Ryszard Kaczorowski

Ryszard Kaczorowski, GCMG ([ˈrɨʂart kat͡ʂɔˈrɔfskʲi] ; 26 November 1919 – 10 April 2010) was a Polish statesman. From 1989 to 1990, he served as the last president of Poland-in-exile. He succeeded Kazimierz Sabbat, and resigned his post following Poland's regaining independence from the Soviet sphere of influence and the election of Lech Wałęsa as the first democratically elected president of Poland since before the World War II. He died on 10 April 2010 in the plane crash near Smolensk, Russia, along with the president of Poland Lech Kaczyński and other senior government officials.

Life and career