The Council of National Defense () was an extraordinary temporary governmental body created by a decree of the
Sejm
The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland.
The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...
of the
Second Polish 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 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...
, of 1 July 1920.
Poland was then facing defeat by
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...
Red Armies that were approaching Warsaw. The Council was a body that was intended to make decisions more expeditiously than the Sejm. It was fully authorized to take decisions regarding the conduct and conclusion of the war.
The Council comprised:
*''
Naczelnik Państwa'' (Chief of State)
Józef Piłsudski, the Council's chair;
*
Prime Minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Wincenty Witos, deputy chair;
*The
Marshal of the Sejm;
*Ten Sejm deputies, representing the main political parties;
*Three ministers selected by the Council of Ministers;
*Three representatives of the military, selected by the Chief of State. They varied, depending on the specific military matters under consideration.
The Chief of State was empowered to call Council meetings, chair them and set the agenda.
The Council enjoyed very broad powers, in order to be able to exercise far-reaching autonomy and reduce bureaucratic obstacles. Its decisions were to be implemented at once.
References
*
1920 establishments in Poland
Government of Poland
Political history of Poland
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