Born in Telšiai in Lithuania, then under the Russian Partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Narutowicz had been a professor at the Polytechnical Institute in Zurich Switzerland, since 1908, and had directed the construction of many hydroelectric plants in Western Europe. After Poland regained its independence in 1918, he became involved in the national politics of Poland, and served as the Minister of Public Works, 1920-1921, and as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1922.

President Gabriel Narutowicz with Marshal Józef Piłsudski (left), Warsaw, 1922.

On December 9 1922, he was elected by the Polish Parliament (Sejm, convened as the National Assembly of Poland), to be the First President of Poland, and was sworn in on December 11. His election, supported by the Left, Center, Peasant and Minority deputies, roused the ire of the Right-Wing deputies, particularly the National Democrats, who emphasized that the deputies who had supported Narutowicz had included Jews, and hence called the newly-elected head of state the "President of the Jews".

On December 16 1922, five days after his inauguration, while attending the opening of an art exhibit at the Zachęta Gallery in Warsaw, Narutowicz, was shot by a sympathizer of the National Democrats, an art professor and critic, Eligiusz Niewiadomski, who a month later, was executed for the murder.

Gabriel Narutowicz's brother, Lith: Stanislovas Narutavičius, was a member of the State Council of Lithuania, and his signature appears on the Lithuanian Act of Independence of February 16 1918.

[edit] See also

List of Presidents of Poland

Preceded by: Konstanty Skirmunt	Minister of Foreign Affairs 1922	Succeeded by: Aleksander Skrzyński
Preceded by: Józef Piłsudski (Head of State)	President of Poland 1922	Succeeded by: Stanisław Wojciechowski

<tr><th colspan="2">Presidents of Poland</th></tr> <tr><th>Republic of Poland</th><td>Gabriel Narutowicz •Maciej Rataj (acting) •Stanisław Wojciechowski •Maciej Rataj (acting) •Ignacy Mościcki</td></tr> <tr><th>Government in Exile</th><td>Bolesław Wieniawa-Długoszowski •Władysław Raczkiewicz •August Zaleski •Council of Three •Stanisław Ostrowski •Edward Raczyński •Kazimierz Sabbat •Ryszard Kaczorowski</td></tr> <tr><th>People's Republic of Poland</th><td>Bolesław Bierut •office superseded •Wojciech Jaruzelski</td></tr> <tr><th>Republic of Poland</th><td>Wojciech Jaruzelski •Lech Wałęsa •Aleksander Kwaśniewski •Lech Kaczyński</td></tr>

<tr><th colspan="2">Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Poland</th></tr> <tr><th>Republic of Poland</th><td>Leon Wasilewski •Ignacy Jan Paderewski •Władysław Wróblewski •Stanisław Patek •Eustachy Sapieha •Jan Dąbski •Konstanty Skirmunt •Gabriel Narutowicz •Aleksander Skrzyński •Marian Seyda •Roman Dmowski •Karol Bertoni •Maurycy Klemens Zamoyski •Aleksander Skrzyński •Kajetan Dzierżykraj-Morawski •August Zaleski •Józef Beck</td></tr> <tr><th>Polish government in Exile</th><td>August Zaleski •Edward Raczyński •Tadeusz Romer •Adam Tarnowski</td></tr> <tr><th>People's Republic of Poland</th><td>Edward Osóbka-Morawski •Wincenty Rzymowski •Zygmunt Modzelewski •Stanisław Skrzeszewski •Adam Rapacki •Stefan Jędrychowski •Stefan Olszowski •Emil Wojtaszek •Józef Czyrek •Stefan Olszowski •Marian Orzechowski •Tadeusz Olechowski</td></tr> <tr><th>Republic of Poland</th><td>Krzysztof Skubiszewski •Andrzej Olechowski •Władysław Bartoszewski •Dariusz Rosati •Bronisław Geremek •Władysław Bartoszewski •Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz •Adam Daniel Rotfeld •Stefan Meller •Anna Fotyga</td></tr>

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Persondata
NAME	Narutowicz, Gabriel
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	The first elected President of the Republic of Poland
DATE OF BIRTH	17 March 1865
PLACE OF BIRTH	Telšiai, Lithuania
DATE OF DEATH	16 December 1922
PLACE OF DEATH	Warsaw, Poland