General Inspector of the Armed Forces


General Inspector of the Armed Forces was an office created in the Second Polish Republic in 1926, after the May Coup.
The General Inspector reported directly to the President, and was not responsible to the Sejm or the government. In the event of war, the General Inspector was to become the Commander-in-chief of the Polish Armed Forces.
Following the German invasion of Poland in 1939 and the post-war establishment of the Polish People's Republic, the position was retained by the Polish government-in-exile until 1980.

List of General Inspectors

† denotes people who died in office.

[Second Polish Republic]

Rydz-Śmigły went into exile on 18 September 1939, during the German invasion of Poland. Afterwards, all General Inspectors were in exile.

[Polish government-in-exile]

Duch died on 9 October 1980. Afterwards, in place of the GISZ, a Military Council was created, led by gen. bryg. Klemens Rudnicki.