Polish Heads of State

Head of State (Naczelnik Państwa, 1918-1922)
Marshal Józef Klemens Piłsudski (14 November 1918 - 14 December 1922) (and de facto ruler of Poland from the coup d'état on 14 May 1926 until his death on 12 May 1935).

Presidents of the Second Polish Republic (1922-1939)
Gabriel Narutowicz (14 December - 16 December 1922) (assassinated)
Maciej Rataj (16 December - 20 December 1922) (1st time, acting)
Stanisław Wojciechowski (20 December 1922 - 14 May 1926) (deposed in the May Coup)
Maciej Rataj (15 May - 4 June 1926) (2nd time, acting)
Ignacy Mościcki (4 June 1926 - 30 September 1939) (in Romania exile from 27 September 1939)
(de facto the Inspector-General of the Polish Armed Forces was the ruler of Poland in the period of authoritarian rule after May Coup):

Marshal Józef Klemens Piłsudski (1926 - 1935)
Marshal Edward Rydz-Śmigły (1935 - 1939)

Presidents of the Republic of Poland in Exile (1939-1990)
Polish Government in exile was recognized by the United States and the United Kingdom until 6 July 1945

Bolesław Wieniawa-Długoszowski (September 1939)
Władysław Raczkiewicz (1939 - 1947)
August Zaleski (1947 - 1972)
Stanisław Ostrowski (1972 - 1979)
Edward Raczyński (1979 - 1986)
Kazimierz Sabbat (1986 - 1989)
Ryszard Kaczorowski (1989 - 1990) (resigned after the election of Lech Wałęsa)

Presidents of the Presidium of the People's Council (1944-1947)
Recognized by the United States and the United Kingdom since 6 July 1945

Bolesław Bierut (1 January 1944 - 4 February 1947)
Franciszek Trąbalski (4 February 1947) (Marshal of the Constituent Sejm)
Władysław Kowalski (4 February - 5 February 1947) (Marshal of the Constituent Sejm)




Chairman of the Council of State of Poland (1944-1989)
(First Secretaries of the Polish United Workers' Party were rulers of state)

Boleslaw Bierut (1 January 1944 - (20 November 1952
Aleksander Zawadzki (20 November 1952 - 7 August 1964)
Edward Ochab (12 August 1964 - 10 April 1968)
Marian Spychalski (10 April 1968 - 23 December 1970)
Józef Cyrankiewicz (23 December 1970 - 28 March 1972)
Henryk Jabłoński (28 March 1972 - 6 November 1985)
General Wojciech Jaruzelski (6 November 1985 - 19 July 1989)

First Secretaries of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party (1943-1989)¹
Władysław Gomułka (23 November 1943 - 3 September 1948 (1st time)
Bolesław Bierut (3 September 1948 - 12 March 1956) (December 1948 - March 1954 Chairman Central Committee)
Edward Ochab (20 March - 21 October 1956)
Władysław Gomułka (21 October 1956 - 20 December 1970) (2nd time)
Edward Gierek (20 December 1970 - 6 September 1980)
Stanisław Kania (6 September 1980 - 18 October 1981)
General Wojciech Jaruzelski (18 October 1981 - 29 July 1989)
Mieczysław Rakowski (29 July 1989 - 27 January 1990)

President of the People's Republic of Poland (1989)
General Wojciech Jaruzelski (19 July 1989 - 30 December 1989)

Presidents of the Third Polish Republic (1989-Present)
Elected by parliament in 1989

General Wojciech Jaruzelski (31 December 1989 - 21 December 1990)
Elected in direct election with weak position after implementation of 1997 constitution

Lech Wałęsa (22 December 1990 - 22 December 1995)
Aleksander Kwaśniewski (23 December 1995 - 23 December 2005)
Lech Kaczyński (23 December 2005 - Present)