Czesław Wycech

Czesław Wycech [ ˈt͡ʃɛswav ˈvɨt͡ɕɛx ] (* July 20, 1899 in Wilczogęby near Sadowne ; † May 26, 1977 in Warsaw ) was a Polish teacher and politician of the peasant parties ( PSL "Wyzwolenie" , SL , ZSL ). He was Sejm Marshal from 1957 to 1971 and thus held the position of President of Parliament for the longest of all carriers in Polish history .

Life

Wycech came from a large farming family. In 1918 Wycech graduated from the teachers' seminar in Ursynów (now a district of Warsaw) and later took training courses to become senior and subject teachers. Since 1918 he was a member of the moderate left peasant party Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe "Wyzwolenie" (Liberation) and since 1931 in the successor party Stronnictwo Ludowe . 1937-1939 he was a board member of the teachers' union Związek Nauczycielstwa Polskiego (Union of Polish Teachers) and was shortly after the Second World War in 1945 its chairman. During the war he worked in the Secret Teachers' Organization , which organized illegal teaching in the Polish language , and was a member of the government agency in the country , responsible for education.

In 1945 Wycech was elected to the state national council (provisional parliament). On June 28, 1945, as a representative of the re-established PSL, he was appointed Minister of Education of the Government of National Unity headed by Edward Osóbka-Morawski and held this position until February 5, 1947. The educational courses for adults introduced under his supervision largely eliminated illiteracy in Poland. Within the PSL, the struggle for leadership and direction of the party between Wycech and Stanisław Mikołajczyk sparked in 1945 , which initially led to the split up of the Wycech's pro-Soviet PSL "Lewica" (left-wing faction ) , soon to the party committee and finally, along with the Stalinization of Poland, Mikołajczyk was expatriated. In 1947 Wycech was elected as a member of the Sejm and later re-elected five times (1952, 1957, 1961, 1965, 1969). In 1957 he became a Sejm Marshal. In this function he behaved passively and docile towards the representatives of the socialist PVAP . Elected to be President of Parliament on February 13, 1971, he retained his parliamentary mandate until 1972 and for reasons of age decided not to run again. Also from 1957 to 1971 he served as chairman of the Society for Polish- Soviet Friendship . 1962 to 1971 he was party leader of the ZSL.

Wycech published several books on the history of the Polish peasant movement and popular education.

Web links

• Encyklopedia PWN : Wycech Czesław (Polish)
• sejm.gov.pl: Marszałkowie Sejmu (Polish)