Stanislaw Patek
Encyclopedia
Stanisław Patek Polish lawyer and diplomat, served as Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1919 to 1920.
, he was an activist of the Polish Socialist Party
who began his career as an attorney
in 1894 in Warsaw
, Russian partition
(Congress Poland
). From 1903 he became involved in legal assistance for political prisoner
s, and since defended many Poles accused for political dissident as well as members of Combat Organization of the Polish Socialist Party
before the Russian courts in Russian partition
ed Poland (particularly in the Warsaw Citadel
). Founder and activist of Polish legal association grouping like-minded lawyers (Koło Obrońców Politycznych - The Circle of Political Defenders) as well as of other organizations dedicated to helping political prisoners (Ogólna Kasa Pomocy dla Więźniów Politycznych (General Bank for Helping Political Prisoners), Związek Pomocy dla Ofiar Politycznych (Association of Help for Political Repression Victims); those organizations would be headquartered in his legal offices. In the years 1905-1907 the lawyers of Koło took part in about 260 trials; over 20% were found innocent. During that period he met his future partner, Stefania Sempołowska
, a semi-official secretary and counselor of the Koło. He was the personal defender of such high profile defendants as Stefan Aleksander Okrzeja
and Józef Montwiłł-Mirecki, and gained reputation as an excellent orator and lawyer. He gained such a reputation, and skills, that government provocateurs and agents he liked to called for witness commonly made mistakes in their testimonies. He didn't hesitate to criticize the existing political situation, and discuss the common repressions and brutality of tsar
's police. In his famous speech during Okrzeja's trial he said:
The organizations defending political prisoners had an unclear legal status in Russian Empire, and were repressed
by the government. Due to his activities, as the leading Polish lawyer with an unmatched track of getting his defendants out of the death penalty, and often out from prison altogether, Patek became increasingly inconvenient to the Russian government, and became a target for repressions himself; in 1908 he was accused of "ties with the defendants" (indeed, for a time, even Józef Piłsudski, future leader of Poland, was hiding in Patek's house); Patek was arrested and briefly imprisoned for a month, but after an intervention by several known Polish and even Russian lawyers, he was released. In 1910 he was subject to another disciplinary hearing for "usage of improper terms during the trials", "conspiracy to change statements", "membership in secret illegal organizations"; he was declared innocent by a regional court, only to have the prosecution open another case against him or appeal against the verdict. Finally, in 1911, despite protests from lawyers from Poland and Russia, he was dropped from the list of the attorneys
in Russian Empire
; as contemporary Russian newspaper Zvezda put it, "due to political considerations".
After Poland regained independence in 1918
, in recognition of his status as one of the most outstanding Polish lawyers, he was involved in creation of the new Polish legal system. In November 1918 he became the President of the Criminal Division of the Appellate Court in Warsaw, and was soon appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court.
in Paris
as one of the Piłsudski's representatives and Polish delegation at the Treaty of Versailles
. Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs ((December 16, 1919 - June 9, 1920). From 1921 to 1926, Polish envoy
to Tokyo
, Japan
. From 1926 to 1932 envoy to Moscow
, Soviet Union
, where he negotiated for the Soviet-Polish Non-Aggression Pact
. From 1933-1935 ambassador
in Washington
, USA. Returned to Poland due to illness, senator of Poland
, nominated by the president, from 1936 to 1939. A member of the Parliamentary Commission on Foreign Affairs, he was critical of Polish Foreign Minister Józef Beck
.
, during the Warsaw Uprising
, killed in an explosion of a Luftwaffe
bomb.
The lawyer
Born in RusinówRusinów
Rusinów may refer to the following places:*Rusinów, Lubusz Voivodeship *Rusinów, Gmina Rusinów in Masovian Voivodeship *Rusinów, Silesian Voivodeship...
, he was an activist of the Polish Socialist Party
Polish Socialist Party
The Polish Socialist Party was one of the most important Polish left-wing political parties from its inception in 1892 until 1948...
who began his career as an attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
in 1894 in 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...
, Russian partition
Russian partition
The Russian partition was the former territories of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth that were acquired by the Russian Empire in the late-18th-century Partitions of Poland.-Terminology:...
(Congress Poland
Congress Poland
The Kingdom of Poland , informally known as Congress Poland , created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, was a personal union of the Russian parcel of Poland with the Russian Empire...
). From 1903 he became involved in legal assistance for political prisoner
Political prisoner
According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a political prisoner is ‘someone who is in prison because they have opposed or criticized the government of their own country’....
s, and since defended many Poles accused for political dissident as well as members of Combat Organization of the Polish Socialist Party
Combat Organization of the Polish Socialist Party
The Combat Organization of the Polish Socialist Party , also translated as Fighting Organization of the Polish Socialist Party; also known as bojówki ; Organizacja Spiskowo-Bojowa PPS ; Koła Bojowe Samoobrony Robotniczej and Koła Techniczno-Bojowe The Combat Organization of the Polish Socialist...
before the Russian courts in Russian partition
Russian partition
The Russian partition was the former territories of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth that were acquired by the Russian Empire in the late-18th-century Partitions of Poland.-Terminology:...
ed Poland (particularly in the Warsaw Citadel
Warsaw Citadel
Cytadela is a 19th-century fortress in Warsaw, Poland. It was built by order of Tsar Nicholas I after the suppression of the 1830 November Uprising in order to bolster imperial Russian control of the city. It served as a prison into the late 1930s.- History :The Citadel was built by personal...
). Founder and activist of Polish legal association grouping like-minded lawyers (Koło Obrońców Politycznych - The Circle of Political Defenders) as well as of other organizations dedicated to helping political prisoners (Ogólna Kasa Pomocy dla Więźniów Politycznych (General Bank for Helping Political Prisoners), Związek Pomocy dla Ofiar Politycznych (Association of Help for Political Repression Victims); those organizations would be headquartered in his legal offices. In the years 1905-1907 the lawyers of Koło took part in about 260 trials; over 20% were found innocent. During that period he met his future partner, Stefania Sempołowska
Stefania Sempołowska
Stefania Sempołowska was a Polish educator and writer. At age 17 she passed the Teacher Patent at the Government Commission in Warsaw. Since then she has been a teacher, supporter of education, kids' rights activist, journalist, and writer - she wrote many school books...
, a semi-official secretary and counselor of the Koło. He was the personal defender of such high profile defendants as Stefan Aleksander Okrzeja
Stefan Aleksander Okrzeja
Stefan Aleksander Okrzeja was a Polish worker, socialist and activist for Poland's independence.-Early life and activism:Stefan Okrzeja was a son of a railway track-walker. He worked as a painter, than as an iron worker in various factories in Warsaw. He joined the illegal Polish Socialist Party ...
and Józef Montwiłł-Mirecki, and gained reputation as an excellent orator and lawyer. He gained such a reputation, and skills, that government provocateurs and agents he liked to called for witness commonly made mistakes in their testimonies. He didn't hesitate to criticize the existing political situation, and discuss the common repressions and brutality of tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
's police. In his famous speech during Okrzeja's trial he said:
The organizations defending political prisoners had an unclear legal status in Russian Empire, and were repressed
Political repression
Political repression is the persecution of an individual or group for political reasons, particularly for the purpose of restricting or preventing their ability to take political life of society....
by the government. Due to his activities, as the leading Polish lawyer with an unmatched track of getting his defendants out of the death penalty, and often out from prison altogether, Patek became increasingly inconvenient to the Russian government, and became a target for repressions himself; in 1908 he was accused of "ties with the defendants" (indeed, for a time, even Józef Piłsudski, future leader of Poland, was hiding in Patek's house); Patek was arrested and briefly imprisoned for a month, but after an intervention by several known Polish and even Russian lawyers, he was released. In 1910 he was subject to another disciplinary hearing for "usage of improper terms during the trials", "conspiracy to change statements", "membership in secret illegal organizations"; he was declared innocent by a regional court, only to have the prosecution open another case against him or appeal against the verdict. Finally, in 1911, despite protests from lawyers from Poland and Russia, he was dropped from the list of the attorneys
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
in Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
; as contemporary Russian newspaper Zvezda put it, "due to political considerations".
After Poland regained independence in 1918
History of Poland (1918–1939)
The History of interwar Poland comprises the period from the re-recreation of the independent Polish state in 1918, until the joint Invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in 1939 at the onset of World War II...
, in recognition of his status as one of the most outstanding Polish lawyers, he was involved in creation of the new Polish legal system. In November 1918 he became the President of the Criminal Division of the Appellate Court in Warsaw, and was soon appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court.
The diplomat
Member of the Polish National CommitteePolish National Committee (1917-1919)
Polish National Committee was formed in Lausanne on 15 August 1917 by Polish National Democracy politician Roman Dmowski. Its goal was to support Entente by creating the Polish Army fighting alongside of it in exchange of receiving support for independent Poland...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
as one of the Piłsudski's representatives and Polish delegation at the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
. Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs ((December 16, 1919 - June 9, 1920). From 1921 to 1926, Polish envoy
Envoy (title)
In diplomacy, an Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary is, under the terms of the Congress of Vienna of 1815, a diplomat of the second class, ranking between an Ambassador and a Minister Resident....
to Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. From 1926 to 1932 envoy to Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, where he negotiated for the Soviet-Polish Non-Aggression Pact
Soviet-Polish Non-Aggression Pact
The Soviet–Polish Non-Aggression Pact ) was an international treaty of non-aggression signed in 1932 by representatives of Poland and the USSR. The pact was unilaterally broken by the Soviet Union on September 17, 1939, during the Nazi and Soviet invasion of Poland.-Background:After the...
. From 1933-1935 ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
in Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, USA. Returned to Poland due to illness, senator of Poland
Senate of Poland
The Senate is the upper house of the Polish parliament, the lower house being the 'Sejm'. The history of the Polish Senate is rich in tradition and stretches back over 500 years, it was one of the first constituent bodies of a bicameral parliament in Europe and existed without hiatus until the...
, nominated by the president, from 1936 to 1939. A member of the Parliamentary Commission on Foreign Affairs, he was critical of Polish Foreign Minister Józef Beck
Józef Beck
' was a Polish statesman, diplomat, military officer, and close associate of Józef Piłsudski...
.
Last years
After the German invasion of Poland, he was involved in protecting the Polish Jews. He died on 22 August 1944, in WarsawWarsaw
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...
, during the Warsaw Uprising
Warsaw Uprising
The Warsaw Uprising was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance Home Army , to liberate Warsaw from Nazi Germany. The rebellion was timed to coincide with the Soviet Union's Red Army approaching the eastern suburbs of the city and the retreat of German forces...
, killed in an explosion of a Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
bomb.