Edward Raczyński

Nationality

Poland

Date of Birth

1891

Date of Death

1993

Political
Preference

Indpendent

Edward Raczyński was a Polish diplomat, writer and politician. Born in Zakopane, Poland, Raczyński became part of the diplomatic service in 1919 and worked in Polish embassies in London, Bern and Copenhagen until 1925. In 1932, he was appointed Polish ambassador to the League of Nations and in 1934 became ambassador of Poland in the United Kingdom. He signed the Polish-British alliance on behalf of Poland, which led to the United Kingdom declaring war on Nazi Germany after the invasion of Poland.

During World War II, Raczyński served as the ambassador of the Polish Government-in-exile and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1941 to 1943. In this role, he provided the Allies with some of the earliest and most accurate reports about the Holocaust in occupied Poland. Moreover, together with Joseph Retinger and Prime Minister Władysław Sikorski, he endeavoured the enhance the post-war position of Poland by arguing for the creation of a post-war federation between Eastern European countries.

After the war, the United Kingdom withdrew its support for the Polish government. Raczyński remained in London, supporting the democratic opposition to communism in Poland and working in the Committee for Polish Affairs and advising several British ministries and governmental agencies. The Poles would keep their government-in-exile until 1991. Between 1954 and 1972 Raczyński served on the Council of the Three – which was the collective presidential body of the Polish government-in-exile. Between 1979 and 1986 he served as the President of the Polish government-in-exile.

In 1962, Raczyński published his wartime memoirs In Allied London: The Wartime Diaries of the Polish Ambassador.