Stanisław Kot
Stanisław Kot | |
|---|---|
Kot c. 1933 | |
| Born | 22 October 1885 |
| Died | 26 December 1975 (aged 90) London, England |
| Nationality | Polish |
| Known for | Studies about the Reformation in Poland |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | Jagiellonian University |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Polish history |
| Institutions | Jagiellonian University |
| Deputy Prime Minister (Polish government-in-exile) | |
| In office 7 December 1939 – 1940 | |
| Minister of Internal Affairs (Polish government-in-exile) | |
| In office 9 October 1940 – 1941 | |
| Ambassador of the Polish government-in-exile to the Soviet Union | |
| In office 29 August 1941 – 1942 | |
| Minister of Information and Documentation (Polish government-in-exile) | |
| In office 18 March 1943 – 24 November 1944 | |
| Ambassador of the Polish Provisional Government of National Unity to Italy | |
| In office 6 September 1945 – 10 November 1945 | |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | People's Party (until 1945) Polish People's Party (from 1945) |
Stanisław Kot (22 October 1885 – 26 December 1975) was a Polish historian and politician. A native of the Austrian partition of Poland, early in life he was attracted to the cause of Polish independence. As a professor of the Jagiellonian University (1920–1933), he held the chair of the History of Culture. His principal expertise was in the politics, ideologies, education, and literature of the 16th- and 17th-century Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. He is particularly known for his contributions to the study of the Reformation in Poland.
As a Second Polish Republic politician, he was a member of the People's Party; and, during World War II, he held several posts in the Polish Government in Exile, including those of Minister of the Interior (1940–1941), Minister of State (1942–1943), and Minister of Information (1943–1944). He also served, during the war, as Polish ambassador to the Soviet Union (1941–1942); and shortly after the war, as Polish ambassador to Italy (1945–1947).
In 1947, in the wake of the communist takeover of Poland, he became a political refugee, living in France and later in the United Kingdom, where he was the leader of the People's Party in exile.