Sejm of the Land

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This article concerns the late 19th century parliament of the Austro-Hungarian Galicia in Eastern Europe. For its preceding body, see Estates of Galicia. For the Spanish regional parliament, see Parliament of Galicia.
Sejm of the Land
Sejm Krajowy
Галицький Крайовий Сейм
Type
Type Unicameral
Leadership
Marshal (speaker) Stanisław Niezabitowski (last)
Structure
Seats 161 (150 until 1900)
Committees Executive
Elections
Last election 1913
Meeting place
Lemberg (Lviv, Lwów)

The Diet of Galicia or Sejm Krajowy (Lwów)[1] (Polish: sejm lwowski,[2] Polish: Sejm krajowy,[3] lit. the Sejm of the Land,[1] Ukrainian: Га́лицький крайови́й сейм, German: Landtag von Galizien und Lodomerien), was the parliament (diet) in the late 19th century Galicja region in Austro-Hungary. It existed from 1861 to 1918. In the history of the Polish parliament, it succeeded the general sejm and local sejmik (councils) on the territories of the Austrian partition.

Contents

Etymology [edit]

For more details on this topic, see Diet (assembly).

Diet is an English equivalent of the German word Landtag that stands for a regional assembly. In Polish culture is used word Sejm. The Ruthenians (Ukrainophone) population also adopted the Polish version of assembly over the Ukrainian equivalent Rada.

History [edit]

The Diet of Galicia (before 1918), since 1920 Lviv University.
Building of the parliament 1861-1880

Parts of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Lesser Poland territories were included in the Austrian partition as early as the First Partition of Poland in 1772.[4] From about 1775 to 1848, with several gaps, the province of Galicia had a relatively powerless parliamentary body, known as the Postulate Sejm (Polish: sejm postulatowy), and from 1817, as Estates of Galicia (Polish: stany galicyjskie).[5] The Sejm of the Land, formed in 1861 following the Austrian Emperor's Constitution for the Galician province, had more real power than its Galician predecessors, and in Polish parliamentary tradition continued the history of the general sejm and regional sejmiks on the lands of Little Poland and Ruthenia.[1][6]

The Sejm of the Land was initially dominated by the nobility, but in time, it saw the emergence of a strong peasant faction.[7][8] Another notable change over time included the emergence of a Ukrainian representation, changing the balance (initially the Sejm was dominated by the Poles).[7][8] Overall, the Sejm of the Land preserved the Polish parliamentary tradition during the time it waned in the Prussian partition and the Russian partition, and saw the emergence of major political parties and groupings that were to dominate the political life of the Second Polish Republic after World War I.[1][7][8] The leader of the Polish peasant movement in the Second Polish Republic, Wincenty Witos, gained his experience in the Sejm of the Land, elected there first in 1908.[9] Similarly, the National Democracts, and the Polish socialists, had their political blocs in the Sejm around that time.[9] Other notable politicians of the Sejm of the Land included Stanisław M Badeni, Michał Bobrzyński, Jakub Bojko, Julian A. Dunajewski, Aleksander Fredro, Agenor Głuchowski, Adam Głuchowski, Kazimierz Grocholski, Stanisław Niezbitowski, Eustachy Sanguszko, Leon Sapieha, Franciszek Smolka, Jan Stapiński, Ludwik Wodzicki and Mikołaj Zyblikiewicz.[10]

Composition and organization [edit]

Deputies to the Sejm of the Land represented the land of the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria.[6] The Sejm was unicameral, and numbered 150 deputies, all but nine elected by different social classes.[6][11] In 1861, grand landowners had 52 electors, and the right to elect 44 deputies; Chambers of Commerce of Lwów, Kraków and Brody had 39 electors and elected 3 deputies; townsmen (with property requirements) had 2264 electors, and the right to elect 20 deputies, and finally, rural (small) landowners had 8764 electors, and the right to elect 74 deputies.[6][12] Further reforms added a fifth group, with the right to elect 20 deputies.[6] Nine deputies sat ex-officio: 2 chancellors of universities, and 7 archbishops and bishops.[6] The initial 9 were composed of 3 Greek-Catholic, 3 Roman Catholic, and one Arminian-Catholic priets, and representatives of the Lwów University and Kraków University; later three seats were added: one to Roman Catholic representative, one for the Lwów Polytechnical University and one for the Kraków Academy of Learning. From 1901 the Sejm numbered 161 deputies; 10 of them sitting ex-officio.[6][13]

The elections were not held on a regular schedule; they occurred usually every five to six years, upon Emperor's decree.[7] Thus the deputies' term of office lasted about six years.[14] The Sejm had ten elections: 1861, 1867, 1870, 1877, 1883, 1889, 1889, 1895, 1901, 1908, and the final one, in 1913.[6]

At first, the deputies met in the Skarbek Theatre (today Maria Zankovetska National Academic Ukrainian Drama Theater). From 1881, the Sejm met in a newly constructed building designed by Juliusz Hochberger; the building is now owned by the University of Lviv.[6]

Competences [edit]

In the period of 1861 to 1873 the Sejm of the Land elected 38 representatives from among its deputies to be sent to the Imperial Council (parliament of Austria-Hungary).[7]

The Sejm had legislative powers. The legislative initiative was possessed by the Emperor, the Sejm executive (six deputies and the speaker), and all individual deputies.[13] [14] It could debate and pass laws related to many issues in the field of education, culture, welfare, justice, public works, administration, religion and military.[13][14] It could impose supplementary taxes, up to 10% of the direct tax.[14]

Marshal and vice-Marshal [edit]

See also: Marshal of the Sejm

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Jacek Jędruch (1998). Constitutions, elections, and legislatures of Poland, 1493–1977: a guide to their history. EJJ Books. p. 249. ISBN 978-0-7818-0637-4. Retrieved 13 August 2011. 
  2. ^ Bronisław Łoziński (1905). Galicyjski sejm stanowy, 1817-1845. Ksiȩg. H. Altenberga. p. 23. Retrieved 1 November 2012. 
  3. ^ Stanisław Grodziski (1993). Sejm Krajowy galicyjski: 1861-1914. Wydawn. Sejmowe. p. 54. ISBN 978-83-7059-052-9. Retrieved 1 November 2012. 
  4. ^ Jacek Jędruch (1998). Constitutions, elections, and legislatures of Poland, 1493–1977: a guide to their history. EJJ Books. p. 241. ISBN 978-0-7818-0637-4. Retrieved 13 August 2011. 
  5. ^ Jacek Jędruch (1998). Constitutions, elections, and legislatures of Poland, 1493–1977: a guide to their history. EJJ Books. p. 246. ISBN 978-0-7818-0637-4. Retrieved 13 August 2011. 
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Jacek Jędruch (1998). Constitutions, elections, and legislatures of Poland, 1493–1977: a guide to their history. EJJ Books. p. 250. ISBN 978-0-7818-0637-4. Retrieved 13 August 2011. 
  7. ^ a b c d e Jacek Jędruch (1998). Constitutions, elections, and legislatures of Poland, 1493–1977: a guide to their history. EJJ Books. p. 252. ISBN 978-0-7818-0637-4. Retrieved 13 August 2011. 
  8. ^ a b c Jacek Jędruch (1998). Constitutions, elections, and legislatures of Poland, 1493–1977: a guide to their history. EJJ Books. p. 253. ISBN 978-0-7818-0637-4. Retrieved 13 August 2011. 
  9. ^ a b Jacek Jędruch (1998). Constitutions, elections, and legislatures of Poland, 1493–1977: a guide to their history. EJJ Books. p. 254. ISBN 978-0-7818-0637-4. Retrieved 13 August 2011. 
  10. ^ Jacek Jędruch (1998). Constitutions, elections, and legislatures of Poland, 1493–1977: a guide to their history. EJJ Books. pp. 260–265. ISBN 978-0-7818-0637-4. Retrieved 13 August 2011. 
  11. ^ Jacek Jędruch (1998). Constitutions, elections, and legislatures of Poland, 1493–1977: a guide to their history. EJJ Books. p. 258. ISBN 978-0-7818-0637-4. Retrieved 13 August 2011. 
  12. ^ Jacek Jędruch (1998). Constitutions, elections, and legislatures of Poland, 1493–1977: a guide to their history. EJJ Books. p. 251. ISBN 978-0-7818-0637-4. Retrieved 13 August 2011. 
  13. ^ a b c Jacek Jędruch (1998). Constitutions, elections, and legislatures of Poland, 1493–1977: a guide to their history. EJJ Books. p. 259. ISBN 978-0-7818-0637-4. Retrieved 13 August 2011. 
  14. ^ a b c d Jacek Jędruch (1998). Constitutions, elections, and legislatures of Poland, 1493–1977: a guide to their history. EJJ Books. p. 260. ISBN 978-0-7818-0637-4. Retrieved 13 August 2011. 

External links [edit]
Coat of arms of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Partitions of Poland
Partitioned Poland
(1795–1918)
Coat of arms of the Second Polish Republic
Polish flag with Kotwica
Coat of arms of People's Republic of Poland
Coat of arms of Poland
Republic of Poland (since 1990)
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