:Poland Government
Long-form name:
Republic of Poland
Type:
democratic state
Capital:
Warsaw
Administrative divisions:
49 provinces (wojewodztwa, singular - wojewodztwo); Biaa Podlaska, Biaystok,
Bielsko, Bydgoszcz, Chem, Ciechanow, Czestochowa, Elblag, Gdansk, Gorzow,
Jelenia Gora, Kalisz, Katowice, Kielce, Konin, Koszalin, Krakow, Krosno,
Legnica, Leszno, odz, omza, Lublin, Nowy Sacz, Olsztyn, Opole, Ostroteka,
Pia, Piotrkow, Pock, Poznan, Przemysl, Radom, Rzeszow, Siedlce, Sieradz,
Skierniewice, Supsk, Suwaki, Szczecin, Tarnobrzeg, Tarnow, Torun, Wabrzych,
Warszawa, Wocawek, Wrocaw, Zamosc, Zielona Gora
Independence:
11 November 1918, independent republic proclaimed
Constitution:
Communist-imposed Constitution of 22 July 1952; developing a democratic
Constitution
Legal system:
mixture of Continental (Napoleonic) civil law and holdover Communist legal
theory; changes being gradually introduced as part of broader
democratization process; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not
accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday:
Constitution Day, 3 May (1794)
Executive branch:
president, prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
Legislative branch:
bicameral National Assembly (Zgromadzenie Narodowe) consists of an upper
house or Senate (Senat) and a lower house or Diet (Sejm)
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court
Leaders:
Chief of State:
President Lech WALESA (since 22 December 1990)
Head of Government:
Prime Minister Hanna SUCHOCKA (since 10 July 1992)
Political parties and leaders:
Solidarity Bloc:
Democratic Union (UD), Tadeusz MAZOWIECKI; Christian-National Union (ZCHN),
Wieslaw CHRZANOWSKI; Centrum (PC), Jaroslaw KACZYNSKI; Liberal-Democratic
Congress, Donald TUSK; Peasant Alliance (PL), Gabriel JANOWSKI; Solidarity
Trade Union (NSZZ), Marian KRZAKLEWSKI; Solidarity Labor (SP), Ryszard
BUGAJ; Christian-Democratic Party (PCHD), Pawel LACZKOWSKI;
Democratic-Social Movement (RDS), Zbigniew BUJAK; Kracow Coalition in
Solidarity with the President, Mieczyslaw GIL; Solidarity 80, Marian JURCZYK
Non-Communist, Non-Solidarity:
Confederation for an Independent Poland (KPN), Leszek MOCZULSKI; Beer
Lovers' Party (PPPP), Janusz REWINSKI; Christian Democrats (CHD), Andrzej
OWSINSKI; German Minority (MN), Henryk KROL; Western Union (KPN Front),
Damian JAKUBOWSKI; RealPolitik (UPR), Janusz KORWIN-MIKKE; Democratic Party
(SD), Antoni MACKIEWICZ
Communist origin or linked:
Social Democracy (SDRP, or SLD), Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz; Polish Peasants'
Party (PSL), Waldermar PAWLAK; Party X, Stanislaw Tyminski
Suffrage:
universal at age 18
:Poland Government
Elections:
President:
first round held 25 November 1990, second round held 9 December 1990 (next
to be held NA November 1995); results - second round Lech WALESA 74.7%,
Stanislaw TYMINSKI 25.3%
Senate:
last held 27 October 1991 (next to be held no later than NA October 1995);
results -
Solidarity Bloc:
UD 21%, NSZZ 11%, ZCHN 9%, PC 9%, Liberal-Democratic Congress 6%, PL 7%,
PCHD 3%, other local candidates 11%
Non-Communist, Non-Solidarity:
KPN 4%, CHD 1%, MN 1%, local candidates 5%
Communist origin or linked:
PSL 8%, SLD 4%; seats - (100 total)
Solidarity Bloc:
UD 21, NSZZ 11, ZCHN 9, Liberal-Democratic Congress 6, PL 7, PCHD 3, other
local candidates 11;
Non-Communist, Non-Solidarity:
KPN 4, CHD 1, MN 1 local candidates 5
Communist origin or linked:
PSL 8, SLD 4
Sejm:
last held 27 October 1991 (next to be held no later than NA October 1995);
results -
Solidarity Bloc:
UD 12.31%, ZCHN 8.73%, PL 8.71%, Liberal-Democratic Congress 7.48%, PL
5.46%, NSZZ 5.05%, SP 2.05%, PCHD 1.11%
Non-Communist, Non-Solidarity:
KPN 7.50%, PPPP 3.27%, CHD 2.36%, UPR 2.25%, MN 1.70%
Communist origin or linked:
SLD 11.98%, PSL 8.67%; seats - (460 total)
Solidarity Bloc:
UD 62, ZCHN 9, PC 44, Liberal-Democratic Congress 37, PL 28, NSZZ 27, SP 4,
PCHD 4, RDS 1, Krackow Coalition in Solidarity with the President 1, Piast
Agreement 1, Bydgoszcz Peasant List 1, Solidarity 80 1
Non-Communist, Non-Solidarity:
KPN 46, PPPP 16, MN 7, CHD 5, Western Union 4, UPR 3, Autonomous Silesia 2,
SD 1, Orthodox Election Committee 1, Committee of Women Against Hardships 1,
Podhale Union 1, Wielkopolska Group 1, Wielkopolska and Lubuski Inhabitants
1
Communist origin or linked:
SLD 60, PSL 48, Party X 3
Communists:
70,000 members in the Communist successor parties (1990)
Other political or pressure groups:
powerful Roman Catholic Church; Confederation for an Independent Poland
(KPN), a nationalist group; Solidarity (trade union); All Poland Trade Union
Alliance (OPZZ), populist program; Clubs of Catholic Intellectuals (KIKs)
Member of:
BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, CSCE, ECE, FAO, GATT, Hexagonale, IAEA, IBEC, IBRD,
ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IIB, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, PCA,
UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNDOF, UNIDO, UNIIMOG, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO
Diplomatic representation:
Ambassador Kazimierz DZIEWANOWSKI; Chancery at 2640 16th Street NW,
Washington, DC 20009; telephone (202) 234-3800 through 3802; there are
Polish Consulates General in Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York
:Poland Government
US:
Ambassador Thomas W. SIMONS, Jr.; Embassy at Aleje Ujazdowskie 29/31, Warsaw
(mailing address is American Embassy Warsaw, Box 5010, or APO AE
09213-5010); telephone [48] (2) 628-8298; FAX [48] (2) 628-9326; there is a
US Consulate General in Krakow and a Consulate in Poznan
Flag:
two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red; similar to the flags of
Indonesia and Monaco which are red (top) and white
:Poland Economy
Overview:
Poland is undergoing a difficult transition from a Soviet-style economy -
with state ownership and control of productive assets - to a market economy.
On January 1, 1990, the new Solidarity-led government implemented shock
therapy by slashing subsidies, decontrolling prices, tightening the money
supply, stabilizing the foreign exchange rate, lowering import barriers, and
restraining state sector wages. As a result, consumer goods shortages and
lines disappeared, and inflation fell from 640% in 1989 to 60% in 1991.
Western governments, which hold two-thirds of Poland's $48 billion external
debt, pledged in 1991 to forgive half of Poland's official debt by 1994, and
the private sector grew, accounting for 22% of industrial production and 40%
of nonagricultural output by 1991. Production fell in state enterprises,
however, and the unemployment rate climbed steadily from virtually nothing
in 1989 to 11.4% in December 1991. Poland fell out of compliance with its
IMF program by mid-1991, and talks with commercial creditors stalled. The
increase in unemployment and the decline in living standards led to popular
discontent and a change in government in January 1991 and again in December.
The new government has promised selective industrial intervention, some
relaxation in monetary policy, and an improved social safety net, but will
be constrained by the decline in output and the growing budget deficit.
GDP:
purchasing power equivalent - $162.7 billion, per capita $4,300; real growth
rate -5% (1991 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
60% (1991 est.)
Unemployment rate:
11.4% (end December 1991)
Budget:
revenues $19.5 billion; expenditures $22.4 billion, including capital
expenditures of $1.5 billion (1991 est.)
Exports:
$12.8 billion (f.o.b., 1991 est.)
commodities:
machinery 23%, metals 17%, chemicals 13%, fuels 11%, food 10% (1991 est.)
partners:
FRG 25.1%, former USSR 15.3%, UK 7.1%, Switzerland 4.7% (1990)
Imports:
$12.9 billion (f.o.b., 1991 est.)
commodities:
machinery 35%, fuels 20%, chemicals 13%, food 11%, light industry 7% (1991
est.)
partners:
FRG 20.1%, former USSR 19.8%, Italy 7.5%, Switzerland 6.4% (1990)
External debt:
$48.5 billion (January 1992); note - Poland's Western government creditors
promised in 1991 to forgive 30% of Warsaw's official debt - currently $33
billion - immediately and to forgive another 20% by 1994, if Poland adheres
to its IMF program
Industrial production:
growth rate -14% (State sector 1991 est.)
Electricity:
31,530,000 kW capacity; 136,300 million kWh produced, 3,610 kWh per capita
(1990)
Industries:
machine building, iron and steel, extractive industries, chemicals,
shipbuilding, food processing, glass, beverages, textiles
:Poland Economy
Agriculture:
accounts for 15% of GDP and 27% of labor force; 75% of output from private
farms, 25% from state farms; productivity remains low by European standards;
leading European producer of rye, rapeseed, and potatoes; wide variety of
other crops and livestock; major exporter of pork products; normally
self-sufficient in food
Illicit drugs:
illicit producers of opium for domestic consumption and amphetamines for the
international market; emerging as a transshipment point for illicit drugs to
Western Europe
Economic aid:
donor - bilateral aid to non-Communist less developed countries, $2.2
billion (1954-89); note - the G-24 has pledged $8 billion in grants and
credit guarantees to Poland
Currency:
Zoty (plural - Zotych); 1 Zoty (Z) = 100 groszy
Exchange rates:
Zotych (z) per US$1 - 13,443 (March 1992), 10,576 (1991), 9,500 (1990),
1,439.18 (1989), 430.55 (1988), 265.08 (1987)
Fiscal year:
calendar year