He served three times as the premier of Poland, in 1920–1921, 1923 (Chjeno-Piast), and 1926. In 1926 the third Witos government was overthrown by the May coup d'état led by Józef Piłsudski. Witos had been one of the leaders of the opposition to the Sanacja-government as head of Centrolew (1929–1930) and co-founded the People's Party. Having been imprisoned shortly thereafter and for a time living in exile in Czechoslovakia from 1933, he returned to Poland in 1939 only to be imprisoned again by the invading Germans.