The United People's Party ( pl, Zjednoczone Stronnictwo Ludowe, ZSL) was an

agrarian socialist Agrarian socialism is a political ideology that promotes “the equal distribution of landed resources among collectivized peasant villages” This socialist system places agriculture at the center of the economy instead of the industrializatio ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

in the

People's Republic of Poland The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million ne ...

. It was formed on 27 November 1949 from the merger of the pro-Communist Stronnictwo Ludowe party with remnants of the independent

Polish People's Party The Polish People's Party ( pl, Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe, PSL) is an agrarian political party in Poland. It is currently led by Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz. Its history traces back to 1895, when it held the name People's Party, although i ...

of Stanisław Mikołajczyk. ZSL became – as intended from its beginning – a satellite party of the

Polish United Workers' Party The Polish United Workers' Party ( pl, Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza; ), commonly abbreviated to PZPR, was the communist party which ruled the Polish People's Republic as a one-party state from 1948 to 1989. The PZPR had led two other lega ...

(PZPR), representing the PZPR in the rural areas. It was a member of the

Front of National Unity :''This is an article about a Polish political organization. For article about a Bolivian political party, see National Unity Front.'' Front of National Unity or National Unity Front ( pl, Front Jedności Narodu, FJN) was a popular front supervis ...

until 1982, and from 1982 was a member of the Front's successor, the

Patriotic Movement for National Rebirth Patriotyczny Ruch Odrodzenia Narodowego (PRON, en, Patriotic Movement for National Rebirth or National Renaissance Patriotic Movement) was a Polish popular front that ruled the Polish People's Republic. It was created in the aftermath of the ma ...

. To keep up the appearance that Poland was ruled by a coalition, the

Marshal of the Sejm The Marshal of the Sejm , also known as Sejm Marshal, Chairman of the Sejm or Speaker of the Sejm ( pl, Marszałek Sejmu, ) is the speaker (chair) of the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish Parliament. The office traces its origins to the 15th ...

(parliamentary speaker) was always a member of the ZSL. In 1989 after victory of the

Solidarity trade union ''Solidarity'' is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. It is based on class collaboration.''Merriam Webster'', http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictio ...

in the

1989 Polish legislative elections Parliamentary elections were held in Poland in 1989 to elect members of the Sejm and the recreated Senate. The first round took place on 4 June, with a second round on 18 June. They were the first elections in the country since the Communist P ...

together with the PZPR's other satellite party, the Alliance of Democrats, ZSL decided to support Solidarity. At the 27–29 November 1989 ZSL congress, ZSL became the Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe - Odrodzenie ("Polish People's Party - Rebirth"). PSL-Odrodzenie merged with Polish People's Party "Wilanowskie", forming today's

Chairmen

* 1949–1953: Józef Niećko * 1953–1956: Władysław Kowalski * 1956–1962: Stefan Ignar * 1962–1971: Czesław Wycech * 1971–1981: Stanisław Gucwa * 1981: Stefan Ignar * 1981–1989: Roman Malinowski * 1989: Dominik Ludwiczak

Electoral history

Sejm elections

References

1949 establishments in Poland 1989 disestablishments in Poland Agrarian parties in Poland Defunct socialist parties in Poland Polish People's Party Political parties disestablished in 1989 Political parties established in 1949 {{Poland-party-stub