Ignacy Jan Paderewski
Ignacy Jan Paderewski (Polish: [iɡˈnatsɨ ˈjan padɛˈrɛfskʲi] ⓘ; 18 November [O.S. 6 November] 1860 – 29 June 1941) was a Polish pianist, composer and statesman who was a spokesman for Polish independence. In 1919, he was the nation's prime minister and foreign minister during which he signed the Treaty of Versailles, which ended World War I.
Ignacy Jan Paderewski | |
|---|---|
Paderewski circa 1935 | |
| 3rd Prime Minister of Poland | |
| In office 18 January 1919 – 27 November 1919 | |
| President | Józef Piłsudski (Chief of State) |
| Preceded by | Jędrzej Moraczewski |
| Succeeded by | Leopold Skulski |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 16 January 1919 – 9 December 1919 | |
| Prime Minister |
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| Preceded by | Leon Wasilewski |
| Succeeded by | Władysław Wróblewski |
| Chief of the National Council of Poland | |
| In office 9 December 1939 – 29 June 1941 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Ignacy Jan Paderewski 6 November 1860 Kurylivka, Podolia Governorate, Russian Empire |
| Died | 29 June 1941 (aged 80) New York City, US |
| Spouses |
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| Children | 3 |
| Education | Warsaw Conservatory |
| Profession | Pianist, composer, politician, diplomat |
| Signature | |
A favorite of concert audiences around the world, his musical fame opened access to diplomacy and the media, as possibly did his status as a freemason, and charitable work of his second wife, Helena Paderewska. During World War I, Paderewski advocated an independent Poland, including by touring the United States, where he met with President Woodrow Wilson, who came to support the creation of an independent Poland in his Fourteen Points at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, which led to the Treaty of Versailles.
Shortly after his resignations from office, Paderewski resumed his concert career to recoup his finances and rarely visited the politically chaotic Poland thereafter, the last time being in 1924.