members of the Polish Sejm 1957–1961 Members of the Polish Sejm 1961–1965 Members of the Polish Sejm 1965–1969 Members of the Polish Sejm 1969–1972 Politicians from Warsaw People from Warsaw Governorate Polish Workers' Party politicians Polish people of German descent Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Grunwald, 3rd class Recipients of the Order of the Builders of People's Poland Recipients of the Order of the Banner of Work Vilnius University alumni