Assassination of Gabriel Narutowicz

Date: December 16, 1922 • Location: Warsaw, Poland

Gabriel Narutowicz (pictured), the first president of Poland, was assassinated only five days after having taken office.

Gabriel Józef Narutowicz was a Polish engineer and politician who served as the first president of Poland from 11 December 1922 until his assassination five days after assuming office. He previously served as the minister of public works from 1920 to 1922 and briefly as the minister of foreign affairs in 1922. A non-partisan and an engineer by profession, Narutowicz was the first elected head of state following Poland's regained sovereignty from partitioning powers.