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| Official name: Rzeczpospolita Polska (Republic of Poland)
Head of State: President Lech Kaczynski (PiS) (elected Oct 2005) Head of government: Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz (PiS) (elected 25 Sep 2005) Ruling party: Prawo i Sprawiedliwosc (PiS) (Law and Justice) leads a minority government with eight non-partisan members of parliament Area: 312,683 square km Population: 38.20 million (2004) Capital: Warsaw Official language: Polish Currency: Zloty (Zl) = 100 groszy Exchange rate: Zl3.31 per US$ (Nov 2004) (currency allowed to float from 11 Apr 2000) GDP per capita: US$5,507 (2003) GDP real growth: 3.30% (2003) Labour force: 17.46 million (2003) Unemployment: 19.30% (2003) Inflation: 0.80% (2003) Balance of trade: -US$21.37 billion (2003) Foreign debt: US$64.00 billion (2003) |
Historical profile
Poland's geographical position between east and west Europe has put it at the
mercy of the great European powers.
1918 An independent republic was declared at the end of the First World War.
1919–21 The Polish-Russian War broke out in February 1919. After the Poles defeated the Russians during the Battle of Warsaw in August 1920, a peace treaty was eventually signed in April 1921.
1939 The Second World War began as Germany, with military assistance from the Soviet Union, invaded Poland. German forces occupied Poland until 1945, when the Soviet Union, now on the side of the Allies, liberated the country.
1945 After the end of the Second World War, Poland came under the Soviet Union's sphere of influence and it annexed Poland's eastern provinces. The Soviet Union established a puppet government in Poland, comprised mostly of communists of the Polskiej Partii Robotniczej (PPR) (Polish Workers' Party) and Polskiej Partii Socjalistycznej (PPS) (Polish Socialist Party). Communist rule did not end until 1989.
1948 The PPR and PPS merged to form the Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza (PZPR) (Polish United Workers' Party) to cement Poland's one-party political system.
1956 Riots due to food shortages resulted in the reinstatement of Wladyslaw Gomulka as the first secretary of the PZRP. Gomulka had been distrusted as too liberal in 1948. Liberalisation and some economic reform ensued.
1970 Food price strikes brought about the resignation of Gomulka, who was succeeded by Edward Gierek.
1980–82 The rise of the trade union, Solidarnosc (Solidarity), under Lech Walesa, followed strikes at the Gdansk, Gdynia and Szczecin shipyards. The right to form independent unions was recognised by the government. General Wojcieck Jaruzelski succeeded Gierek as PZPR leader.
Serious unrest continued during the 1980s, including a period of martial law, the imprisonment of Solidarnosc leaders and the abolition of independent unions.
1987 Government plans for rapid economic reform necessitating further hardship were rejected in a referendum, but political reform was approved.
1989 Solidarnosc was granted legal recognition in time for the partially free elections, after which it helped to form a coalition government.
1990 Lech Walesa became Poland's first democratically-elected president.
1991 The first completely free parliamentary elections were held, resulting in the election of a new centre-right government under Prime Minister Jan Olszewski. He was succeeded by Waldemar Pawlak, who was unable to form a government.
1992 Hanna Suchocka became prime minister (Poland's fifth prime minister since the end of communist rule in 1989).
1993 Suchocka resigned in March and in September, elections under the new 5 per cent threshold rule (parties not reaching this level are not eligible for parliamentary representation) reduced the number of parties in parliament. Voters opted for a slowdown in the pace of market-led economic reforms by bringing back the former communists – the Sojusz Lewicy Demokratycznej (SLD) (Democratic Left Alliance). A coalition government of the SLD and the Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe (PSL) (Polish People's Party) was formed. Waldemar Pawlak of the PSL became prime minister.
1995 Aleksander Kwasniewski (SLD) was elected president.
1996 Poland became a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
1997 The draft constitution put to a referendum was narrowly approved by less than half the electorate. It strengthened the powers of parliament. The Akcja Wyborcza Solidarnosc (AWS) (Solidarity Electoral Action) formed a centre-right coalition government with Unia Wolnosci (UW) (Freedom Union) after the general election.
1999 Poland joined NATO.
2000 UW withdrew from the centre-right coalition over the slow pace of reform, vowing not to return until Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek was replaced. Kwasniewski was re-elected president.
2001 After parliamentary elections, Leszek Miller, leader of the centre-left SLD, formed a left-wing coalition government.
2002 Poland's 2004 entry to the EU was confirmed by the EU Council.
2003 The PSL was ejected from the ruling coalition on 1 March. Prime Minister Leszek Miller announced his resignation, to occur on 2 May 2004; on 29 March, President Aleksander Kwasniewski named Marek Belka as his candidate to succeed Miller.
2004 Poland entered the EU on 1 May. Marek Belka was sworn in as prime minister on 2 May. Belka lost a confidence vote on 14 May. He was re-nominated prime minister on 11 June, and parliament endorsed his government by 236 votes to 215 on 24 June. Prime Minister Marek Belka took office as planned, and later his cabinet won a confidence vote on 15 October.
2005 On 6 May, Prime Minister Marek Belka submitted his resignation, but it was rejected by President Aleksander Kwasniewski on the same day. The referendum on the EU constitution was postponed indefinitely.
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