List of heads of state of Poland

This article lists the heads of state of Poland. Currently, the President of Poland is the head of state of the country.

Poland in the Early Middle Ages

Legendary rulers

Most of these rulers appear for the first time in chronicles from the 13th century.

Semi-legendary dukes of the Polans in Greater Poland

Several historians tend to believe that three legendary rulers of early Poland before Mieszko I might actually be historical persons. They appear in the oldest Polish chronicle, Gesta principum Polonorum from the early 12th century.

Kings of the Congress Kingdom of Poland in the Russian Empire (1815 – 1917)

Ruler	Dynasty	Reign Began	Reign Ended	Notes
Alexander I (Aleksander I/II)	Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov	9 June 1815	1 December 1825	The Kingdom of Poland created at the Congress of Vienna and therefore dubbed "Congress Poland".
Nicholas I (Mikołaj I)		1 December 1825	2 March 1855	Deposed by the Polish Parliament (Sejm) on 25 January 1831 during the November Uprising (1830–1831), autonomy abolished in 1832.
Alexander II (Aleksander II/III)		2 March 1855	13 March 1881	The Kingdom of Poland annexed into the Russian Empire after the January Uprising (1863–1864), and the name of the kingdom was changed to Vistula Land (1867–1915)
Alexander III (Aleksander III/IV)		13 March 1881	1 November 1894
Nicholas II (Mikołaj II)		1 November 1894	15 March 1917	Abdicated in 1917

Republic of Poland (1918–1939)

Chief of State

Portrait		Name (Birth–Death)	Entered office	Left office	Political party	Notes
style="background:Template:Party color"|–	Template:CSS image crop	Józef Piłsudski (1867–1935)	14 November 1918	11 December 1922	Independent	Provisional Chief of State until 1918

President of the Republic

Portrait		Name (Birth–Death)	Entered office	Left office	Political party	Election	Notes
style="background:Template:Party color" |1	Template:CSS image crop	Gabriel Narutowicz (1865–1922)	11 December 1922	16 December 1922 (Died in office)	Independent supported by Polish People's Party "Wyzwolenie"	Dec 1922 (I)	First President of Poland. Assassinated after only 5 days in office
style="background:Template:Party color" |–	Template:CSS image crop	Maciej Rataj (1884–1940) Acting President	16 December 1922	22 December 1922	Polish People's Party "Piast"	—	Marshal of the Sejm
style="background:Template:Party color" |2	Template:CSS image crop	Stanisław Wojciechowski (1869–1953)	22 December 1922	14 May 1926 (Deposed)		Dec 1922 (II)	Deposed in the May Coup by Marshal Józef Piłsudski
style="background:Template:Party color" |–	Template:CSS image crop	Maciej Rataj (1884–1940) Acting President	14 May 1926	4 June 1926		—	Marshal of the Sejm
style="background:Template:Party color"|–	Template:CSS image crop	Józef Piłsudski (1867–1935) President-elect	Did not take office		Independent	May 1926	Piłsudski was elected President by the National Assembly but declined to take office.
style="background:Template:Party color" |3	Template:CSS image crop	Ignacy Mościcki (1867–1946)	4 June 1926	30 September 1939	Independent supported by Nonpartisan Bloc for Cooperation with the Government	Jun 1926 1933	Mościcki's government was exiled to Romania after Poland's defeat in World War II on 17 September.

Government of the Republic of Poland in Exile (1939–1990)

After the German conquest of Poland, a Polish government-in-exile was formed under the protection of France and Britain. The President of the Republic and the government-in-exile were recognised by the United Kingdom and, later, by the United States until 6 July 1945, when the Western Allies accepted the Communist-led government backed by Joseph Stalin. Despite having lost recognition by other governments, the government-in-exile continued in London until the election of Lech Wałęsa as President of the Republic of Poland in December 1990, upon which it handed over its formal powers and the insignia of the Polish Second Republic to President-elect Wałęsa in a ceremony at the Warsaw Royal Castle on 22 December 1990.

The sole internationally recognised president of the exiled government was Władysław Raczkiewicz, who took office after Ignacy Mościcki's resignation in September 1939.

Portrait		Name (Birth–Death)	Entered office	Left office	Political party	Notes
style="background:Template:Party color"|1	Template:CSS image crop	Władysław Raczkiewicz (1885–1947)	30 September 1939	6 June 1947 (Died in office)	Independent	Raczkiewicz's government lost recognition by the Western Allies on 6 July 1945.
style="background:Template:Party color"|2	Template:CSS image crop	August Zaleski (1883–1972)	9 June 1947	7 April 1972 (Died in office)		From 1954 onwards, opposed by the Rada Trzech (Council of Three)
style="background:Template:Party color"|3	Template:CSS image crop	Stanisław Ostrowski (1892–1982)	9 April 1972	24 March 1979
style="background:Template:Party color"|4	Template:CSS image crop	Edward Raczyński (1891–1993)	8 April 1979	8 April 1986
style="background:Template:Party color"|5	Template:CSS image crop	Kazimierz Sabbat (1913–1989)	8 April 1986	19 July 1989 (Died in office)
style="background:Template:Party color"|6	Template:CSS image crop	Ryszard Kaczorowski (1919–2010)	19 July 1989	22 December 1990		Kaczorowski resigned on 22 December 1990, upon the election of Lech Wałęsa as President of the Republic of Poland.

Polish People's Republic (1944–1989)

President of the State National Council

The Provisional Government of the Republic of Poland was founded under Soviet protection on 31 December 1944 and recognised by the United States and the United Kingdom since 6 July 1945. It evolved into the Government of National Unity on 28 June 1945, and eventually into the Polish People's Republic on 19 February 1947.

Portrait		Name (Birth–Death)	Entered office	Left office	Political party	Notes
style="background:Template:Party color"|1	File:PL Bolesław Bierut (1892-1956).jpg	Bolesław Bierut (1892–1956)	31 December 1944	4 February 1947	Polish Workers' Party

President of the Republic

Portrait		Name (Birth–Death)	Entered office	Left office	Political party	Election	Notes
style="background:Template:Party color"|–	File:Portrait Franciszek Trabalski.jpg	Franciszek Trąbalski (1870–1964) Acting	4 February 1947		Polish Workers' Party	—
style="background:Template:Party color"|–	File:Marszałek Sejmu Władysław Kowalski.jpg	Władysław Kowalski (1894–1958) Acting	4 February 1947	5 February 1947			Marshal of the Sejm
style="background:Template:Party color"|1	File:PL Bolesław Bierut (1892-1956).jpg	Bolesław Bierut (1892–1956)	5 February 1947	20 November 1952	Polish Workers' Party/ Polish United Workers' Party	1947	From December 1948, also Secretary General of the Polish United Workers' Party

Chairman of the Council of State

In 1952, the July Constitution abolished the office of president and made the Council of State the collective head of state, chairmen of which are listed below. Real power rested with the Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR), its Central Committee, and the secretary general/first secretary.

Portrait		Name (Birth–Death)	Entered office	Left office	Political party	Notes
style="background:Template:Party color"|1	File:Aleksander Zawadzki 1.jpg	Aleksander Zawadzki (1899–1964)	20 November 1952	7 August 1964 (Died in office)	Polish United Workers' Party	Died in office (cancer)
In accordance with the constitution, the vice presidents of the Council of State, Edward Ochab, Stanisław Kulczyński, Oskar R. Lange, and Bolesław Podedworny, became collegially acting heads of state.
style="background:Template:Party color"|2	File:Edward Ochab 2.jpg	Edward Ochab (1906–1989)	12 August 1964	10 April 1968	Polish United Workers' Party
style="background:Template:Party color"|3	File:Marian Spychalski 1965 (cropped).jpg	Marian Spychalski (1906–1980)	10 April 1968	23 December 1970
style="background:Template:Party color"|4	File:Cyrankiewicz.jpg	Józef Cyrankiewicz (1911–1989)	23 December 1970	28 March 1972
style="background:Template:Party color"|5	File:Henryk Jabłoński, The Chairman of the Council of State (Head of State) of the People's Republic of Poland 1972-1985.jpg	Henryk Jabłoński (1909–2003)	28 March 1972	6 November 1985
style="background:Template:Party color"|6	File:Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski 13 grudnia 1981.JPG	Wojciech Jaruzelski (1923–2014)	6 November 1985	19 July 1989		Also the First Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party

First Secretaries of the Polish Workers' Party (PPR)/Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR)

Since 1954, the head of the party was also the Chairman of the Central Committee.

Name (Birth–Death)		Portrait	Entered office	Left office	Position
style="background:Template:Party color"|	Władysław Gomułka (1905–1982)	File:Władysław Gomułka 1960.jpg	23 November 1943	10 August 1948	First Secretary of PPR
style="background:Template:Party color"|	Bolesław Bierut (1892–1956)	File:PL Bolesław Bierut (1892-1956).jpg	10 August 1948	12 March 1956 (Died in office)	First Secretary of PPR to 16 December 1948; First Secretary of PZPR from 22 December 1948
style="background:Template:Party color"|	Edward Ochab (1906–1989)	File:Edward Ochab 2.jpg	20 March 1956	21 October 1956	First Secretary of PZPR
style="background:Template:Party color"|	Władysław Gomułka (1905–1982)	File:Władysław Gomułka 1960.jpg	21 October 1956	20 December 1970
style="background:Template:Party color"|	Edward Gierek (1913–2001)	File:Edward Gierek 1980.jpg	20 December 1970	6 September 1980
style="background:Template:Party color"|	Stanisław Kania (1927–2020)	File:Stanisław Kania -1979-.jpg	6 September 1980	18 October 1981
style="background:Template:Party color"|	Wojciech Jaruzelski (1923–2014)	File:Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski 13 grudnia 1981.JPG	18 October 1981	29 July 1989
style="background:Template:Party color"|	Mieczysław Rakowski* (1926–2008)	File:Mieczysław Rakowski crop.jpg	29 July 1989	29 January 1990

• By the second half of 1989, the office of First Secretary, occupied at the time by Mieczysław Rakowski, ceased to hold any real power.

Republic of Poland (1989–present)

President of the Republic

	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Entered office	Left office	Political party	Election	Notes Previous office
style="background:Template:Party color"|1	File:Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski 13 grudnia 1981.JPG	Wojciech Jaruzelski (1923–2014)	19 July 1989	22 December 1990 (Resigned)	Polish United Workers' Party (to 30 January 1990)	1989	Following the Polish Round Table Agreement between the Polish United Workers' Party and Solidarity, the Council of State was abolished. Its chairman was elected President of the People's Republic by the Parliament.
style="background:Template:Party color"|2	File:Wałęsa EU 1991 (cropped).png	Lech Wałęsa (born 1943)	22 December 1990	22 December 1995	Independent (Solidarity Citizens' Committee)	1990	First president elected by popular vote.
style="background:Template:Party color"|3	File:Aleksander kwasniewski konferencja (cropped).jpg	Aleksander Kwaśniewski (born 1954)	23 December 1995	23 December 2005	Democratic Left Alliance	1995 2000	Member of the Sejm (1991–95). First President of the Third Republic elected twice.
style="background:Template:Party color"|4	File:Lech Kaczyński.jpg	Lech Kaczyński (1949–2010)	23 December 2005	10 April 2010 (Died in office)	Law and Justice	2005	Senator (1989–91); Member of the Sejm (1991–93 and 2001–02); Mayor of Warsaw (2002-05). Died in a plane crash.
style="background:Template:Party color"|–	File:Bronisław Komorowski official cropped.jpg	Bronisław Komorowski (born 1952) Acting President	10 April 2010	8 July 2010	Civic Platform	—	Marshal of the Sejm. Resigned as Marshal of the Sejm, and thus as Acting President, after being confirmed as the winner of the 2010 presidential election.
style="background:Template:Party color"|–	File:Bogdan Borusewicz 02 Senate of Poland.jpg	Bogdan Borusewicz (born 1949) Acting President	8 July 2010				Marshal of the Senate. Acting president for less than a day, between Komorowski's resignation as the Marshal of the Sejm and Grzegorz Schetyna being sworn in.
style="background:Template:Party color"|–	File:Grzegorz Schetyna Sejm 2019.jpg	Grzegorz Schetyna (born 1963) Acting President		6 August 2010			Marshal of the Sejm. Served as Acting President until Komorowski was sworn in as president as the result of the 2010 presidential election.
style="background:Template:Party color"|5	File:Bronisław Komorowski (2).jpg	Bronisław Komorowski (born 1952)	6 August 2010	6 August 2015	Civic Platform	2010	Member of the Sejm (1991–2010); Marshal of the Sejm (2007–10); Acting President (2010).
style="background:Template:Party color"|6	File:Prezydent Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej Andrzej Duda.jpg	Andrzej Duda (born 1972)	6 August 2015	Incumbent	Law and Justice	2015 2020	Member of the Sejm (2011–14); Member of the European Parliament (2014–15); Duda was the Law and Justice candidate in the 2015 election, but resigned his membership on 26 May 2015.
style="background:Template:Party color"|7	File:Karol Nawrocki (2025).jpg	Karol Nawrocki (born 1983)	Assuming office: 6 August 2025		Independent (Law and Justice)	2025	Director of the Museum of the Second World War (2017–21); President of the Institute of National Remembrance (2021–25).

Timeline since 1918

<timeline> ImageSize = width:1150 height:auto barincrement:12 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:90 right:150 left:20 AlignBars = late

1. Prime ministers of Poland after the Second World War

DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1918 till:31/12/2026 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:6 start:1918 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:1918

Define $dx = 20 Define $dy = -3 Define $now = 08/05/2026

Colors=

id:Independent value:rgb(0.7,0.7,0.7)     legend:Independent
id:Piast       value:rgb(0.106, 0.694, 0) legend:Polish_People's_Party_"Piast"
id:PZPR        value:rgb(0.89,0.25,0.11)  legend:Polish_United_Workers'_Party
id:SLD         value:rgb(0.886,0,0.102)   legend:Democratic_Left_Alliance
id:PiS         value:rgb(0.15,0.216,0.47) legend:Law_and_Justice
id:PO          value:rgb(0.97,0.56,0.176) legend:Civic_Platform

Define $now = 08/05/2026

TextData =

 pos:(20,58) textcolor:black fontsize:s
 text:"Political Affiliation:"

Legend = columns:1 left:110 top:57 columnwidth:220

BarData=

bar:Piłsudski
bar:Narutowicz
bar:Rataj
bar:Wojciechowski
bar:Mościcki
bar:Bierut
bar:Trąbalski
bar:Kowalski
bar:Zawadzki
bar:Ochab
bar:Spychalski
bar:Cyrankiewicz
bar:Jabłoński
bar:Jaruzelski
bar:Wałęsa
bar:Kwaśniewski
bar:Kaczyński
bar:Komorowski
bar:Borusewicz
bar:Schetyna
bar:Duda
bar:Nawrocki

PlotData=

 width:5 align:left fontsize:s shift:(5,-4) anchor:till

bar:Piłsudski
 from: 14/11/1918 till: 11/12/1922 color:Independent text:"Józef Piłsudski"
bar:Narutowicz
 from: 11/12/1922 till: 16/12/1922 color:Independent text:"Gabriel Narutowicz"
bar:Rataj
 from: 16/12/1922 till: 22/12/1922 color:Piast
 from: 14/05/1926 till: 04/06/1926 color:Piast       text:"Maciej Rataj (acting)"
bar:Wojciechowski
 from: 22/12/1922 till: 14/05/1926 color:Piast       text:"Stanisław Wojciechowski"
bar:Mościcki
 from: 04/06/1926 till: 30/09/1939 color:Independent text:"Ignacy Mościcki"
bar:Bierut
 from: 31/12/1944 till: 04/02/1947 color:PZPR
 from: 05/02/1947 till: 20/11/1952 color:PZPR        text:"Bolesław Bierut"
bar:Trąbalski
 from: 04/02/1947 till: 04/02/1947 color:PZPR        text:"Franciszek Trąbalski (acting)"
bar:Kowalski
 from: 04/02/1947 till: 05/02/1947 color:PZPR        text:"Władysław Kowalski (acting)"
bar:Zawadzki
 from: 20/11/1952 till: 07/08/1964 color:PZPR        text:"Aleksander Zawadzki"
bar:Ochab
 from: 12/08/1964 till: 10/04/1968 color:PZPR        text:"Edward Ochab"
bar:Spychalski
 from: 10/04/1968 till: 23/12/1970 color:PZPR        text:"Marian Spychalski"
bar:Cyrankiewicz
 from: 23/12/1970 till: 28/03/1972 color:PZPR        text:"Józef Cyrankiewicz"
bar:Jabłoński
 from: 28/03/1972 till: 06/11/1985 color:PZPR        text:"Henryk Jabłoński"
bar:Jaruzelski
 from: 06/11/1985 till: 30/01/1990 color:PZPR
 from: 30/01/1990 till: 22/12/1990 color:Independent text:"Wojciech Jaruzelski"
bar:Wałęsa
 from: 22/12/1990 till: 22/12/1995 color:Independent text:"Lech Wałęsa"
bar:Kwaśniewski
 from: 22/12/1995 till: 23/12/2005 color:SLD         text:"Aleksander Kwaśniewski"
bar:Kaczyński
 from: 23/12/2005 till: 10/04/2010 color:PiS         text:"Lech Kaczyński"
bar:Komorowski
 from: 10/04/2010 till: 08/07/2010 color:PO
 from: 06/08/2010 till: 06/08/2015 color:PO          text:"Bronisław Komorowski"
bar:Borusewicz
 from: 08/07/2010 till: 08/07/2010 color:PO          text:"Bogdan Borusewicz (acting)"
bar:Schetyna
 from: 08/07/2010 till: 06/08/2010 color:PO          text:"Grzegorz Schetyna (acting)"
bar:Duda
 from: 06/08/2015 till: $now       color:PiS         text:"Andrzej Duda"
bar:Nawrocki
 from: 06/08/2025 till: $now       color:Independent text:"Karol Nawrocki (elect)"

</timeline>

See also

• List of Polish monarchs
• Prime Minister of Poland
  • List of prime ministers of Poland