Gabriel Narutowicz

Polish politician (1865-1922)

Gabriel Joźef Narutowicz (born 17 March 1865 – 16 December 1922) was a Polish professor of hydroelectric engineering and politician who served as the first President of Poland.


Gabriel Narutowicz
Gabriel Narutowicz in 1915
1st President of Second Polish Republic
In office
11 December 1922 – 16 December 1922
Prime MinisterJulian Nowak
Preceded byJózef Piłsudski (Chief of State)
Succeeded byStanisław Wojciechowski
Maciej Rataj (acting)
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland
In office
28 June 1922 – 14 December 1922
PresidentJózef Piłsudski (Chief of State)
Prime MinisterArtur Śliwiński
Julian Nowak
Preceded byKonstanty Skirmunt
Succeeded byAleksander Skrzyński
Personal details
Born
Gabriel Józef Narutowicz

(1865-03-29)29 March 1865
Telsze, Russian Empire
Died16 December 1922(1922-12-16) (aged 57)
Warsaw, Poland
Cause of deathGunshot wounds
Political partyNone
(supported by the Polish People's Party "Wyzwolenie")
Spouse(s)Ewa Krzyżanowska
ChildrenStanisław, Anna
EducationETH Zurich
Profession
  • Engineer
  • Politician
  • Statesman
  • Diplomat

On December 16, 1922, only five days after taking office as a first President, Narutowicz was shot three times in the back with a revolver while attending an art exhibit in the Zachęta National Gallery of Art. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The assassin, Eligiusz Niewiadomski, modernist painter and art critic who sympathized with the right-wing National Democracy movement in an art gallery that supported Narutowicz's political enemies. Niewiadomski was sentenced to death in a 1 day trial and executed outside the Warsaw Citadel on January 31, 1923.