Michał Ostrowski (1873-?) was a Polish

military officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent c ...

and

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

who in 1928 served for a short period as the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the List of cities and towns in Poland, tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Biał ...

Biography

He was born on September 29, 1873 in Białystok. He was the son of Karol Ostrowski, probably the same as the owner of the tenement house at 13 Kraszewskiego Street. On March 3, 1891, Ostrowski was accepted to the Officers' Cavalry School in

Elizavetgrad Kropyvnytskyi (, ) is a city in central Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east ...

. He graduated on September 1, 1893. He served in the 2nd Saint Petersburg Dragoon Regiment. During his service in the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

, he was awarded the

Order of Saint Stanislaus The Order of Saint Stanislaus (, ), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Poniatowski of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It remained under the Congress Poland, Kingdom of Pola ...

in 1907 and

Order of Saint Anna The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, on 14 February 1735, in hono ...

in 1912. In 1918, following the regaining of independence and the establishment 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 ...

he joined the

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the Army, land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 110,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military histor ...

and was employed as the head of the renovation commission, which was responsible for purchasing horses for the army. From July 1, 1922 to April 1, 1923, he was the commander of the

18th Pomeranian Uhlan Regiment 18th Pomeranian Uhlan Regiment ({{langx, pl, 18 Pulk Ulanów Pomorskich, 18 p.ul.) was a cavalry unit of the Polish Army in the Second Polish Republic. Formed in April 1919 in Poznań, it fought in the Polish-Soviet War and the Invasion of Poland. ...

, which was stationed in

Toruń Toruń is a city on the Vistula River in north-central Poland and a World Heritage Sites of Poland, UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its population was 196,935 as of December 2021. Previously, it was the capital of the Toruń Voivodeship (1975–199 ...

. On May 1, 1923, he was appointed commander of the 4th Cavalry Brigade in

Suwałki Suwałki (; ; or סוּוואַלק) is a city in northeastern Poland with a population of 69,206 (2021). It is the capital of Suwałki County and one of the most important centers of commerce in the Podlaskie Voivodeship. A relatively young ci ...

. From June 1, 1924, he was the first commander of the 8th Cavalry Brigade formed in

Wołkowysk Vawkavysk or Volkovysk is a town in Grodno Region, in western Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Vawkavysk District. It is located on the and rivers, roughly from the city of Grodno and from Minsk, the national capital. As of ...

. For his service, he was awarded the Polonia Restituta officer's cross. In the 1927 Polish local elections he was elected to the

Białystok City Council The Białystok City Council () is the governing body of the city of Białystok in Poland. The council has 28 elected members elected every five years in an election by city voters through a secret ballot. The election of city council and the loc ...

. The city council opened a discussion to choose the city president, with Ostrowski's name put in the list, competing against Lejzor Szobfisz. Ostrowski managed to win following a heated discussion, as a result of which the motion was defeated. Finally, after two votes he won a majority and became the city president (mayor). His tenure was characterized with constant political quarrels with the city council, with councilors accusing him of concealing financial irregularities, and blaming him for serious irregularities in the construction of the Zdobycz Robotnicza housing estate in Wygoda District, and the unlawful construction of benches in the Constitution of 3 May Park. Following his resignation he departed completely from political life and was temporarily succeeded by his deputy Wolf Hepner until new election was held, in which Wincenty Hermanowski was elected. In Białystok, he lived at 25 Fabryczna Street. After departing from political life, he moved to

Wadowice Wadowice () is a town in southern Poland, southwest of Kraków with 17,455 inhabitants (2022), situated on the Skawa river, confluence of Vistula, in the eastern part of Silesian Foothills (Pogórze Śląskie). Wadowice is known for being the bir ...

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ostrowski, Michał Mayors of Białystok 1873 births Polish Army officers Military personnel of the Second Polish Republic Officers of the Order of Polonia Restituta Year of death missing