Cyryl Ratajski (3 March 1875 – 19 October 1942) was a Polish politician and lawyer.

Life and career

Ratajski was born in

Zalesie Wielkie Zalesie Wielkie is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Kobylin, within Krotoszyn County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, in west-central Poland. It lies approximately north-west of Kobylin, north-west of Krotoszyn, and south of the re ...

, then part of the German Empire, on 3 March 1875. He graduated from a high school in

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...

and studied law at the

University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...

. After leaving university, he worked as a court clerk in

Torgau Torgau () is a town on the banks of the Elbe in northwestern Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district Nordsachsen. Outside Germany, the town is best known as where on 25 April 1945, the United States and Soviet Armies forces first ...

. He opened his own law firm in Racibórz after passing a judge's exam in 1905. He moved back to Poznań in 1911 to look after his father-in-law's business. He became an envoy for the Supreme Popular Council to the Polish National Committee in Paris in January 1919. He served as mayor of Poznań between 1922 and 1924 and again between 1925 and 1934 as well as Minister of Interior between 1924 and 1925. From 1937, he was a member of the Labor Party. He became mayor of Poznań again in September 1939 before being deported to German-occupied Poland in early 1940. He was the first Head of Delegate's Office of the

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 ...

(''Delegat Rządu na Kraj'') on 3 December 1940 until 5 August 1942 when he was replaced by

Jan Piekałkiewicz Jan Piekałkiewicz (19 September 1892 – 19 February 1943) was a Polish economist and statistician, politician and the Polish Underground State's Government Delegate. Biography Jan Piekałkiewicz was born on the 19 September 1892 in Kursk, to a ...

due to ill health. He died on 19 October 1942 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 ...

References

1875 births 1942 deaths People from Krotoszyn County People from the Province of Posen National League (Poland) members Labor Party (Stronnictwo Pracy) politicians 20th-century Polish lawyers Greater Poland Uprising (1918–1919) participants Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Mayors of Poznań Interior ministers of Poland Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland) Member of the Tomasz Zan Society {{Poland-law-bio-stub

Life and career

See also

References