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Goverment

General Information: Poland is a parliamentary republic. Its official name Rzeczpospolita Polska (Republic of Poland) dates back to the early 16th century. A "small constitution" which came into force in December 1992, was to define the powers of, and relationship between the Head of State, the Government and parliament, pending the completion of a full revision of the existing Constitution. Under the 1952 Constitution, as amended since 1989, legislative power is vested in the bicameral National Assembly, which is elected for a four - year term, subject to dissolution, and comprises the 100-member Senate (upper chamber) and 460 member Sejm (lower chamber and former unicameral legislature). The Senate reviews the laws adopted by the Sejm and may propose their rejection. All 100 senators are elected by a majority vote on a provincial basis. Each province is represented by two senators, which the exemption of Warsaw and Katowice, which elect three delegates. In the Sejm, however deputies are elected under a complex system of proportional representation: 391 members are chosen from lists for multiseat electoral districts, the remaining 69 deputies being elected from national lists. Executive power is vested in the President of the Republic, who is directly elected, a second ballot being held if necessary, for a fife year term, and may be reelected only once. The President governs with the assistance of an appointed Council of Ministers, led by its Chairmen (Prime Minister). The council of Ministers is responsible for its activities to the Sejm and to the President between sessions of the Sejm.

The country is divided into 49 provinces (voivodships), each administrated by an appointed governor. Under reforms introduced in 1990, complete autonomy was granted to the directly-elected local councils.

National name: Rzeczpospolita Polska
President: Aleksander Kwasniewski (1995)
Prime Minister: Jerzy Buzek (1997)
Long for-form name: Republic of Poland
Type: Parliamentary democracy
Capital: Warsaw
Administrative divisions: 49 provinces (Wojewodztwa, Singular - wojewodztwo); Biala Podlaska, Bialystok, Bielsko, Bydgoszcz, Chelm, Ciechanow, Czestochowa, Elblag, Gdansk, Gorzow, Jelenia Gora, Kalisz, Katowice, Kielce, Konin, Krakow, Krosno, Legnica, Leszno, Lodz, Lomza, Lublin, Nowy Sacz, Olsztyn, Opole, Ostroleka, Pila, Piotrkow, Plock, Poznan, Przemysl, Radom, Rzeszow, Siedlce, Sieradz, Skierniewice, Slupsk, Suwalki, Szczecin, Tarnobrzeg, Tarnow, Torun, Walbrzych, Warszawa, Wloclawek, Wroclaw, Zamosc, Zielona Gora
Independence: November 1918, independent republic proclaimed Legal system: mixture of Continental (Napoleonic) civil law and holdover Communist legal theory; changes being gradually introduced as part of broader democratization process; no judical review of legislative acts; has no accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction.
National holiday: Constitution Day, 3 May (1791)
Two national holidays are celebrated as festivals: May 3 (the anniversary of the adoption, in 1791, of the constitution the first in Europe and the second in the world), and November 11 (Independence Day).
Execute branch: president, prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet)Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly (Zgromadzenie Narodowe) consists of an upper house of Senate (Senate) and lover house of Diet (Sejm)
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court Leaders:
Chief of State: President Lech Walesa (since December 1990)
Head of Government Prime Minister: Waldemar Pawlak (from October 1993)
Internal Affairs Minister: Andrzej Milczanowski
Foreign Minister: Andrzej Olechowski
Defence Minister: Piotr Kolodziejczyk
Sejm Speaker: Jozef Oleksy
Privatization Minister: Wieslaw Kaczmarek
Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister: Marek Borkowski
Some Political Parties: SLD - leader Aleksander Kwasniewski, PSL, UD (Democratic Union), UP, KPN (Confederation for Independent Poland, BBWR, MN. TSKN, NSZZ "S", (Solidatyty Union), KLD, KKW "Ojczyzna"PSL-PLPC-ZP, NSZZ RI"S"
Economic summary: GDP/PPP (1997 est.): $280.7 billion; $7,250 per capita.
Real growth rate: 6.9%.
Inflation: 15%.
Unemployment: 12% (year end 1996).
Arable land: 47%.
Agriculture: rye, rapeseed, potatoes, hogs and other livestock.
Labor force: 17.7 million (1997 est.); industry and construction, 29.9%, agriculture, 26%; services, 44.1% (1992).
Products: iron and steel, chemicals, textiles, processed foods, machine building.
Natural resources: coal, sulfur, copper, natural gas. Exports: $26.4 billion (f.o.b., 1997 est.): coal, machinery and equipment, industrial products, chemicals, metals. Imports: $44.5 billion (f.o.b., 1997 est.): machinery and equipment, fuels, agricultural and food products, chemicals.
Major trading partners: E.U., Russia, former Soviet republics, other eastern European countries

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Royal Castle and column
of King Sigismund III Vasa