Roman Odzierzyński

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Roman Władysław Odzierzyński (born February 28, 1892 in Lviv , † July 9, 1975 in London ) was a Polish brigadier general , politician and Prime Minister of the Polish government in exile .

Life

Studies and officer in the First World War

After finishing high school , he studied law at the University of Lviv .

On October 1, 1910, he entered the soldier as Austria-Hungarian army one in which he after the completion of the Artillery School and the beginning of World War I on November 1, 1914 lieutenant and on 1 August 1916, Lieutenant in the 11th  howitzers regiment rise.

Independence and promotion to brigadier general in World War II

After the First World War he joined the Polish Armed Forces ( Wojsko Polskie ) as an officer on November 1, 1918 , where he was promoted to captain of the Lviv Defense Battery on January 8, 1919 . He also continued his studies, he finally also in 1919 with the promotion to Doctor of Law graduated.

During the subsequent Polish-Soviet War he was first an officer in the 3rd field artillery regiment and then a teacher at the NCO School No. 5. After his promotion to major on October 1, 1920, he was an officer in the 17th and then in the 14th field artillery regiment. After the end of this war he was first an officer in the 7th Artillery Brigade and then in other troop units. On July 1, 1923 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and then on January 1, 1930 to colonel . On June 19, 1933, he was commandant of the artillery school in Thorn , on November 14, 1935, commander of the 11th artillery group and in May 1938 of an anti-aircraft artillery group. After that, on November 14, 1938, he was appointed commander of the Central Aviation and NBC Defense School in Brest (Belarus) .

After the German invasion of Poland and the beginning of the Second World War on September 1, 1939, he fled to Romania on September 20, 1939 and then to France in January 1940 , where he became the artillery commander of the 4th Infantry Division. After his evacuation to Great Britain in August 1940 , he became the artillery commander of the 4th Rifle Brigade and, as such, commander of a contingent of 200 Polish officers in Iraq . In 1942 he became artillery commander of the Polish Eastern Army (Armia Polska na Wschodzie) and as such was promoted to brigadier general on January 1, 1943 . In July 1943, he was appointed artillery commander of the 2nd Polish Corps, commanded by Lieutenant General Władysław Anders .

Prime Minister of the government-in-exile and last years of life

After the end of the Second World War he went into exile in Great Britain and was appointed Minister for National Defense and Minister of the Interior of the Polish government- in- exile in London in 1949 by Prime Minister Tadeusz Tomaszewski .

On September 25, 1950, he succeeded Tomaszewski, who died on August 10, as Prime Minister of the Polish government-in-exile . In his cabinet, which was in office until January 18, 1954, he again took over the post of Minister for National Defense. He was then from 1954 to 1956 President of the Executive of National Unity ( Egzekutywy Zjednoczenia Narodowego ).

Most recently, as the successor to Tadeusz Komorowski, from August 24, 1966 to 1968, alongside Władysław Anders and Edward Raczyński, he was a member of the so-called Council of Three ( Rada Trzech ), which was constituted in 1954 after the exiled President August Zaleski refused to resign as promised.

Awards

Gold Cross of the Order "Virtuti Militari"

In the course of his military and political career, Odzierzyński received several awards. Among other things, he received the following awards:

In addition, he was awarded the rank of Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ A SHORT HISTORY OF THE 2nd ARTILLERY GROUP. In: The Soviet Invasion Of Poland During World War Two - Middle East .
personal data
SURNAME Odzierzyński, novel
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Odzierzyński, Roman Władysław (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Polish politician, Prime Minister of Poland and Brigadier General
DATE OF BIRTH February 28, 1892
PLACE OF BIRTH Lviv
DATE OF DEATH July 9, 1975
Place of death London