Józef Piłsudski
Polish politician, First Marshall, and Prime Minister (1867–1935) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Józef Klemens Piłsudski (December 5, 1867 – May 12, 1935) was an important leader of Poland. He is seen in Poland as the father of the Polish state, since he declared Poland's independence at the end of World War 1.
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Marshal Józef Piłsudski | |
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Chief of State of Poland | |
In office 22 November 1918 – 14 December 1922 | |
Prime Minister | See list
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Preceded by | Regency Council |
Succeeded by | Gabriel Narutowicz (as President) |
Prime Minister of Poland | |
In office 2 October 1926 – 27 June 1928 | |
President | Ignacy Mościcki |
Deputy | Kazimierz Bartel |
Preceded by | Kazimierz Bartel |
Succeeded by | Kazimierz Bartel |
Personal details | |
Born | Józef Klemens Piłsudski (1867-12-05)5 December 1867 Zułów , Vilna Governorate, Russian Empire (now Lithuania) |
Died | 12 May 1935(1935-05-12) (aged 67) Warsaw, Poland |
Political party | Independent |
Other political affiliations | Polish Socialist Party (1893–1918)[c] |
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Children |
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Military service | |
Allegiance | |
Branch/service |
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Years of service |
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Rank | Marshal of Poland |
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From 1795 to 1918, Poland was not an independent country. The partitions of Poland divided it into three parts between Russia, Prussia (Germany) and Austria-Hungary. Piłsudski was born in the Russian part. The government tried to make Poles become Russian but Piłsudski was born in a noble family of patriots, that wanted Poland to be an own independent country.
In 1887 he got into trouble for helping people who tried to overthrow the Russian Tsar. For that he was sent to Siberia. When he came back from there he got more and more involved in politics.
Later Piłsudski became a soldier and wanted to make Poland independent again. At the beginning of World War I, people who agreed with Pilsudski helped Austria-Hungary, because they preferred it to Russia. Piłsudski created a Polish army in Austria called the Polish Legions. Piłsudski is famous for leading the I. Brigade of the Polish Legions.
When they stopped helping Austria-Hungary and Germany, Piłsudski was arrested. When the War was over, he was freed.
He came to Warsaw in November 1918 and helped to organize Poland, which now existed again after 123 of partition. Then, for a short time, he became its leader (not president but head of state). Gabriel Narutowicz became Poland's first president, but he was assassinated a few days later and Stanisław Wojciechowski became the next president. Piłsudski was shocked and left politics for a few years.
Poland's situation was not good and the politicians argued a lot. Many people, especially the soldiers, wanted Piłsudski back, so he told Wojciechowski to resign. When Wojciechowski said no, Piłsudki took over with the help of the Army. Parliament elected Ignacy Mościcki, Piłsudski's close friend to be the new president. . Together, they changed the Polish constitution and made other changes which made Poland stronger in the 1920s and 30s. Today, Piłsudski is remembered as a heroe. He has many statues and streets named after him.