Cyryl Ratajski

Cyryl Ratajski (3 March 1875 – 19 October 1942) was a Polish politician and lawyer.

Cyryl Ratajski
Born	(1875-03-03)3 March 1875 Zalesie Wielkie, Poland
Died	19 October 1942(1942-10-19) (aged 67) Warsaw, Poland
Nationality	Polish

Monument of Cyryl Ratajski in Poznań

Life and career

Ratajski was born in Zalesie Wielkie, Poland on 3 March 1875. He graduated from a high school in Poznań and studied law at the University of Berlin. After leaving university, he worked as a court clerk in Torgau, Germany. He opened his own law firm in Raciborz, Poland after passing a judge's exam in 1905.[1] He moved back to Poznań in 1911 to look after his father-in-law's business.[2]

He became an envoy for the Supreme Popular Council to the Polish National Committee in Paris in January 1919.[1] He served as mayor of Poznań between 1922 and 1924 and again between 1925 and 1934[3] as well as Minister of Interior between 1924 and 1925. From 1937 he was a member of the Labor Party. He became mayor of Poznań again in September 1939 before being deported to German-occupied Poland in early 1940. He was the first Head of Delegate's Office of the Polish government in exile (Delegat Rządu na Kraj) on 3 December 1940 until 5 August 1942 when he was replaced by Jan Piekałkiewicz[2] due to ill health.[3]

He died on 19 October 1942 in Warsaw.[1]

See also

• Polish Secret State
• Government Delegate's Office at Home

References

1. Roszkowski, Wojciech; Kofman, Jan (2016). Biographical Dictionary of Central and Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century. Routledge. p. 2366. ISBN 978-1-317-47593-4.
2. Lerski, Halina (1996). Historical Dictionary of Poland, 966-1945. ABC-CLIO. p. 498. ISBN 978-0-313-03456-5.
3. Karski, Jan (2012). Story of a Secret State: My Report to the World. Penguin. p. 592. ISBN 978-0-14-119667-1.