Battle for the position of the President of the Institute of National Remembrance. The current vice-president on the list of names
The list of candidates for the position of president of the Institute of National Remembrance has been announced. These include, among others: current vice-president of the Institute of National Remembrance, Dr. Mateusz Szpytma. A public hearing is scheduled for April 14 – on the same day we will learn the name of the candidate recommended by the Institute of National Remembrance.
On Thursday, the names of the candidates running for the position of head of the Institute of National Remembrance were announced. They are: dr hab. Przemysław Benken, Dr. Leszek Buller, Dr. Tomasz Ceglarz, Dr. Aldona Dydek, Dr. Arkadiusz Kazański, Dr. Marek Kołłątaj, Dr. Maciej Kossowski, Dr. Joanna Napierała, Dr. Emilian Prałat and Dr. Mateusz Szpytma. Dr. hab. was not among the candidates. Karol Polejowski, current vice-president of the Institute, recommended by the IPN College for the position of president in the previous competition.
Ph.D. Przemysław Benken is a military historian and political scientist, an employee of the Branch Office of Historical Research of the Institute of National Remembrance in Szczecin. He is the author of books, including: “Griffician events of 1951”, “Tet Offensive of 1968. Military-political study”, “The mystery of the death of Jan Rodowicz “Anody””.
Dr. Leszek Buller is the director of the Center for European Projects in Warsaw and an assistant professor at the Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw at the Faculty of Family Studies, previously at the Institute of Sociology, where he created the economics major.
Dr. Tomasz Ceglarz is an employee of the Branch Office for Commemorating Struggle and Martyrdom of the Institute of National Remembrance in Poznań, author of the doctoral thesis “Club of Catholic Intelligentsia in Szczecinek in the years 1981-1997”.
Dr. Aldona Dydek is an inspector at the Education Board in Rzeszów, author of the scientific dissertation “Ordination of women. Problems and open questions in the context of ecumenical dialogue.” She already took part in the previous competition – she announced, among others: archiving oral testimonies of all people who remember World War II and the immediate post-war period, “commemorating the glorious deeds of Polish citizens and the Volhynian crime.”
Dr. Arkadiusz Kazański is a historian, an employee of the National Education Office of the Institute of National Remembrance in Gdańsk. He also ran in the previous competition. His achievements include, among others: an exhibition about Anna Walentynowicz, publications on the history of political opposition (including the history of Free Trade Unions), repression during martial law and over 500 entries in the “Encyclopedia of Solidarity”.
Dr. Marek Kołłątaj is a captain of the Navy reserve, a doctor by profession, a graduate of the Military Medical Academy, where he obtained his doctorate. He took part in the previous competition – during the audition he explained that his interest in the Institute of National Remembrance stems from the belief that young people do not know history.
Dr. Maciej Kossowski was also a candidate in the previous competition. He is a historian, a graduate of the University of Warsaw. He was a scholarship holder of the Lanckoroński Foundation and the Minister of Culture and National Heritage. He worked at the Monument Documentation Center, and for the last quarter of a century he headed the Monument Rescue Center in Warsaw that he founded.
Dr. Joanna Napierała – she also took part in the previous competition – she is a historian, a graduate of the Catholic University of Lublin, curator of the archives of the Institute of National Remembrance in Poznań, a member of the Historical Geoinformation Studio of the Catholic University of Lublin, the Association of Polish Archivists and the Association of Church Archivists.
Dr. Emilian Prelate is an art historian, regionalist and Slavic philologist; he also ran as a candidate in the previous competition. As he wrote on his website, his research interests focus primarily on the art of Greater Poland, especially related to the artistic patronage of the landed gentry, and also on the art of the South Slavic region. He serves as the social guardian of monuments in the Kościan district.
Dr. Mateusz Szpytma is a historian who has been associated with the Institute of National Remembrance since the beginning of this institution. He took up the position of vice-president 10 years ago. Previously, he was an expert in the Branch Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation in Krakow, assistant and deputy director of the secretariat of President Janusz Kurtyka. In 2015–2016, he headed the Museum of Poles Saving Jews during World War II. The Ulma family in Markowa. He devoted several scientific publications to the issue of saving Jews by Poles during the German occupation. He also wrote about the history of the Polish folk movement after World War II.
The public hearing of the candidates will take place on April 14, from 10, at the headquarters of the Central Historia Stop. President Lech Kaczyński in Warsaw. They will then present their skills and concepts for managing the Institute of National Remembrance. A live broadcast of the hearing of candidates for the position of President of the Institute of National Remembrance will also be available on the IPN website.
In the next step, the IPN College adopts a resolution on selecting the candidate for the position of President of the Institute of National Remembrance in a secret ballot, with an absolute majority of votes. If in the first ballot none of the candidates obtains an absolute majority of votes, then another vote is held by a simple majority of votes, with the participation of the candidates who obtained the next two largest numbers of votes. If none of the candidates obtains the required majority of votes in the voting, the IPN College, by way of a resolution, considers the competition unresolved and its chairman announces it again.
Information about the candidate for the position of President of the Institute of National Remembrance recommended by the IPN College will be announced on April 14 in the evening. The Sejm has the final say – at the request of the IPN College, with the consent of the Senate, it appoints and dismisses the President of the IPN.
The announcement of the competition for the president of the Institute of National Remembrance was necessary because the current president of this institution, Dr. Karol Nawrocki, who has held this position since 2021, was elected president of the Republic of Poland. This is the second consecutive competition for the president of the Institute of National Remembrance. In the previous one, which took place in October 2025, the current vice-president of this institution, Dr. Hab., was recommended by the IPN College. Karol Polejowski. However, it did not obtain the required majority of votes in the Sejm. As a result, the entire procedure had to start over.
The President of the Institute of National Remembrance, whose term of office lasts five years, is independent from state authorities in exercising his office. The same person cannot be president for more than two consecutive terms. The act also includes a provision that the president of the Institute of National Remembrance cannot be held criminally liable or deprived of liberty without the consent of the Sejm. However, there are exceptions in this respect, e.g. if he is caught in the act of committing a crime and if his arrest is necessary to ensure the proper course of proceedings.
In the past, the president of the Institute was held by Leon Kieres, Janusz Kurtyka, Łukasz Kamiński, Jarosław Szarek and Karol Nawrocki. (PAP)
akr/ akn/ jkrz/ miś/
