Jan Przanowski

Jan Józef Przanowski^[a] (8 March 1873 - 28 November 1941) was a Polish lawyer and politician who served as a member of the parliament of Poland from 1930 to 1935 and judge advocate general of the Polish Armed Forces from 1920 to 1930. As a member of the National Party, he served during the 3rd term of Sejm of the Second Polish Republic.

General Jan Przanowski
Przanowski c. 1920s
Judge Advocate General
Preceded by	Office Created
Succeeded by	Office Abolished
Member of the Legislative Sejm of the 3rd term
In office 16 November 1930 – 15 September 1935
Prime Minister	See list Walery Sławek Józef Piłsudski Aleksander Prystor Janusz Jędrzejewicz Leon Kozłowski
Preceded by	Constituency Established
Succeeded by	Constituency Abolished (as a result of the Sanation)
Vice-Chairman of Circle of Polish Lawyers
In office 1907–1940
President	Franciszek Nowodworski
Deputy	Leon Supiński
Preceded by	Kazimierz Bartel
Succeeded by	Kazimierz Bartel
Personal details
Born	Jan Przanowski h. Nowina (1873-03-08)8 March 1873 Słupca, Greater Poland Voivodeship, Congress Poland
Died	28 November 1940(1940-11-28) (aged 67) Warsaw, Poland
Resting place	Powązki Cemetery in Warsaw (Section 169, Row 1, Plot 4), near the Avenue of the Distinguished.
Political party	National Democracy
Other political affiliations	Liberal (1907–1930)
Spouse	Maria Nowak ​ ​ (m. 1899; died 1940)​
Children	Janina Przanowska Magdalena Staszewska
Relatives	Przanowski family
Profession	Lawyer and Politician
Nickname	The Oxe
Military service
Allegiance	Congress Poland Second Polish Republic
Branch/service
Years of service	1895–1918 1922–1940
Rank	Judge Advocate General
Battles/wars

Early life

Jan Przanowski was born on 8 March 1873, the son of Edward Przanowski (1845–1929), a participant in the January Uprising, and chief engineer of Słupca and Łęczyca, and his wife Józefa Przanowska (née Lewicka; 1851–1939). He was the brother of Stefan Przanwoski, a powerful statesman and minister who served as disputed prime minister of Poland in 1922.^[1]

In 1891, Jan Przanowski graduated from the Men's Gymnasium in Kalisz, and in 1895, he completed his studies at the Faculty of Law of the University of Warsaw.^[2][3]

Career

In 1897, he worked as an assistant to a sworn attorney.^[2] In 1898, he was appointed as a legal defender at the Commercial Court and the Justice of the Peace Court in Warsaw.^[2] In 1900, he was appointed a sworn attorney and opened a law office in Warsaw on Senatorska Street 26.^[2] That same year, together with attorney Władysław Chrzanowski, he established an illegal organization called the Circle of Young Lawyers, which began operating legally under the name Circle of Polish Lawyers in 1906.^[2] He was a member of the board, serving as deputy secretary and treasurer, and later became vice-president of the organization.^[2] Additionally, he was active in the Society for the Care of Prisoners "Patronat" and worked as a librarian for the Citizens' Resource Association in Warsaw located at Resursa Obywatelska Palace.^[2]

In 1911, he purchased the Walewice estate near Góra Kalwaria and devoted himself to agriculture. After selling Walewice, he moved to Imielenko in the Gniezno County.^[2] He likely closed his Warsaw law office in 1918. On 16 November 1920, he assumed the office of Judge Advocate General of the Polish Army

Although he was a non-believer, he became affiliated with the National Democracy movement. Between 1930 and 1935, he served as a member of parliament during the Third Term of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland, representing electoral district number 33, Gniezno County.^[2] In the Sejm, he was a member of the National Club, which was opposed to the Sanation government. He spoke several times during plenary sessions, particularly on agricultural matters.^[2]

Personal life

In 1899, he was married to Maria Przanowska (née Nowak),^[4] with whom he had two daughters:

• Janina Przanowska (born 1900),^[5][6] who worked in the Chancellery of the Polish Parliament before World War II and, after the war, in the administration of Poznań University.
• Magdalena Staszewska (1904–1978), who was married to historian Janusz Staszewski. During World War II, Magdalena was involved with the underground organization "Ojczyzna" and collaborated with Professor Zygmunt Wojciechowski in establishing the Secret University of the Western Lands in Warsaw. After the war, she worked at the Western Institute in Poznań until 1967, serving as deputy head of the Publishing Department and contributing to the editorial board of Przegląd Zachodni (Western Review).

Later life

In the 1930s, he worked at the Massalski law office in Warsaw. During the German occupation, he continued working in the office as a notarial assessor. He died in 1941 and was buried in Powązki Cemetery in Warsaw (Section 169, Row 1, Plot 4), near the Avenue of the Distinguished.

See also

• Przanowski family
• Stefan Przanowski
• Edward Przanowski

Notes

1. Also transliterated as Jan Joseph Perzanowski or Jan Józef Przanowski herbu Nowina; English pronunciation: Polish pronunciation: [ˈjan ˈjuzɛf pʂaˈnɔfski]