Piotr Jaroszewicz

Who was Piotr Jaroszewicz?

Gen. Piotr Jaroszewicz was a post World War II Polish political figure. He served as the Prime Minister of Poland between 1970 and 1980.

Piotr Jaroszewicz was born on 8 October 1909 in Nieśwież. After finishing the secondary school in Jasło he started working as a teacher and headmaster in Garwolin. After the outbreak of World War II and the Nazi-Soviet alliance he moved to Soviet-occupied zone of Poland. It has been claimed that he was a headmaster in Pinsk gymnasia. However, on 10 July 1940 he was deported to Slobodka, Krasnoborski raion, Arkhangelsk, from Stolin together with his first wife Oksana Gregorevna and daughter Olila. In 1943 he joined the 1st Polish Army of Gen. Zygmunt Berling. The following year he joined the Polish Workers Party and was promoted to deputy political commander of the 1st Army.

After the war he became the deputy minister of defense. Since 1956 he was the Polish ambassador to COMECON. At the same time between 1952 and 1970 he served as a deputy Prime Minister of Poland and briefly as the minister of mining industry. Jaroszewicz was a member of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party since its creation in 1948 and since 1964 he was also a member of the Political Bureau. From December 1970 until February 1980 he was the Prime Minister of Poland. The economical policies of Jaroszewicz and Edward Gierek led to a wave of protests in 1976 and 1980. After his failure in suppressing the Solidarity movement in 1980 he gave up all his posts and was expelled from the party the following year.