The Provisional Governing Commission was a provisional

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

government of the

Republic of Central Lithuania The Republic of Central Lithuania (, ), commonly known as the Central Lithuania, and the Middle Lithuania (, , ), was an unrecognized short-lived puppet state of Poland, that existed from 1920 to 1922. It was founded on 12 October 1920, after ...

, that existed from 1920 to 1922.
Dziennik Urzędowy Tymczasowej Komisji Rządzącej
', Provisional Governing Commission.

History

The Provisional Governing Commission had been formed on 12 October 1920, following

Żeligowski's Mutiny Żeligowski's Mutiny (, also , ) was a Polish false flag operation led by General Lucjan Żeligowski in October 1920, which resulted in the creation of the Republic of Central Lithuania. Józef Piłsudski, the Chief of State of Poland, surreptit ...

, in which forces from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, under the command of general

Lucjan Żeligowski Lucjan Żeligowski (; 17 October 1865 – 9 July 1947) was a Polish general, politician, military commander and veteran of World War I, the Polish-Soviet War and World War II. He is mostly remembered for his role in Żeligowski's Mutiny and a ...

, had ceased

Vilnius Region Vilnius Region is the territory in present-day Lithuania and Belarus that was originally inhabited by ethnic Baltic tribes and was a part of Lithuania proper, but came under East Slavic and Polish cultural influences over time. The territory ...

from

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

, and established the

, as the puppet state of Poland. The formation of the

government had been announced by Żeligowski, the commander-in-chief of

Army of Central Lithuania The Army of Central Lithuania was the armed forces of the state of Republic of Central Lithuania, Central Lithuania proclaimed by General Lucjan Żeligowski on October 12, 1920. With the announcement by General Żeligowski of the establishment ...

, who '' de facto'' acted as the leader of the state. It included Witold Abramowicz, Leon Bobicki, Mieczysław Engiel, Jerzy Iwanowski, Vatslav Ivanóvskiy, Teofil Szopa, and Aleksander Zasztowt.''Odezwa rządu Litwy środkowej''. In: ''

Kurier Warszawski The ''Kurier Warszawski'' (or ''Warsaw Courier'') was a daily newspaper printed in Warsaw, Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carp ...

'', nr 296, 25 October 1920, p. 1–2. Engiel and Szope represented the Borderlands Guard within the Provisional Governing Commission. On the day of its establishment, Żeligowski had appointed the members of the government to the offices of the ministers. The Provisional Governing Commission formally ceased to exist on 6 April 1922, when the Legislative Sejm of Poland voted for the resolution to incorporate Central Lithuania into Polish territory.''Dziennik Ustaw'', no. 26, poz. 213, 6 April 1922

Structure

The Provisional Governing Commission was formed from 11 ministries and the

chairperson The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a Board of directors, board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by ...

. The chairperson was simultaneously the head of the

Ministry of Internal Affairs An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the i ...

, and their responsibilities included: representing the state in international politics, organizing and leading the government meetings, and leading the Chairperson Bureau and the Law and Legislature Department. Their deputy was the vice-chairperson, who deputized the chairperson in their responsibilities connected to running the Provisional Governing Commission. The competencies of the government included: * the

executive power The executive branch is the part of government which executes or enforces the law. Function The scope of executive power varies greatly depending on the political context in which it emerges, and it can change over time in a given country. In ...

, * the supervision of state administration, * the preparation of the state spending and profits, * nominating the 3rd- and 4th-class officials, * issuing the executive ordinances and decrees. The government had its meetings organized 2 times in a week, with the possibility of organizing additional emergency meetings. Alongside the Provisional Governing Commission, functioned also the Office of the Chairperson of Provisional Governing Commission, that oversaw the officials employment, and the Chairperson Bureau, which executed the orders from the chairperson.

List of the chairmen

* Witold Abramowicz (12 October 1920 – 16 January 1921) *

Stefan Mokrzecki Stefan Mokrzecki of Ostoja coat of arms (1862–1932) was a general in the Russian Army and the Polish Army. During Polish-Soviet War commanded 8 DP and other units. Later member of armed forces of Republic of Central Lithuania. Retired in 192 ...

(16 January 1921 – 21 November 1921) * Aleksander Meysztowicz (21 November 1921 – 6 April 1922)

Citations

Notes

References

{{reflist Republic of Central Lithuania Provisional governments Provisional governments of the Russian Civil War 1920s in Lithuania 1920s in Poland 1920s in Belarus Executive branches of government Polish government cabinets 1920 establishments in Belarus 1920 establishments in Lithuania 1920 establishments in Poland 1922 disestablishments in Belarus 1922 disestablishments in Lithuania 1922 disestablishments in Poland