In addition, the president has a limited right to dissolve parliament, can veto legislation, represents Poland in the international arena, and is ceremonially the commander-in-chief.

In 1926 Piłsudski staged the "May Coup", overthrew President Stanisław Wojciechowski and had the National Assembly elect a new one, Ignacy Mościcki, thus establishing the "Sanation regime".

In Angers, France, Władysław Raczkiewicz, at the time the speaker of the Senate, assumed the presidency after Mościcki's resignation on 29 September 1939.

Bolesław Bierut assumed the reins of government and in July 1945 was internationally recognised as the head of state.

[6] Following the 1989 amendments to the constitution which restored the presidency,[7] general Wojciech Jaruzelski, the existing head of state, took office.

The topic of creation the presidency role as a single-person position was meant to safeguard slow, gentle political change to keep the interests of the ruling party.

In return for a constitutionally defined presidency with various competences, the ruling party agreed to relinquish its position as managing organ within the state.

[8] The Small constitution of October 17, 1992 created a parliamentarisation of the political system and while the presidency remained in the active model, it was deprived of far-reaching governing powers.

In recent years, newly elected presidents have renounced formal ties with their political party before taking office.

The position of the presidency has an arbiter function (while not directly mentioned, unlike France or Romania), with the president playing a major role in the political system, assisted by a set of legal instruments with which they can exert influence on the organs of state authority and the political system.

The president also makes decisions on award of highest academic titles, as well as state distinctions and orders.

On 10 April 2010, Lech Kaczyński, president at the time, along with Ryszard Kaczorowski, the last president-in-exile although not internationally recognised, died in the crash of a Polish Air Force Tu-154 en route to Russia.