Generał broni Edward Pietrzyk (3 November 19495 May 2021) was a Polish military officer, diplomat and general in the

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 62,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history str ...

. He was commander-in-chief of the

Polish Land Forces The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 62,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history stre ...

Early life and career

Pietrzyk was born in

Rawa Mazowiecka Rawa Mazowiecka is a town in central Poland, with 17,193 inhabitants (2020). It lies in the Łódź Voivodeship and is the capital of the Rawa County. From 1562 the city hosted the ''Rawa Treasury'' for the Polish army. During an excavation in ...

in 1949. In 1971 he graduated from the

Military University of Technology Military University of Technology (MUT, – WAT) is the civil-military technical academic institution in Poland, located at Bemowo, Warsaw. It was established in 1951. The university's rector-commander is płk. Przemysław Wachulak. The univers ...

(WAT) of

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 official ...

, after which he served for six years in the 2nd Artillery Brigade. In 1978 he moved to

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 million ...

, where he graduated from the local Military Academy of Artillery. In 1988 he became the deputy commander of Polish artillery and rocket forces of the Warsaw Military Area. In 1990, Pietrzyk graduated from the General Staff Academy of the

USSR 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 nation ...

and after two years of service as the deputy chief of operations of the General Staff, he became the chief of the Operational Command of the Polish General Staff. Between 1998 and 2000 he was the deputy commander of the

Multinational Corps North East Multinational Corps Northeast was formed on 18 September 1999 at Szczecin, Poland, which became its headquarters. It evolved from what was for many years the only multinational corps in NATO, Allied Land Forces Schleswig-Holstein and Jutland (LAND ...

composed of forces of Poland,

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. Th ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establishe ...

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and t ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

, Lithuania and

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...

. Between 2000 and September 2006 he was commander of the Land Forces of Poland. In 2000 he graduated from the

National War College The National War College (NWC) of the United States is a school in the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. History The National War Co ...

, Washington D.C. Between April 2007 and January 2010, Pietrzyk served as Polish ambassador to

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

(followed by

Stanisław Smoleń Stanisław Wojciech Smoleń (born 22 October 1952, Limanowa) is Polish career diplomat, ambassador to Iraq (2008–2012). Life Stanisław Smoleń began his studies at the Poznań Academy of Economics and, in 1977, graduated from international ...

). From January 2010 till 2014, Pietrzyk served as Poland's ambassador to

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and ...

, followed by

Krzysztof Ciebień Krzysztof Artur Ciebień (born 1 July 1955 in Lublin, Poland) is a Polish diplomat, ambassador to North Korea (2014–2019). Life Ciebień grew up in Zamość where he finished high school. He started his studies at the Main School of Plannin ...

2007 Baghdad incident

On 3 October 2007, Pietrzyk was wounded by a roadside bomb in a probable assassination attempt in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesipho ...

. He was flown to a military hospital by a Blackwater Security helicopter. Pietrzyk received burns to about 20 percent of his body, including his air passageways, and was held in an

artificial coma An induced comaalso known as a medically induced coma (MIC), barbiturate-induced coma, or drug-induced comais a temporary coma (a deep state of unconsciousness) brought on by a controlled dose of an anesthetic drug, often a barbiturate such as pe ...

to reduce the pain. The

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...

convened a meeting to condemn this attack.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pietrzyk, Edward 1949 births 2021 deaths People from Rawa Mazowiecka Polish generals Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Gold Cross of Merit (Poland) Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union alumni Recipients of the Legion of Merit Ambassadors of Poland to Iraq Ambassadors of Poland to North Korea