Adam Koc

Adam Ignacy Koc
Koc, sometime before 1937
Minister of Treasury
In office
30 September 1939 – 9 December 1939
Prime MinisterWładysław Sikorski
Preceded byEugeniusz Kwiatkowski
Succeeded byHenryk Strasburger
Minister of Industry and Trade
In office
9 October 1939 – 9 December 1939
Prime MinisterWładysław Sikorski
Preceded byAntoni Roman
Succeeded byHenryk Strasburger
Vice-minister of Treasury
In office
23 December 1930 – December 1935
Vice-minister of Treasury
In office
10 September 1939 – 30 September 1939
Prime MinisterFelicjan Sławoj Składkowski
2nd Vice-minister of Treasury
In office
December 1939 – March 1940[1]
Prime MinisterWładysław Sikorski
State commissioner for the Bank of Poland
In office
3 January 1932 – 7 February 1936
Head of the Bank of Poland[2]
In office
7 February 1936 – 8 May 1936
Preceded byWładysław Wróblewski
Succeeded byWładysław Byrka
2nd Convocation member of Sejm
In office
4 March 1928 – 30 August 1930
ConstituencyNonpartisan Bloc for Cooperation with the Government (BBWR)
3rd Convocation member of Sejm
In office
16 November 1930 – 10 July 1935
ConstituencyNonpartisan Bloc for Cooperation with the Government (BBWR)
4th Convocation member of Sejm
In office
8 September 1935 – 13 September 1938
ConstituencyCamp of National Unity (OZN, from 1937)
5th Convocation member of Senate
In office
13 November 1938 – 2 October 1939
Personal details
Born
Adam Ignacy Koc

(1891-08-08)August 8, 1891
Suwałki, Congress Poland
DiedFebruary 3, 1969(1969-02-03) (aged 77)
New York City
Resting placeWolvercote Cemetery, Oxford, England
51°47′29″N 1°16′24″W / 51.79131°N 1.27321°W / 51.79131; -1.27321
Political partyNonpartisan Bloc for Cooperation with the Government (BBWR)
Other political
affiliations
Camp of National Unity (OZN)
Alma materWyższa Szkoła Wojskowa, 1924
Professionsoldier, journalist, politician
AwardsVirtuti Militari, Order of Polonia Restituta Officer's Cross, Cross of Valour (Poland), Cross of Independence, Officer's Star "Parasol", Légion d'honneur Officier
Signature
Nickname(s)Witold, Szlachetny, Adam Krajewski, Adam Warmiński, Witold Warmiński
Military service
Allegiance Poland
Branch/servicePolish Legions; Polish Armed Forces
Years of service1915–1928 (formally until 1930), 1939
RankColonel
Battles/warsWorld War I, Polish–Soviet War

Adam Ignacy Koc (31 August 1891 – 3 February 1969) was a Polish politician, MP, soldier, journalist and Freemason. Koc, who had several noms de guerre (Witold, Szlachetny, Adam Krajewski, Adam Warmiński and Witold Warmiński), fought in Polish units in World War I and in the Polish–Soviet War.

In his youth, he was a member of the Revolutionary Association of the Nation's Youth, the Union of Active Struggle and the Riflemen's Association. He then became a commandant of the Polish Military Organisation, first in the Warsaw district, and then its Commandant-in-Chief. Adam Koc was one of the officers of the Polish Legions and a member of so-called Convent of Organisation A.

In the Second Polish Republic, Adam Koc joined the Polish Armed Forces, in December 1919, where he was given command of the 201 Infantry Regiment of Warsaw's Defense, which later became a Volunteer Division (31 July – 3 December 1920). Afterwards, he served in the Ministry of Military Affairs, in different positions. A participant in the May Coup, he was promoted in 1926 to be chief of the Command of VI District of Corps in Lwów, a position he held until 1928.

Considered a member of Piłsudski's colonels group, he was elected to the Sejm three times and once to the Senate. He was also multiple times in office, mostly in financial positions (he was Vice-Minister of Treasury and head of the Bank of Poland). He was one of the negotiators of loans to the Second Polish Republic from the UK and France.

As a Sanational politician, he created the newspaper Gazeta Polska, published from 1929 to 1939. He was editor-in-chief of its Sanational predecessor Głos Prawdy in 1929.[3]

After Piłsudski died in May 1935, Adam Koc joined the people close to Edward Rydz-Śmigły. He became commandant-in-chief of the Association of Polish Legionists.

In 1936–1937, Koc started co-creating a new political entity, the Camp of National Unity (OZN). He became its head a year later. He was supportive of the idea of OZN's approach towards the radical right National Radical Camp Falanga and right-wing National Democracy.

As World War II started, Koc coordinated the evacuation of the Bank of Poland's gold reserves. He served as Minister of Finance, Trade and Industry for a short period in 1939, before he fled to the United States in 1940. He became one of the active members of the Józef Piłsudski Institute of America and died, still in exile, in 1969.

  1. ^ Koc, Adam (2005). Wspomnienia. Wrocław: Towarzystwo przyjaciół Ossolineum. pp. 8–10. ISBN 83-7095-080-9.
  2. ^ Morawski, Wojciech (1998). Słownik historyczny bankowości polskiej do 1939 roku [The historical dictionary of Polish banking until 1939] (PDF) (in Polish). Fundacja Bankowa im. Leopolda Kronenberga; Muza. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  3. ^ Milek, Jerzy. "Głos Prawdy ma nowego Naczelnego Redaktora" ["Głos Prawdy" newspaper has its new editor-in-chief] (in Polish). Retrieved 2017-07-10.

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