Ministry of National Defence (Poland)

The Ministry of National Defence (Polish: Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej) is an important government office in Poland. It is led by the Minister of National Defence and is in charge of organizing and managing the Polish Armed Forces.

During the Second Polish Republic and World War II, it was known as the Ministry of Military Affairs. The ministry plays a key role in keeping the country safe and strong.

In 2025, its budget was 186.6 billion PLN, showing how much importance and resources are given to national defence in Poland.

History

The Ministry of Defence in Poland began in 1775 with the Military Department in the Permanent Council. Over time, different groups managed defence, such as the Military Commission of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and later groups in the Kingdom of Prussia and the Duchy of Warsaw.

In 1918, after Poland regained independence, the Ministry of Military Affairs was created. During World War II, its name changed to the Ministry of National Defence. After the war, the ministry continued to manage Poland’s defence until changes in 1979 and again in 1990.

Organizational structure

The Ministry of National Defence in Poland has many parts that help it run smoothly. It includes political departments, the Cabinet of the Minister, and special units called P1 to P8, which make up the Polish General Staff. Some important parts are the Operational Centre, Administrative Department, Budget Department, and many others that handle tasks like education, infrastructure, personnel, and international security policy.

The ministry also has several units that report directly to it, such as the Armed Forces General Command, Operational Command, Support Command, and the Military Gendarmerie. Other units include the Territorial Defence Force, Warsaw Garrison Command, and many more that focus on different areas like technology, standards, and foreign relations.

Ministers

Second Polish Republic

• Brigadier general Edward Rydz-Śmigły (1918)
• (acting) Major general Jan Wroczyński (1918–1919)
• Major general Józef Leśniewski (1919–1920)
• Major general Kazimierz Sosnkowski (1921–1923)
• (acting) Major general Aleksander Osiński (1923)
• Major general Władysław Sikorski (1924–1925)
• Lieutenant general Lucjan Żeligowski (1925–1926)
• Major general Juliusz Tadeusz Tarnawa-Malczewski (1926)
• Marshal of Poland Józef Piłsudski (1926–1935)
• Major general Tadeusz Kasprzycki (1935–1939)

Polish government-in-exile

• Lieutenant general Władysław Sikorski (1939–1942)
• Major general Marian Kukiel (1942–1944)

Republic of Poland / People's Republic of Poland

• Marshal of Poland Michał Rola-Żymierski (1945–1949)
• Marshal of Poland/Marshal of the Soviet Union Konstantin Rokossovsky (1949–1956)
• Marshal of Poland Marian Spychalski (1956–1968)
• Army General Wojciech Jaruzelski (1968–1983)
• Army General Florian Siwicki (1983–1989)

Third Polish Republic

Portrait		Name (Birth–Death)	Party	Term of Office		Prime Minister	(Cabinet)
		Army GeneralFlorian Siwicki (1925–2013)	Independent	12 September 1989	6 July 1990	Tadeusz Mazowiecki	Mazowiecki
		Vice AdmiralPiotr Kołodziejczyk (1939–2019)	Independent	6 July 1990	4 January 1991
				4 January 1991	23 December 1991	Jan Krzysztof Bielecki	Bielecki
		Jan Parys (born 1950)	Independent	23 December 1991	23 May 1992	Jan Olszewski	Olszewski
		Romuald Szeremietiew (born 1945)acting	Independent	23 May 1992	5 June 1992
		Janusz Onyszkiewicz (born 1937)	UD	11 July 1992	25 October 1993	Hanna Suchocka	Suchocka
		Piotr Kołodziejczyk (1939–2019)	Independent	26 October 1993	10 November 1994	Waldemar Pawlak	Pawlak II
		Jerzy Milewski (1935–1997)acting	Independent	10 November 1994	7 March 1995
		Zbigniew Okoński (born 1949)	Independent	7 March 1995	22 December 1995	Józef Oleksy	Oleksy
		Andrzej Karkoszka (born 1945)acting	Independent	22 December 1995	5 January 1996
		Stanisław Dobrzański (born 1949)	PSL	5 January 1996	7 February 1996
				7 February 1996	31 October 1997	Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz	Cimoszewicz
		Janusz Onyszkiewicz (born 1937)	UW	31 October 1997	16 June 2000	Jerzy Buzek	Buzek
		Bronisław Komorowski (born 1952)	SKL	16 June 2000	19 October 2001
		Jerzy Szmajdziński (1952–2010)	SLD	19 October 2001	2 May 2004	Leszek Miller	Miller
				2 May 2004	11 June 2004	Marek Belka	Belka I
				11 June 2004	31 October 2005		Belka II
		Radosław Sikorski (born 1963)	PiS	31 October 2005	14 July 2006	Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz	Marcinkiewicz
				14 July 2006	7 February 2007	Jarosław Kaczyński	Kaczyński
		Aleksander Szczygło (1963–2010)	PiS	7 February 2007	16 November 2007
		Bogdan Klich (born 1960)	PO	16 November 2007	2 August 2011	Donald Tusk	Tusk I
		Tomasz Siemoniak (born 1967)	PO	2 August 2011	18 November 2011
				18 November 2011	22 September 2014		Tusk II
				22 September 2014	16 November 2015	Ewa Kopacz	Kopacz
		Antoni Macierewicz (born 1948)	PiS	16 November 2015	11 December 2017	Beata Szydło	Szydło
				11 December 2017	9 January 2018	Mateusz Morawiecki	Morawiecki I
		Mariusz Błaszczak (born 1969)	PiS	9 January 2018	15 November 2019
				15 November 2019	27 November 2023		Morawiecki II
				27 November 2023	13 December 2023		Morawiecki III
		Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz (born 1981)	PSL	13 December 2023	Incumbent	Donald Tusk	Tusk III