Jozef Pilsudski Biography

Józef Klemens Piłsudski[a] (Polish: [ˈjuzɛf ˈklɛmɛns pʲiwˈsutskʲi] ( listen); 5 December 1867 – 12 May 1935) was a Polish statesman; he was Chief of State (1918–22), "First Marshal of Poland" (from 1920), and de facto leader (1926–35) of the Second Polish Republic as the Minister of Military Affairs. From World War I he had great power in Polish politics and was considered a distinguished figure on the international scene. He is viewed as a father of the Second Polish Republic founded in 1918, 123 years after the 1795 final partitions of Poland by Russia, Austria, and Prussia.