| Agency Name: | Ministry of Foreign Affairs |
| Nativename: | Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych |
| Headquarters: | Al. J. Ch. Szucha 23, Warsaw |
| Chief1 Name: | Radosław Sikorski |
| Chief1 Position: | Minister of Foreign Affairs |
| Chief2 Position: | First Deputy Minister (Sekretarz Stanu) |
| Chief3 Position: | First Deputy Minister (Sekretarz Stanu) |
| Parent Agency: | Council of Ministers |
| Website: | https://www.gov.pl/diplomacy |
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Polish: Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych, MSZ) is the Polish government department tasked with maintaining Poland's international relations and coordinating its participation in international and regional supra-national political organisations such as the European Union and United Nations. The head of the ministry holds a place in the Council of Ministers.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is responsible primarily for maintaining friendly relations between the Polish Republic and other states. In doing so, it is required to act primarily as a representative of the Polish people. To this end, all Polish diplomatic missions around the world are subordinate to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Ambassadors, whilst receiving their credentials from the President of Poland, are employees of the ministry and are recommended to the President for their posts by the minister of foreign affairs.
The ministry is considered to be one of Poland's most important, with the minister of foreign affairs ranking amongst the most influential people in Polish politics. This position is typically reserved for seasoned, professional politicians, and is thought to require a great deal of tact and intellect.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was first established, with Leon Wasilewski as its secretary, under the authority of the Regency Council when Poland regained (albeit in name only) its independence from the occupying German forces in the First World War. However, the ministry began to fulfill its duties truly only after the fall of the Regency Council, adoption of the Treaty of Versailles and the rise of Józef Piłsudski. The ministry was then, until 1939, located in central Warsaw, with its seat in the Brühl Palace on Piłsudski Square. During the Second World War, the ministry was evacuated, along with the rest of the Polish government, first to France and then to London, where it formed part of the Polish government in exile. During this period Count Edward Raczyński, a man who was later to become President of the government in exile, was the minister responsible. After 1945, when most countries began to afford diplomatic recognition to the new communist government in Warsaw, at the expense of the government in exile, the authorities of the new Polish People's Republic refounded the ministry and appointed, as its first minister, Edward Osóbka-Morawski.
Since 1989 and the establishment of the Third Republic, the ministry and its staff have been located in a complex of buildings on Aleje Szucha in central Warsaw, not far displaced from the Chancellery of the Prime Minister.
The Polish cash-for-visa scandal is an 2023 political scandal concerning alleged corruption when granting visas by officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Polish consular service.[1] [2] The majority of recipients left Poland for North America or other Schengen Area countries.
The departments for regional affairs exist to monitor the internal situation and politics of the countries within the area of any one specific department's competence. They coordinate development of bilateral relations, initiate the related undertakings and prepare evaluations. These departments oversee the issue of Poland's participation in the structures of multilateral cooperation with any relevant partner states, as well as handling interregional cooperation. They are responsible for the substantive activity of relevant Polish diplomatic missions abroad.
Currently the Following regional affairs departments exist:[3]
The largest proportion of Poland’s official development assistance (ODA) is provided as core contributions to the multilateral system, particularly to European Union (EU) institutions. According to the OECD, Poland’s total ODA (USD 3.4 billion, preliminary data) increased in 2022, representing 0.51% of gross national income (GNI), driven by a surge in in-donor refugee costs, but also higher contributions to international organisations. [4]
| Post: | Minister |
| Body: | Foreign Affairs |
| Native Name: | Minister Spraw Zagranicznych |
| Insignia: | Herb Polski.svg |
| Insigniasize: | 100px |
| Incumbent: | Radosław Sikorski |
| Incumbentsince: | 13 December 2023 |
| Formation: | 26 November 1917 |
| First: | Leon Wasilewski |
| Website: | www.msz.gov.pl |
Political Party:
| Portrait | Name | Party | Term of Office | Prime Minister | (Cabinet) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Krzysztof Skubiszewski | Independent | 12 September 1989 | 4 January 1991 | Tadeusz Mazowiecki | Mazowiecki | |||
| 4 January 1991 | 6 December 1991 | Jan Krzysztof Bielecki | Bielecki | |||||
| 6 December 1991 | 5 June 1992 | Jan Olszewski | Olszewski | |||||
| 11 July 1992 | 25 October 1993 | Hanna Suchocka | Suchocka | |||||
| Andrzej Olechowski | Independent | 26 October 1993 | 6 March 1995 | Waldemar Pawlak | Pawlak II | |||
| Władysław Bartoszewski | Independent | 7 March 1995 | 22 December 1995 | Józef Oleksy | Oleksy | |||
| Dariusz Rosati | SLD | 29 December 1995 | 7 February 1996 | |||||
| 7 February 1996 | 31 October 1997 | Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz | Cimoszewicz | |||||
| Bronisław Geremek | UW | 31 October 1997 | 30 June 2000 | Jerzy Buzek | Buzek | |||
| Władysław Bartoszewski | Independent | 30 June 2000 | 19 October 2001 | |||||
| Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz | SLD | 19 October 2001 | 2 May 2004 | Leszek Miller | Miller | |||
| 2 May 2004 | 11 June 2004 | Marek Belka | Belka I | |||||
| 11 June 2004 | 5 January 2005 | Belka II | ||||||
| Adam Daniel Rotfeld | Independent | 5 January 2005 | 31 October 2005 | |||||
| Stefan Meller | Independent | 31 October 2005 | 9 May 2006 | Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz | Marcinkiewicz | |||
| Anna Fotyga | PiS | 9 May 2006 | 14 July 2006 | |||||
| 14 July 2006 | 16 November 2007 | Jarosław Kaczyński | Kaczyński | |||||
| Radosław Sikorski | PO | 16 November 2007 | 18 November 2011 | Donald Tusk | Tusk I | |||
| 18 November 2011 | 22 September 2014 | Tusk II | ||||||
| Grzegorz Schetyna | PO | 22 September 2014 | 16 November 2015 | Ewa Kopacz | Kopacz | |||
| Witold Waszczykowski | PiS | 16 November 2015 | 11 December 2017 | Beata Szydło | Szydło | |||
| 11 December 2017 | 9 January 2018 | Mateusz Morawiecki | Morawiecki I | |||||
| Jacek Czaputowicz | Independent | 9 January 2018 | 15 November 2019 | |||||
| 15 November 2019 | 20 August 2020 | Morawiecki II | ||||||
| Zbigniew Rau | PiS | 20 August 2020 | 27 November 2023 | |||||
| Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk | PiS | 27 November 2023 | 13 December 2023 | Morawiecki III | ||||
| Radosław Sikorski | PO | 13 December 2023 | present | Donald Tusk | Tusk III | |||
The Polish government-in-exile had a wide international recognition until 1945, and limited to just few countries until the 1970s