Wojewoda/en

VOIVODE – a one-person body of the local-government administration and the constitutional representative of the council of ministers in the voivodship. V. is: a representative of the council of ministers in the voivodship; the head of the joint government administration in the region; the joint government administration body in the voivodship; the supervising authority to the activities of local-government units and their associations in terms of legality; a body of governmental administration in the voivodship, to which all the matters within the scope of government administration in the voivodship belong to and are not reserved in separate acts as a competence of other bodies of that administration; a representative of the State Treasury, in the scope and on the principles specified in separate acts; a higher-level body as understood by the Code of Administrative Proceedings; a body obliged to provide the State Treasury’s real estate management in the voivodship in a manner consistent with the principles of proper economy. V. is appointed and dismissed by the President of the Council of Ministers at the request of the minister responsible for public administration. V. performs the tasks with the help of the vice-voivode(s). The vice-voivode is appointed and dismissed by the President of the Council of Ministers at the request of the v. A person can be appointed for the position of v. or vice-voivode if he/she: has a Polish nationality, holds a master’s degree or an equivalent, is guaranteed a satisfactory performance of his or her duties as a v., has not been convicted by a final court judgment for a deliberate offense prosecuted from public prosecution or an intentional tax offense, enjoys full public rights and has an impeccable repute. The voivode’s activity is directed by the prime minister, through guidelines and instructions, and on the basis of reporting on the implementation of the tasks. An important part of this process is also the evaluation of work. The main criterion for the evaluation and supervision of the President of the Council of Ministers is the consistency of actions taken by the v. with the policy pursued by the government. The activity of the v. is also subject to supervision by the minister competent for public administration – in terms of compliance of the performed tasks with the general laws in force, as well as from the point of view of reliability and economy of public expenditure. The remaining ministers exercise their powers over the v. in the scope and on the principles set forth in separate acts. V. is obliged to provide within the prescribed time limit the competent minister or central governmental body with the information and explanations requested by them. Disputes between the voivodes and between the voivodship and the minister or central government administration body are decided by the prime minister. He/she may authorize a minister competent for public administration to exercise, on his/her behalf, his or her entitlements towards the v., with the exception of the appointment and dismissal of the v. and the settlement of disputes between a member of the council of ministers or a central governmental administration. V. supervises the activities of local-government units and their associations on the basis of the principles set forth in local self-government statutes (→ government administration, supervision of local government) [ K. Mroczka ].

Literature: J. Majchrowski, Ewolucja funkcji wojewody jako przedstawiciela Rządu, Warszawa 2011 ■ J. Służewski, Wojewoda w systemie administracji państwowej, Warszawa 1981 ■ Status prawny wojewody, red. M. Chmaj, Warszawa 2005.