Independence: 11 November 1918 (independent republic proclaimed)
National holiday: Constitution Day, 3 May (1791); Independence Day,
November 11 (1918)
Constitution: 16 October 1997; adopted by the National Assembly on 2
April 1997; passed by national referendum 23 May 1997
Legal system: mixture of Continental (Napoleonic) civil law and holdover communist legal theory; changes being gradually introduced as part of broader democratization process; limited judicial review of legislative acts although under the new constitution, the Constitutional Tribunal ruling will become final as of October 1999; court decisions can be appealed to the European Court of Justice in Strasbourg
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Aleksander KWASNIEWSKI (since 23 December 1995) head of government: Prime Minister Jerzy BUZEK (since NA October 1997), Deputy Prime Ministers Leszek BALCEROWICZ (since 31 October 1997), Janusz TOMASZEWSKI (since 31 October 1997) cabinet: Council of Ministers responsible to the prime minister and the Sejm; the prime minister proposes, the president appoints, and the Sejm approves the Council of Ministers elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election first round held 5 November 1995, second round held 19 November 1995 (next to be held NA November 2000); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the Sejm election results: Aleksander KWASNIEWSKI elected president; percent of legislative vote, second round-Aleksander KWASNIEWSKI 51.7%, Lech WALESA 48.3%; Jerzy BUZEK selected prime minister
Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly or Zgromadzenie Narodowe consists of the Sejm (460 seats; members are elected under a complex system of proportional representation to serve four-year terms) and the Senate or Senat (100 seats; members are elected by a majority vote on a provincial basis to serve four-year terms) elections: Sejm elections last held 21 September 1997 (next to be held by NA September 2001); Senate-last held 21 September 1997 (next to be held by NA September 2001) election results: Sejm-percent of vote by party-AWS 33.8%, SLD 27.1%, UW 13.4%, PSL 7.3%, ROP 5.6%, German Minority 0.4%, other 12.4%; seats by party-AWS 201, SLD 164, UW 60, PSL 27, ROP 6, German Minority 2; Senate-percent of vote by party-NA; seats by party-AWS 51, SLD 28, UW 8, ROP 5, PSL 3, independents 5; note-seats by party in the Sejm as of December 1997: AWS 200, SLD 164, UW 60, PSL 26, ROP 4, German Minority 2, other 4 note: four seats are constitutionally assigned to ethnic German parties
Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the National Council of the Judiciary for an indefinite period; Constitutional Tribunal, judges are chosen by the Sejm for a 9-year term
Political parties and leaders: post-Communist: Democratic Left Alliance or SLD (Social Democracy of Poland) [Leszek MILLER]; Polish Peasant Party or PSL [Jaroslaw KALINOWSKI] post-Solidarity parties: Freedom Union or UW; note-Democratic Union and Liberal Democratic Congress merged to form Freedom Union [Leszek BALCEROWICZ]; Christian-National Union or ZCHN [Marian PILKA]; Center Alliance Party or PC [Jaroslaw KACZYNSKI]; Peasant Alliance or PL [Gabriel JANOWSKI]; Solidarity Electoral Action or AWS [Marian KRZAKLEWSKI]; Union of Labor or UP [Aleksander MALACHOWSKI]; Conservative Party or PK [Aleksander HALL]; Nonparty Reform Bloc or BBWR [Jacek LIPINSKI]; Nonparty Reform Block United for Elections or BBWR-SW [Jerzy GWIZDZ] non-Communist, non-Solidarity: Movement for the Reconstruction of Poland or ROP [Jan OLSZEWSKI]; Confederation for an Independent Poland or KPN [Leszek MOCZULSKI]; German Minority or MN [Gerhardt BARTODZIEJ]; Union of Real Politics or UPR [Mariusz DZIERZAWSKY]
Political pressure groups and leaders: powerful Roman Catholic Church; Solidarity (trade union); All Poland Trade Union Alliance or OPZZ (trade union)