Florian Siwicki

Florian Siwicki (; 10 January 1925 – 11 March 2013) was a Polish military officer, diplomat and communist politician. He was a generał in the Polish Army and Minister of Defense of Poland from 1983 to 1990.

Military and political career

Son of Elżbieta and Eugeniusz. His father was a non-commissioned officer. In 1930, Eugeniusz Siwicki was transferred to the reserve and moved with his family to village near Rivne. At first, he was the owner of a small, three-hectare farm, and later he was employed as a bookkeeper in the commune office.

In April 1940, his father was arrested by NKVD officers. A month later, Florian and his mother were deported deep into the Soviet Union to the Arkhangelsk region. At the age of 17 he was forced to join the Red Army. From December 1942, he served in the 105 Independent Sapper Battalion, where he became the deputy commander of the platoon. In May 1943 he was in the ranks of the Polish Armed Forces in the USSR. He served in the 1st Tadeusz Kościuszko Infantry Division. commander of the Silesian Military District from 1972 to 1973 and Chief of General Staff of the Polish Army from 1973 to 1983. Siwicki was a long-serving Minister of National Defense in the governments of Wojciech Jaruzelski, Zbigniew Messner, Mieczysław Rakowski and Tadeusz Mazowiecki (from 1983 to 1990 total). In 1972 he became a candidate member of the Politburo of the PZPR, and in 1980 a full member.

As agreed in the Round Table talks and during subsequent political developments, Siwicki remained the Minister of Defense in Solidarity-led government of Mazowiecki until July 1990.

Awards and decorations Polish:

Soviet:

60px Jubilee Medal "Twenty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" 60px Jubilee Medal "Thirty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945"

60px Jubilee Medal "60 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" 60px Jubilee Medal "70 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" From other countries: