Gabriel Narutowicz

Gabriel Józef Narutowicz (Polish: [ˈɡabrjɛl naruˈtɔvit͡ʂ]; 29 March 1865 – 16 December 1922) was a Polish engineer and politician who served as the first president of Poland from 11 December 1922 until his assassination five days after assuming office. He previously served as the minister of public works from 1920 to 1922 and briefly as the minister of foreign affairs in 1922. A non-partisan and an engineer by profession, Narutowicz was the first elected head of state following Poland's regained sovereignty from partitioning powers.

Born into a noble family with a strong patriotic sentiment, Narutowicz studied at the Saint Petersburg Imperial University before relocating to Zurich Polytechnic and completing his studies in Switzerland. An engineer by profession, he was a pioneer of electrification and his works were presented at exhibitions across Western Europe. Narutowicz also directed the construction of the first European hydroelectric power plants in Monthey, Mühleberg and Andelsbuch. In 1907, he was nominated a professor of hydroelectric and water engineering in Zurich, and was subsequently assigned to maintain the Rhine. In September 1919, Narutowicz was invited by the Polish authorities to work on reconstruction projects in the aftermath of World War I. In June 1920, Narutowicz became the minister of public works in Władysław Grabski’s government. Following his successful conduct of the Polish delegation at the Genoa Conference, he became the minister of foreign affairs in Artur Śliwiński's cabinet.

During the 1922 presidential election, Narutowicz was supported by a centre-left coalition of the Polish People's Party "Wyzwolenie", Socialist Party, and Bloc of National Minorities, but was opposed by the conservative National Democrats. After five rounds of voting, Narutowicz defeated the National Democratic candidate, Maurycy Zamoyski, becoming the first president of Poland. After only five days in office, he was assassinated by a mentally disturbed artist, Eligiusz Niewiadomski, while viewing paintings at the Zachęta Art Gallery. His funeral was attended by almost 500,000 people.