Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1921.djvu/1237

 CONSTITUTION AND GOVERNMENT 1185

chambers, a Diet ami a Senate, both elected by general suffrage. The President (Xaczelnik Pahstica) convenes, opens, prorogues and closes tha Sejm. It is the President's duty to convene the Sejm for an ordinary session each year before the month of November. The President is the Supreme Commander of the army, except in time of war. He is elected for a term of seven years by the Diet and Senate united in a National Assembly. He can make treaties with foreign Powers. In the case of the President's death, his duties are to be assumed by a council of three, composed of the Speaker of the House, the Prime Minister, and the President of the Supreme Court. Any Polish citizen of 41 years of age may be elected President. The President is not responsible either politically or personally. The Constitution also provides for a Senate.

The decree of November 28, 1918, divides Poland into 70 electoral dis- tricts, returning altogether 524 deputies. Of this number 241 are returned by Congress Poland, 171 by what was formerly Austrian Poland, and 112 by the former Prussian Provinces. In certain of the districts elections have not yet been held, and the Sejm is at present composed of 395 deputies, dis- tributed as follows among the different parties : — Polish People's Party, 107; National People's Union, 71 ; National Tarty, 71 ; Polish Socialist Party, 35 ; National Christian Workers' Party, 2y ; Constitutional Group, 18 ; National Workers' Union, 14 ; Middle Class Union, 13 ; Polish People's Parly (,lcft), 11 ; Jews, 10; Catholic Party, 5; Radical Peasants' Party, 2 ; Germans, 2 ; Independents, 7.

The executive (appointed August 21, 1920) called the Council of Ministers (Rada Ministrow) consists of the following departments : —

Prime Minister. — Wincenty WUo».

Minister for Foreign Affairs. — Eustachy Prince Sapieha.

Minister of Commerce and Industry. — Wieslaw Pnanouski.

Minister of Finance. — Dr. Jan Kanty SUeatet

Minister of the Interior. — Leopold Skulski.

Minister of Communications. — Zygmunt Jasiiiski.

Minister of Posts and Telegraphs. — Wladyslaw Stcslowiez.

Minister of Agriculture. — Josef Kaczynski.

Minister of Art. — Jan Heurich.

Minister of Labour. — Jan Janhncski.

Food Minister. — Boleslaw Grodi

Minister of Justice. — Stanislaw Kovodicerski.

Minister of Public Works. — Gabrjel Narut tz.

Minister of War. — General Gosutouski.

Minister of Education. — Maciej Rataj.

Minister of former Prussian Province. — Wladyslaw Kucharski.

Minister of Health. — Witold Chodzko.

Local Govern mrnt.

Local government, municipal as rural, has not yet (March, 1921) been unified. In the transitional period preceding the unification of the administrative system of the three portions of Poland, the old Austrian and Prussian institutions are still in being. As regards Congress Poland, a provisional decree of local autonomy was issued on February 4, 1919, on democratic lines giving autonomy to the different districts.

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