Maciej Rataj

Infobox_Politician
name = Maciej Rataj


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height = 240px
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birth_date = February 19, 1884
birth_place = Chłopy, near Lwow, Austria-Hungary
residence =
death_date = June 21, 1940
death_place = Palmiry, Poland
office = Acting President of the Polish Republic
salary =
term_start = May 15, 1926
term_end = June 1, 1926
predecessor = Stanisław Wojciechowski
successor = Ignacy Mościcki
constituency =
office2 = Acting President of the Polish Republic
salary2 =
term_start2 = December 16, 1922
term_end2 = December 22, 1922
predecessor2 = Gabriel Narutowicz
successor2 = Stanisław Wojciechowski
constituency2 =
office3 = 2nd Sejm Marshal
salary3 =
term_start3 = November 28, 1922
term_end3 = March 26, 1928
predecessor3 = Wojciech Trąmpczyński
successor3 = Ignacy Daszyński
constituency3 =
party = Polish People's Party
religion =
occupation =
majority =
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children =
website =
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Maciej Rataj (19 February 1884 - 21 June 1940) was a Polish politician, president, socialist activist and writer. He was executed by Nazi Germany.Born in the Chłopy village near Lwów on 19 February 1884, he attended a gymnasium in Lwów and studied classical linguistics at the University of Lwów. Upon the completion of his studies he became a gymansium teacher first in Lwów, and later in Zamość.

He became involved in politics after the Second Polish Republic gained independence following the First World War. He was a member of the PSL Piast and PSL Wyzwolenie political parties, and from 1931 a member of the Stronnictwo Ludowe. He became president of the Stronnictwo and the chief editor of the party's official paper, the 'Zielony Sztandar' in 1935. From 1919 to 1930 and from 1934-1935 he was a Member of Parliament for the Sejm (Polish Parliament), and from 1922 to 1928 he was the Marshal of the Sejm. Between 1920-1921 he was the Minister of Religion and Public Education, and took part in work on the March Constitution.

He was President of Poland twice: first in December 1922 after the assassination of president Gabriel Narutowicz as Acting President of the Republic of Poland for one week, and again in May 1926, after Józef Piłsudski's May Coup and the resignation of president Stanisław Wojciechowski. His second term lasted half of a month.

During both times he oversaw special election and appointed new governments.

In December 1940 he was arrested by Nazi Germany and executed in Palmiry during the German AB-Aktion operation in Poland.