Ryszard Schnepf

Ryszard Schnepf

Ryszard Schnepf (1951) is a Polish politician and diplomat.

Early life

Schnepf was born in Warsaw, Poland on 22 September 1951, to Polish mother, Alicja Szczepaniak-Schnepft (born in 1930), recognised as Righteous among the Nations and father, colonel Maksymilian Schnepft (1920−2003), who until 1968 was head of the communist military office (Studium Wojskowe) at the University of Warsaw. There were numerous and strong student protests against presence of such ideologically motivated special unit at the University and colonel Schnepf. On March 30, 2016 one of the leading weekly in Poland Gazeta Polska revealed on the front page article, that colonel Maksymilian Schnepf was a soviet spy with nickname "heron" while serving as a military attache at the Embassy of Poland under communist rule in 1954. The weekly published top secret document signed by the soviet colonel Konstantin Iwanow on April 16, 1954 regarding secret mission of Maksymilan Schnepf while in Washington. Colonel Iwanow as a representative of Soviet secret service GRU was a head of military intelligence in communist Poland 1951-1955.

Career

1991-1996 he served as Ambassador to Uruguay and Paraguay.

From 2007 to late 2008 he served as the under-secretary of state of Poland, as part of the Foreign Ministry.

On Jan. 14, 2013, Ryszard Schnepf presented his credentials to U.S. President Barack Obama in a formal ceremony at the Oval Office, marking his official recognition as Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to the United States.