The National School of Public Administration (Polish: Krajowa Szkoła Administracji Publicznej, abbreviated as KSAP) was established in 1990 by the Tadeusz Mazowiecki government.[1] An inspiration for its founders was the French École nationale d’administration.[2] The aim of the school is to train civil servants for the public administration of the Republic of Poland.[3] The school is located in Warsaw.Training at the school lasts from 18 to 20 months. The programme is focused on the following learning paths: law and administration; economics and public finance; the European Union and foreign policy; management and soft skills development.[4] Students do two internships in Poland and one abroad (usually in the European Union country).
The National School of Public Administration was established on 30 May 1990 by a resolution of the Polish Council of Ministers. As in the École nationale d’administration, every students’ year chooses their respective name and is called a "promotion".[5] In September 2017, the twenty-ninth promotion began its training at the school.[6] Since 2014 there have been 30–40 students finishing their education at the school each year. Most graduates work in Polish ministries.[7]
A founder and long-time director of the school was lawyer Prof. Maria Gintowt-Jankowicz.[8] From 2012 to 2016, Jan Pastwa, a former Ambassador of Poland to the Czech Republic and KSAP graduate, was KSAP director.[9] Current Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland Jacek Czaputowicz was director of the school from 2008 to 2012.
The school was the first establishment of its kind in a former Communist country.[10] KSAP cooperates with public administration schools in other countries, providing partners in Ukraine,[11] Afghanistan,[12] or Myanmar[13]) with training and workshops.
There have been over 1100 graduates of KSAP so far.[14] The best-known alumnus of the School[15] is Elżbieta Bieńkowska, the European Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs,[16] who formerly served as Minister for Infrastructure and Development of Poland, as well as Deputy Prime Minister in the Donald Tusk cabinet.
Other alumni are Mariusz Błaszczak, a current Minister of Defence,[17] Władysław Stasiak, a former Minister of Interior and Administration in Jarosław Kaczyński Cabinet,[18] Robert Kupiecki, a former Deputy Minister of National Defence and former Polish ambassador in the United States,[19] Waldemar Dubaniowski, a former member of the National Broadcasting Council, a former secretary of state and a Polish ambassador in Thailand.
There exists an alumni association: the Association of KSAP Graduates (Stowarzyszenie Absolwentów KSAP).[20]