Stanisław "Cat" Mackiewicz (Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...

, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, 18 December 1896 – 18 February 1966, Warsaw

Warsaw

Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...

, Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

) was a conservative Polish

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 writer

Writer

A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....

, journalist

Journalist

A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...

 and monarchist.

He was called, by the interwar journalist Adolf Maria Bocheński, the foremost political journalist of the interbellum Second Polish Republic

Second Polish Republic

The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...

.

Life

Mackiewicz was born into a Polish family that had historically used the Bożawola coat-of-arms.

Mackiewicz joined the Polish Military Organisation

Polish Military Organisation

Polish Military Organisation, PMO was a secret military organization created by Józef Piłsudski in August 1914, and officially named in November 1914, during World War I. Its tasks were to gather intelligence and sabotage the enemies of the Polish people...

 in 1917 and served as a volunteer in the Polish Army during the Polish-Soviet War

Polish-Soviet War

The Polish–Soviet War was an armed conflict between Soviet Russia and Soviet Ukraine and the Second Polish Republic and the Ukrainian People's Republic—four states in post–World War I Europe...

 of 1919–21.

He supported Józef Piłsudski and in 1928–35 served as a deputy to the Sejm

Sejm

The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....

(Poland's parliament), representing the Piłsudskiite Nonpartisan Bloc for Cooperation with the Government  (Bezpartyjny Blok Współpracy z Rządem).

After Piłsudski's death in 1935, Mackiewicz criticized the ruling elite and in 1939 was imprisoned for 17 days at the Bereza Kartuska detention camp.

On 18 September 1939, after the outbreak of World War II, he left Poland.

During his self-imposed exile, he served in 1954–55 as prime minister

Prime minister

A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...

 of the Polish government-in-exile

Polish government in Exile

The Polish government-in-exile, formally known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in Exile , was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Poland of September 1939, and the subsequent occupation of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, which...

.

In 1956 Mackiewicz returned to Poland.

He was the older brother of writer Józef Mackiewicz

Jozef Mackiewicz

Józef Mackiewicz was a Polish writer and commentator. He staunchly opposed communism, referring to himself as "anticommunist by nationality".- Life and career :...

.

Works

• Historja Polski od 11 listopada 1918 r. do 17 września 1939 r. (The History of Poland from 11 November 1918 to 17 September 1939), 1941, 1958, 1989, 1990, 1992
• Stanisław August, 1953, 1978, 1991, 1999, 2009
• Muchy chodzą po mózgu (Flies Walk the Brain), 1957
• Zielone oczy (Green Eyes), 1958, 1959, 1987
• Europa in flagranti (Europe in flagranti), 1965, 1975, 2000
• Odeszli w zmierzch: wybór pism, 1916-1966 (They Have Passed into the Twilight: a Collection of Writings, 1916–1966), 1968
• Kto mnie wołał, czego chciał... (Who Called Me, What He Wanted...), Instytut Wydawniczy "Pax" ("Pax" Publishing Institute), 1972
• Był bal (There Was a Ball), 1973
• Herezje i prawdy (Heresies and Truths), 1975
• Klucz do Piłsudskiego (The Key to Piłsudski), 1986, 1992, 1996
• Lata nadziei: 17 września 1939 - 5 lipca 1945 (Years of Hope: 17 September 1939 – 5 July 1945), 1990
• Myśl w obcęgach: studia nad psychologią społeczeństw sowietów (Thinking in a Vise: Studies on the Psychology of Soviet Societies), 1998
• Polityka Becka (Beck
  Józef Beck
  ' was a Polish statesman, diplomat, military officer, and close associate of Józef Piłsudski...
  
  's Policies), 2009