predecessor successor death_date birth_date order term_start spouse image article_title term_end name
bolesław bierut aleksander zawadzki władysław gomułka marian spychalski 1 may 1989 -lrb- aged 82 -rrb- 16 august 1906 first chairman of the polish council of state secretary of the polish united workers ' party 20 march 1956 12 august 1964 rachela -rrb- '' née '' silbiger -lrb- 1907 -- 96 edward ochab -lrb- 1 -rrb- . jpg edward ochab
 21 october 1956 10 april 1968 edward ochab
edward ochab

edward ochab -lrb- ; 1906 -- 89 -rrb- was a polish communist social activist and politician .
as a member of the communist party of poland from 1929 , he was repeatedly imprisoned for his activities under the polish regime of the time .
in 1939 ochab participated in the defense of warsaw but afterwards moved to the soviet union , where he became an early organizer and manager in the union of polish patriots .
in 1943 he joined general berling 's polish army on the eastern front as a political officer and quickly advanced in its ranks .
from 1944 he was a member of the central committee of the polish workers ' party -lrb- ppr -rrb- and a deputy in the state national council .
in 1945 he became minister of public administration and held the successive positions of propaganda chief in the ppr -lrb- 1945 -- 46 -rrb- , chief of cooperative associations -lrb- 1947 -- 48 -rrb- , and chief of the central trade unions -lrb- crzz -rrb- -lrb- 1948 -- 49 -rrb- .
from december 1948 he was a deputy member of the -lrb- communist -rrb- polish united workers ' party -lrb- pzpr -rrb- politburo , and a full member from 1954 .
during 1949 -- 50 , general ochab was deputy minister of defense and led the political branch of the armed forces .
in stalinist poland ochab was well-connected and highly placed within the regime of bolesław bierut .
after bierut 's death he became first secretary of the party and served in that capacity between 20 march and 21 october 1956 .
during ochab 's rule the process of the post-stalinist `` thaw '' was well under way , but the first secretary also played a role in authorizing the violent suppression of the worker revolt in poznań in june .
in october ochab stood his ground against the soviet leadership and is credited with helping to prevent a soviet military intervention .
he relinquished power during the viii plenum of the party central committee , complying with the wishes of the majority of the politburo members to promote władysław gomułka .
ochab remained a member of the politburo until 1968 and also worked as minister of agriculture from 1957 to 1959 , and later as the secretary of the central committee for agricultural affairs .
ochab was deputy chairman of the polish council of state -lrb- a collective head of state organ -rrb- in 1961 -- 64 .
he served as chairman of the council of state in 1964 -- 68 .
in 1965 -- 68 he also chaired the front of national unity .
edward ochab resigned all of his party and state offices , and withdrew from politics in 1968 , in protest of the anti-semitic campaign conducted by factions within the communist party and allowed by first secretary gomułka .
in his retirement he remained a dedicated hardline communist , but also a vocal critic of the policies pursued by the regimes of his successors .
