The current government structure consists of a council of ministers led by a Prime Minister, typically chosen from a majority coalition in the bicameral legislature’s lower house. The president elected every 5 years is head of state. The judicial branch plays a minor role in decision-making.

Former SLD leader Aleksander Kwasniewski was re-elected President in October 2000. Kwasniewski received in the first round 53.9% of the popular vote. In second place was Andrzej Olechowski –17.3%. President Kwasniewski has supported Polish membership in NATO and the EU and backed the SLD’s legislative agenda on issues such as redrafting the constitution and abortion liberalization.

The parliament, consisting of 460 members of the Sejm and 100 members of the Senate, was elected in September 2001 in free and fair elections in which 15 political parties participated. The new Constitution and the reformed administrative division (as of 1999) required a revision of the election ordinance (passed in April 2001). The most important changes were liquidation of a national list (all deputies were elected by voters in constituencies) and introduction of a new method of calculating seats (the modified St. Lague method replaced the d’Hondt method, thus eliminating the premium for the top parties). The law stipulated that with the exception of guaranteed seats for small ethnic parties, only parties receiving at least 5% of the total vote could enter parliament.

The current Belka government maintains generally pro-market economic policies, has made fighting corruption and bringing Poland’s financial house into order its priorities, and is committed to a democratic political system.

Along with SLD, other parties represented in Parliament are Citizens Platform (PO), Self-defense (SO), Law and Justice (PiS), Polish Peasant Party (PSL), Polish Social Democratic Party (SdPl), League of Polish Families (LPR), Union of Labor (UP). Poland’s next parliamentary elections and presidential election will be held in 2005.

Principal Government Officials
President–Aleksander Kwasniewski
Prime Minister–Marek Belka (SLD)
Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Social Policy–Izabela Jaruga-Nowacka
Head of Prime Minister’s Chancellery–Slawomir Cytrycki
Minister of Foreign Affairs–Adam Daniel Rotfeld
Minister of Economy and Labor–Jacek Piechota (SLD)
Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration–Ryszard Kalisz (SLD)
Minister of Defense–Jerzy Szmajdzinski (SLD)
Minister of Finance–Miroslaw Gronicki
Minister of Treasury–Jacek Socha
Minister of Infrastructure–Krzysztof Opawski
Minister of Justice–Andrzej Kalwas
Minister of Agriculture–Jozef Pilarczyk (SLD)
Minister of Education and Sports–Miroslaw Sawicki
Minister of Culture–Waldemar Dabrowski
Minister of Science and Information Technology–Michal Kleiber
Minister of Health–Marek Balicki (SdPl)
Minister of Environment–Tomasz Podgajniak

Ambassador to the United States–vacant
Chargé d’Affaires–Boguslaw Winid