Paul Smith

Paul Smith (Television), CBBC TV Executive and operator of Gordon the Gopher. Poland has also had a strong influence on the countries surrounding it. Paul Smith (Television), founder of Celador Productions and creator of Who Wants to be A Millionaire. Today, we can see these influences in Polish architecture, folklore and art. He is a professor at Memorial University of Newfoundland. Polish culture has a rich thousand-year history influenced from both west and east. Paul Smith (folklorist), specializes in urban legends. [6].

Paul Smith (singer), lead singer for British Indie Rock band Maximo Park. The rest of the population consists mainly of Eastern Orthodox (about 509 500), Jehovah's Witnesses (about 123 034) and various Protestant (about 86 880 in the largest Evangelical-Augsburg Church and about as many in smaller churches) religious minorities. Paul Ray Smith, SFC, US Army, Medal of Honor recipient. Most Poles adhere to the Roman Catholic faith and 95% count as practising Catholics. Paul Smith (pianist) (born 1922), is a versatile Los Angeles jazz pianist. The Polish language, a member of the West Slavic branch of the Slavic languages, functions as the official language of Poland. Paul Smith (music industry), British record label manager and art event producer. The officially recognised ethnic minorities include: Germans, Ukrainians, Lithuanians, Jews and Belarusians.

Paul Smith (academy footballer), footballer currently at Manchester United's Academy. 774,900 people (2.03%) didn't declare any nationality. Paul Smith (footballer), footballer currently playing for Southampton F.C. Today 36,983,700 people, or 96.74% of the population considers itself Polish (Census 2002), 471,500 (1.23%) declared another nationality. Paul Smith (writer), wrote episodes of The Brittas Empire. However, the outcome of World War II and the following shift westwards to the area between the Curzon line and the Oder-Neisse line gave Poland an appearance of homogeneity. Smith (born 1939), Hollywood television actor and writer. Poland formerly played host to many languages, cultures, and religions.

Paul L. Nevertheless, despite high expenditures for telecom infrastructure (the coverage increased from 78 users per 1000 inhabitants in 1989 to 282 in 2000)
the coverage mobile cellular is 660 users per 1000 people (2005). Paul Smith (remote viewer), claimed clairvoyant. The share of the telecom sector in the GDP is 4.4% (end of 2000 figure), compared to 2.5% in 1996. Paul Smith (comics), comic book artist noted for his work on Doctor Strange, X-Men, The Golden Age and Leave It to Chance. In total, there are around 91,000 scientists in Poland today. Paul Smith (fashion designer), British fashion designer. There are also around 300 research and development institutes, with about 10,000 more researchers.

Today, Poland has more than a hundred tertiary education instutions; traditional universities to be found in its major cities of Gdańsk, Bydgoszcz, Katowice, Kraków, Lublin, Łódź, Poznań, Rzeszów, Warsaw and Wrocław as well as technical, medical, economic institutions elsewhere, employing around 61,000 workers. In 1773 King Stanisław August Poniatowski established his Commission on National Education (Komisja Edukacji Narodowej), the world's first state ministry of education. In 1364, in Kraków, the Jagiellonian University, founded by King Kazimierz Wielki, became one of Europe's great early universities. The library catalog of the Cathedral Chapter of Kraków dating back to 1110 shows that already in the early 12th century Polish intellectuals had access to the European literature.

The education of Polish society was a goal of rulers as early as the 12th century. Poland produces: clothes, electronics, cars (including luxury car Leopard), buses (Autosan, Jelcz SA, Solaris, Solbus) helicopters (PZL Świdnik), planes (PZL Mielec), ships, military engineering (including tanks), medicines (Polpharma, Polfa, etc), food, chemical products etc. Since joining the European Union, many young Polish people have left their country to work in other EU countries because of high unemployment rate (about 17%). For now, Poland is preparing to make the Euro its official currency (as other countries of the European Union), and the Złoty will eventually be abolished from the modern Polish economy.

There is much speculation as to just when Poland might be ready to join the Eurozone, although the best guess estimates put the entry date somewhere between 2009 and 2013. The most notable task on the horizon is the preparation of the economy (through continuing deep structural reforms) to allow Poland to meet the strict economic criteria for entry into the European Single Currency. Although the Polish economy is currently undergoing an economic boom there are many challenges ahead. Annual growth rates broken down by quarters:.

Forecasted GDP for 2006 is 4.3%. In 2004 GDP growth equalled 5.4%, and in 2005 3.3%. The prospect of closer integration with the European Union has put the economy back on track, with growth of 3.7% annually in 2003, a rise from 1.4% annually in 2002. GDP growth had been strong and steady from 1993 to 2000 with only a short slowdown from 2001 to 2002.

Warsaw leads Central Europe in foreign investment and allegedly needs a continued large inflow. Structural reforms in health care, education, the pension system, and state administration have resulted in larger-than-expected fiscal pressures. Challenges remain, especially under-investment. Poland has a large agricultural sector of private farms, that could be a leading producer of food in the European Union now that Poland is a member.

The biggest privatisations so far were a sale of Telekomunikacja Polska, a national telecom to France Telecom (2000) and an issue of 30% shares of the biggest Polish bank, PKO BP, on the Polish stockmarket (2004). Restructuring and privatisation of "sensitive sectors" (e.g., coal, steel, railways, and energy) has begun. The privatisation of small and medium state-owned companies and a liberal law on establishing new firms have allowed for the rapid development of an aggressive private sector, followed by a development of consumer rights organisations later on. Since its return to democracy, Poland has steadfastly pursued a policy of liberalising the economy and today stands out as one of the most successful and open examples of the transition from a partially state-capitalist market economy to a primarily privately owned market economy.

Lower levels of administrative division are:. Poland is subdivided into sixteen administrative regions known as voivodships (województwa, singular - województwo):. Poland enjoys a temperate climate, with cold, cloudy, moderately severe winters and mild summers with frequent showers and thunderstorms. Remains of the ancient forests survive: see list of forests in Poland.

Masuria (Mazury) forms the largest and most-visited lake district in Poland. Poland also contains over 9,300 lakes, predominantly in the north of the country. Several large rivers cross the plains; for instance, the Vistula (Wisła), Oder (Odra), Warta the (Western) Bug. The Polish landscape consists almost entirely of the lowlands of the North European Plain, at an average height of 173 metres (568 ft), though the Sudetes (including the Karkonosze) and the Carpathian Mountains (including the Tatra mountains, where one also finds Poland's highest point, Rysy, at 2,499 m or 8,199 ft) form the southern border.

The Ombudsman has the duty of guarding the observance and implementation of the rights and liberties of the human being and of the citizen, the law and principles of community life and social justice. The Sejm (on approval of the Polish Senate) appoints the Ombudsman or the Commissioner for Civil Rights Protection (Rzecznik Praw Obywatelskich) for a five-year term. Its major institutions include the Supreme Court (Sąd Najwyższy), the Supreme Administrative Court (Naczelny Sąd Administracyjny) (judges appointed by the president of the republic on the recommendation of the National Council of the Judiciary for an indefinite period), the Constitutional Tribunal (Trybunał Konstytucyjny) (judges chosen by the Sejm for nine-year terms) and the Tribunal of State (Trybunał Stanu) (judges chosen by the Sejm for for the current term of office of the Sejm, except for the position of chairperson which is held by the First President of the Supreme Court). The judicial branch plays a minor role in decision-making.

Only the first kind has occurred to date. The National Assembly is formed on three occasions: Taking the oath of office by a new president, bringing an indictment against the President of the Republic to the Tribunal of State, and declaration of a President's permanent incapacity to exercise their duties due to the state of their health. When sitting in joint session, members of the Sejm and Senate form the National Assembly, (Polish Zgromadzenie Narodowe). With the exception of ethnic minority parties, only candidates of political parties receiving at least 5% of the total national vote can enter the Sejm.

The Senate, on the other hand, is elected under a rare plurality bloc voting method where several candidates with the highest support are elected from each electorate. The Sejm is elected under a proportional representation electoral system using the d'Hondt method similar to that used in many parliamentary political systems. Polish voters elect a two house parliament, consisting of a 460 member lower house Sejm and a 100 member Senate (Senat). The current president is Lech Kaczyński.

The president, elected by popular vote every five years, serves as the head of state. The president appoints the cabinet according to the proposals of the prime minister, typically from the majority coalition in the bicameral legislature's lower house (the Sejm). The government structure centres on the Council of Ministers, led by a prime minister. Its current constitution dates from 1997.

Poland is a democratic republic. Poland joined the European Union on 1 May 2004. Polish voters then said yes to the EU in a referendum in June 2003. Poland joined the NATO alliance in 1999 along with the Czech Republic and Hungary.

Poland was the first post-communist country to regain pre-1989 GDP levels. Despite a temporary slump in social and economic standards, there were numerous improvements in other human rights (free speech, functioning democracy and the like). A shock therapy program during the early 1990s enabled the country to transform its economy into one of the most robust in Central Europe. The Solidarity movement greatly contributed to the soon-following collapse of Communism all over Eastern Europe.

It eroded the dominance of the Communist Party; by 1989 it had triumphed in parliamentary elections, and Lech Wałęsa, a Solidarity candidate, eventually won the presidency in 1990. Labour turmoil in 1980 led to the formation of the independent trade union, "Solidarity", which over time became a political force. It was a time when the economy was more modern, and the government had large credits. In 1970 the government was changed.

In 1956 the régime became more liberal, freeing many people from prison and expanding some personal freedoms. The People's Republic of Poland (Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa) was officially proclaimed in 1952. In 1948 a turn towards Stalinism brought in the beginning of the next period of totalitarian rule. Military alignment within the Warsaw Pact throughout the Cold War was also part of this change.

The Soviet Union instituted a new communist government in Poland, analogous to much of the rest of the Eastern Bloc. The largest number of ethnic Poles outside of the country can be found in the United States. A Polish minority is still present in neighbouring countries of Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania, as well as in other countries (see Poles article for the population numbers). As a result of these events, Poland became, for the first time in history, an ethnically unified country.

The shift forced the migration of millions of people – Poles, Germans, Ukrainians, Jews. After the shift, Poland emerged 20% smaller by 77,500 km² (29,900 mi²); although the important cities of Gdańsk (Danzig), Szczecin (Stettin) and Wrocław (Breslau) were all incorporated into its post-war borders. On the other hand, the western border of Poland was moved to the Oder-Neisse line. The second aggressor, the Soviet Union, was given the right to occupy former Polish territory in negotiations, which means that the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was partially confirmed.

At its conclusion, Poland's borders were shifted westwards, pushing the eastern border to the Curzon line, even though the defense of Poland was the reason that France and the United Kingdom had declared war on Germany. Of all the countries involved in the war, Poland lost the highest percentage of its citizens: over 6 million perished, half of them Polish Jews. The eastern part of the German occupied zone was transformed into the General Government area, and the western part was just incorporated to German Reich. Warsaw surrendered on September 28, 1939.

The 1926 May Coup of Józef Piłsudski turned the Second Polish Republic into Sanacja that lasted until the start of World War II when Germany and the Soviet Union invaded Poland. It was established after a series of military conflicts, like the 1919-1921 Polish-Soviet War. Shortly after the surrender of Germany in November 1918, Poland regained its independence as the Second Polish Republic (II Rzeczpospolita Polska). During World War I all the Allies agreed on the restitution of Poland that United States President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed in point 13 of his Fourteen Points.

Later in the 19th century, Austrian-ruled Galicia became the oasis of Polish freedom. However, the tsars soon reduced Polish freedoms and Russia eventually de facto annexed the country. The eastern part was ruled by the Russian tsar as a Congress Kingdom, and possessed a liberal constitution. Napoleon recreated a Polish state, the Duchy of Warsaw, but after the Napoleonic wars, Poland was split again by the Allies at the Congress of Vienna.

Poles resented their shrinking freedoms and several times rebelled against their oppressors (see List of Polish Uprisings). The process of reforms ceased with the partitions of Poland between Russia, Prussia, and Austria in 1772, 1793 and 1795 which ultimately dissolved the country. The Enlightenment in Poland fostered a growing national movement to repair the state, resulting in what is claimed to be the first modern written constitution in Europe, the Constitution of May 3 in 1791. Russian tsars took advantage of this unique political vulnerability by offering money to Parliamentary traitors, who in turn would consistently and subversively block necessary reforms and new solutions.

In Polish Democracy every member of parliament was able to break any work or project by shouting 'Liberum Veto' during the session. During the following 80 years, the waning of the central government and deadlock of the institutions weakened the nation, leading to anarchistic tendencies and a growing dependency on Russia. Numerous wars against the Ottoman Empire, Russia, Cossacks, Transylvania and Brandenburg-Prussia ultimately came to an end in 1699. In the mid-17th century a Swedish invasion rolled through the country in the turbulent time known as "The Deluge" (potop).

Poles often call themselves the nation of the free people. Since that time Poles have regarded freedom as their most important value. Landowners gained almost unlimited ownership over serfs. The citizens of Poland took pride in their ancient freedoms and Sejm parliamentary system, although the szlachta monopolised most of the benefits as most of Poles since the middle of the fourteenth century were serfs.

A golden age occurred in the 16th century during its union (Lublin Union) with Lithuania in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Under the Jagiellon dynasty, Poland forged an alliance with its neighbour Lithuania. Teeple, ISBN 0-7894-8926-0 www.dk.com Dorling Kindersley). The only areas which escaped were Milan, Poland, Belgium, eastern Germany and part of southwest France." (Page 235 of "Timelines of World History" by John B.

Their fortress there had been besieged by Mongol invaders who had suddenly begun to die of a disease that caused black, blood-oozing swellings and immense pain....By 1351, it had spread over most of Europe. Luckily, the Black Death which affected most parts of Europe from 1347 to 1351 did not come to Poland: "One of the greatest calamities in European history began in 1347 when bubonic plague struck, brought to Italy, it is thought, by a group of Genoese returning home through Sicily and Pisa from Kaffa in the Crimea. His son Kazimierz Wielki repaired the Polish economy, built new castles and won the war against the Russian dukedom (Lwów became a Polish City). In 1320 Władysław I became the King of the reunified Poland.