The President of the Republic of Poland, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Andrzej Duda, pursuant to Article 134(3) of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, on 10 October 2023 appointed Lieutenant General Wiesław Kukuła as Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Army and Major General Maciej Klisz as Operational Commander of the Armed Forces.

At the same time, by virtue of Presidential Decisions, the dismissals of General Rajmund Andrzejczak from the post of Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces and General Tomasz Piotrowski from the post of Operational Commander of the Armed Forces were made.

“This is a position of great responsibility. The Chief of General Staff is the first soldier of the Republic of Poland”, said Andrzej Duda, congratulating General Kukuła on his nomination.

According to President, Poland is in a special situation, because next to our border for a year and a half there has been a war caused by Russian aggression.

“We know that we are supporting, that there have been some very difficult moments during this time. We know that it is necessary to have nerves of steel, great responsibility and to make decisions in a very wise, prudent manner. But thinking about the security of our Compatriots, one also must be extremely flexible and wise in command”, stressed the Polish President.

Andrzej Duda thanked the generals for their involvement in the operation to evacuate Poles from Israel.

‘This operation was and is very much needed. Thank you for the fact that, with those decisions, you so excellently inscribed yourselves in the history of the Polish armed forces, at their best moments’, said the President.

Lieutenant General Wiesław Kukuła is a graduate of the Higher School of Liaison Forces Officers in Zegrze, the Higher Specialist Course, a Master’s Degree in Electronics and Telecommunications at the Military University of Technology in Warsaw, and postgraduate in management at the Polish Open University.

Major General Maciej Klisz is a graduate of the Higher Officer School of Mechanised Forces in Wrocław, the National Defence Academy, Postgraduate Operational and Tactical Studies and the US Army War College (2020).

Adrian Andrzejewski