Stefan Jędrychowski

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Stefan Jędrychowski (19 May 1910 – 26 May 1996) was a Polish communist politician, economist, and journalist. He held several top government roles, including deputy prime minister from 1951 to 1956, foreign minister from 1968 to 1971, and finance minister from 1971 to 1974.

Early life and education
Jędrychowski was born in Warsaw into a middle‑class Catholic family. His mother was of German origin, and his family owned property in Wilno (now Vilnius). He studied at Stefan Batory University in Wilno, earning a law degree, a master's in law, and a PhD in economics.

Career
He joined the radical left group Odrodzenie, then the Communist Party in 1936. In 1939 he worked as a journalist in Wilno and later became deputy editor of a Soviet‑backed daily, gaining Soviet citizenship. After Lithuania’s annexation, he served in the Soviet government and then joined the Polish Committee of National Liberation (PKWN) in 1944, acting as its representative in Moscow and as Warsaw’s delegate in France in 1945. He headed PKWN’s information and propaganda department and, from 1945 to 1947, served as minister of navigation and foreign trade in the postwar government. He later joined the Polish United Workers’ Party and became a member of its central committee.

From 1951 to 1956 he was deputy prime minister, and he also led the planning office from 1956 to 1971 as chief economic advisor. He served as foreign minister from 1968 to 1971, and then as finance minister from 1971 to 1974. Stefan Jędrychowski died in Warsaw on 26 May 1996.