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Stefan Olszowski

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Stefan Olszowski
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
21 July 1982 – 12 November 1985
Prime MinisterMieczyslaw Rakowski
Preceded byJózef Czyrek
Succeeded byMarian Orzechowski
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
22 December 1971 – 2 December 1976
Preceded byStefan Jędrychowski
Succeeded byEmil Wojtaszek
Personal details
Born(1931-08-28)28 August 1931
Toruń,Pomeranian Voivodeship,Poland
Died19 December 2023(2023-12-19)(aged 92)
Political partyPolish United Workers' Party

Stefan Michał Olszowski(28 August 1931 – 19 December 2023) was a Polish politician, who was a member ofPolish United Workers' Party.He served as the foreign minister of thePeople's Republic of Polandfor two terms.

Biography

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PresidentGerald Fordmeeting withEdward Gierek,first secretary of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR), Deputy Prime MinisterMieczyslaw Jagielski,Minister of Foreign Affairs Stefan Olszowski, Secretary of StateHenry Kissinger,National Security Advisor Lt. Gen.Brent Scowcroft,and interpreter Henryk Sokalski in the Oval Office.

Olszowski was born inTorunon 28 August 1931.[1]He was a member of thePolitburo of the Polish United Workers' Partyfrom December 1970 to his resignation on 12 November 1985.[2][3]He served as the propaganda chief of the party in the late 1960s and at the beginning of the 1970s.[4][5]

Olszowski was appointed foreign minister on 22 December 1971, replacingStefan Jędrychowskiin the post.[6]He was in office until 2 December 1976 whenEmil Wojtaszekreplaced him in the post.[6]In 1980, he was appointed ambassador toEast Germanyand left the politburo for this post that he held just six months.[3]Then he continued to serve at the politburo.[3]He acted as the party's central committee secretary for ideology and media from August 1980 to July 1982.[7][8]Then he was secondly appointed foreign minister in July 1982, replacingJózef Czyrekin the post.[8]Before his appointment as foreign minister he run for the presidency of the party, but he was not elected.[9]His term as foreign minister ended on 12 November 1985.[10]He was also dismissed from the party leadership in 1985, partly due to his relationship with a Polish journalist whom he married after divorcing his first spouse.[11]Then he and his girlfriend settled inNew Yorkin 1986.[12][13]

Views and activities

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Under theEdward Gierek's rule in the party, Olszowski was a reformist.[14]However, later he became a hard-liner politician and a supporter ofthe Soviet Unionwhile he was in office.[12]In March 1968, he was the leading orchestrator of theanti-Semiticcampaign began inPoland.[4]In November 1973, he paid an official visit toRomethat was the first official visit to theVaticanby a Polish government minister sinceWorld War II.[15][16]However, during the visit of Pope to Poland from 16 to 23 June 1983 he and Prime MinisterMieczyslaw Rakowskidirectly attacked on some of the Pope's pronouncements.[17]

Olszowski together with other hard-liners strived for an armed confrontation withthe Solidarity movement.[18]He was instrumental in cracking down the movement at its initial phase.[12]

Personal life and death

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Olszowski married twice. Following his divorce, he married a younger Polish journalist woman.[13]They live in New York.[13]

Stefan Olszowski died on 19 December 2023, at the age of 92.[19]

References

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  1. ^Current world leaders: Almanac.1972. p. 20.
  2. ^"Poland's Foreign Minister Loses Power Struggle, Quits Politburo".Orlando Sentinel.12 November 1985.Retrieved13 June2013.
  3. ^abc"Poland's foreign minister off politburo".Toledo Blade.Warsaw. AP. 12 November 1985.Retrieved13 June2013.
  4. ^abFeliks Tych (2011)."A Historical Miracle: Jewish Life in Poland afterCommunism"(PDF).Deep Roots, New Branches:31.
  5. ^"Red Poles put blame for economic failure".Star News.Warsaw. UPI. 7 February 1971.Retrieved16 June2013.
  6. ^ab"Polish Ministries".Rulers.Retrieved14 July2013.
  7. ^Karl Molin (30 June 2011)."The CPSU Politburo and the Polish crisis 1980—1981".Baltic Worlds.Retrieved13 June2013.
  8. ^abAnna Snutt (22 July 1982)."Veteran Polish politician is named foreign minister".The CS Monitor.Warsaw.Retrieved14 July2013.
  9. ^"New leadership team shifts focus to economy"(PDF).CIA.10 December 1985.Retrieved13 June2013.
  10. ^Gillette, Robert (13 November 1985)."Poland Completes Leadership Reshuffle".Los Angeles Times.Warsaw.Retrieved13 June2013.
  11. ^"Don't Mess with Cupid: A Remembrance".Hoover Archivists' Musings.Blog of the Hoover Institution Library and Archives.7 September 2010.Retrieved14 July2013.
  12. ^abcDouglas Martin (20 May 1988)."Love Moves Ex-Polish Leader From Warsaw to Rego Park".The New York Times.Retrieved13 June2013.
  13. ^abc"More of Polish Foreign Minister's Papers Received by Hoover Archives".Hoover Institution.3 December 2015.Retrieved15 September2016.
  14. ^Werner G. Hahn (1987).Democracy in a Communist Party: Poland's Experience since 1980.New York: Columbia University Press.ISBN023106540X.
  15. ^George Schopflin."Poland: Troubled Relations Between Church and State"(PDF).Biblical Studies.
  16. ^"Warsaw minister calls on the Pope".Calgary Herald.Rome. 13 November 1973.Retrieved16 June2013.
  17. ^J. B. de Weydenthal (1984). "The Pope's Pilgrimage to Poland".Religion in Communist Lands.12(1): 69–76.doi:10.1080/09637498408431112.
  18. ^Przemysław Gasztold-Seń (4 October 2011)."The Road to Martial Law: Polish Communist Authorities vs. Solidarity"(PDF).Polish Institute of National Remembrance.Retrieved13 June2013.
  19. ^"Wojskowe Powązki dla kolejnego dygnitarza z PRL"(in Polish). RP. 8 February 2024.Retrieved26 February2024.
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