1. Created and presented by:
Benedict Gombocz

2.  Location: Central Europe
 Official name: Republic of
Poland (Rzeczpospolita
Polska)
 Capital (and largest city):
Warsaw
 Official language: Polish
 Demonym: Polish

3.  Poland is bounded by six
countries:
Belarus, Germany, Ukraine,
Lithuania, Czech
Republic, and Slovakia, and
one exclave: Kaliningrad
Oblast.
 Largest country in Central
Europe in terms of size;
second-largest in terms of
population.

5.  Of the 38,441,558 inhabitants of Poland, a vast
majority (89.8% of the population) are
adherents of the Roman Catholic Church.
 Catholicism has a significant role in the lives of
Poles; as such, the Roman Catholic Church in
Poland has so much influence that under the
communist era, most Polish citizens refused to
renounce their religious beliefs, and thus
attended church services regularly, despite
suppression of religion.
 The Roman Catholic Church’s members
respect the Church, seeing it as a token of
Poland’s heritage and culture.
 The remainder of the population comprises
primarily Eastern Orthodox (roughly 806,000
adherents, Poles and Belarusians), Evangelical
Church of the Augsburg Confession on Poland
(roughly 85,000) and different Protestant
(roughly 250,000, with approximately 130,000
Jehovah’s Witnesses in greatest religious
minorities).

6.  Member of European Union, NATO, United
Nations, World Trade Organization, Organization for
Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD), European Economic Area, International
Energy Agency, Council of Europe, Organization for
Security and Co-operation in Europe, International
Atomic Energy Agency, G6, Council of the Baltic Sea
States, Visegrád Group, Weimar Triangle and
Schengen Agreement.

7.  Government (rząd):
Parliamentary republic
 President (Prezydent
Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej):
Bronisław Komorowski (PO)
 Prime Minister (Prezes Rady
Ministrów): Donald Tusk (PO)
 Legislature: National Assembly
(Zgromadzenie Narodowe)
 Upper house: Senate (Senat)
 Lower house: Sejm

8.  Born 4 June 1952 in Oborniki Śląskie.
 4th and current President of Poland.
 As Marshal of Sejm (Speaker of
Parliament) from 2007-2010, he applied
powers and duties as head of state
following death of Lech Kaczyński in a
plane crash on 10 April 2010, making him
acting president until 8 July 2010.
 Was ruling Civil Platform party’s
candidate in subsequent 2010
presidential election, in which he won in
second round of voting on 4 July 2010
and was sworn in 6 August 2010;
consequently, he is the second person to
serve two times as Polish head of state
since 1918 after Maciej Rataj, even though
Rataj was Acting President twice, and
Komorowksi first served as acting
President, later being elected President.
 Also served as Minister of Defense from
2000 to 2001.

9.  Born 22 April 1957 in Gdańsk.
 14th and current PM of Poland.
 One of the co-founders and current chairman of Civic
Platform (Platforma Obywatelska)
 Nominated to be PM on 9 November 2007; assumed office
16 November.
 His cabinet secured vote of confidence in Sejm on 24
November 2007; currently longest serving PM of Third
Republic of Poland.
 Became first PM to be re-elected since the end of
communism in Poland when Civic Platform secured
plurality in October 2011 parliamentary election.
 Started public career as activist in home town of
Gdańsk, endorsing Solidarity and organizing fellow
university students.
 Served in Third Republic parliament almost
uninterrupted, the only exception being one four-year
stretch.
 Vice Marshal (deputy speaker) of the Senate from 1997-2001
and subsequently Vice Marshal of the Sejm from 2001-2005.
 Also served as Leader of the Opposition from 2003-
2007, making that post his last until his appointment as
PM.

10.  Name of both chambers in Poland’s
parliament, Sejm and Senate, in event of joint
session.
 Presided over by Marshal of the Sejm (or by
Marshal of the Senate in event that former is
not present).
 From 1922 until 1935 and 1989 until
1990, National Assembly elected President of
the Republic of Poland by absolute majority of
votes; replaced by Assembly of Electors in
1935, and these comprised of PM, Chief
Justice, General Armed Forces Inspector, two-
thirds of deputies to Sejm, and one-third of
Senators.
 Senate was dissolved in 1946;
consequently, Bolesław Bierut was elected
President only by Sejm, in 1947.
 There were no presidents between 1952 and
1989, when Senate was brought back into
existence and National Assembly elected
Wojciech Jaruzelski as Third Republic of
Poland’s first president.

11.  President has been elected by people since 1990, even
though the President always takes office before National
Assembly, also only part which can assert President’s
lasting incapacity to execute responsibilities, or bring
charge against him/her before State Tribunal, is sworn
in.
 From 1992-1997, National Assembly sketched and passed
new Constitution, which was confirmed by national
referendum on 25 May 1997.

12.  Civic Platform (Platforma Obywatelska, PO)
 Law and Justice (Prawo i Sprawiedliwość, PiS)
 Palikot’s Movement (Ruch Palikota, RP)
 Polish People’s Party (Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe, PSL)
 Democratic Left Alliance (Sojusz Lewicy
Demokratycznej, SLD)
 United Poland (Solidarna Polska, SP)
 Poland Comes First (Polska Jest Najważniejsza, PJN)
 Labour Union (Unia Pracy, UP)

13.  Centrist party.
 Main coalition partner in Poland’s government since
2007 parliamentary election, with party leader Donald
Tusk as PM and Bronisław Komorowski as President.
 Biggest party in Sejm (207 seats) and Senate (63 seats);
has 25 seats in European Parliament.
 Founded 1 July 2001 as break from Solidarity Electoral
Action, under leadership of Andrej Olechowski and
Maciej Płażyński, with Donald Tusk of Freedom
Union.
 In 2001 parliamentary election, it rose as biggest
opposition party, after governing centre-left
Democratic Left Alliance.
 Stayed second-largest party in 2005 parliamentary
election, but this time after national conservative Law
and Justice (PiS).
 Surpassed PiS in 2007 parliamentary election; the two
parties emerged as two prevailing parties, forming
coalition government with Polish People’s Party.
 After Smolensk disaster of 10 April 2010 that resulted
in death of President Lech Kaczyński, Bronisław
Komorowski was elected first President from PO in
subsequent election.
 Member of European People’s Party (EPP).

14.  Right-wing, conservative party.
 Second biggest party in Poland’s parliament, with 136
seats in Sejm and 29 in Senate.
 Founded 13 June 2001 by Kaczyński twins, Lech and
Jarosław.
 Created from part of Solidarity Electoral Action, with
Christian Democratic Centre Agreement creating new
party’s core.
 Secured victory in 2005 parliamentary election; Lech
Kaczyński was elected president in presidential
election of same year.
 Jarosław Kaczyński served as his brother’s PM from
July 2006-November 2007 prior to 2007 parliamentary
election, in which PiS came in second, behind Civic
Platform; various leading members, including Lech
Kaczyński himself, died in April 2010 plane crash near
Smolensk, Russia.
 Party programme is governed by [Lech] Kaczyński
anti-corruption, conservative, law and order agenda.
 Has included economic interventionism, while
retaining socially conservative position that moved in
2005 towards Catholic Church.
 Soft eurosceptic, and member of anti-federalist
Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists
and eleven MEPs sit in ECR Group.