Sikorski, Władysław Eugeniusz (1881–1943)

Polish general and politician; prime minister 1922–23, and 1939–43 in the Polish government in exile in London during World War II. He was killed in an aeroplane crash near Gibraltar in controversial circumstances.

Together with Józef Piłsudski he fought for the restoration of an independent Poland during World War I. As a result of his opposition to the military coup of 1926 he was denied a military appointment. Instead, he concentrated on studying military strategy and wrote a number of books based on his analysis of the French wartime experiences. In September 1939 he left Poland for Paris where, after a bitter contest with supporters of the pre-war regime, he formed a government in exile committed to close military cooperation with France and the UK. After the fall of France he moved to London. In July 1941, strongly supported by the UK prime minister Winston Churchill, he signed a controversial agreement for military cooperation with the USSR, which evoked strong opposition from within the Polish army in the UK and in the USSR. Following Sikorski's death, the Polish government in exile lost its sense of direction and its influence declined.