On Monday 20 May, in the courtyard in front of the G building in the Sejm complex, a solemn assembly was held on the occasion of the Marshal's Guard holiday. It was attended by the officers of the SM, but also by the State Protection Service, the Hungarian Parliament guards, the representative orchestra of the Polish Army and the parade drill team of the Representative Battalion of the Polish Army. The officers were ceremoniously greeted by members of the Presidium of both Houses of Parliament: Speaker of the Sejm Marek Kuchciński, Vice-Marshals of the Sejm Ryszard Terlecki and Barbara Dolniak, Vice-Marshal of the Senate Professor Michał Seweryński and Head of the Chancellery of the Sejm Agnieszka Kaczmarska together with her deputies.
The ceremony began at noon with the raising of the national flag and the national anthem. In his inaugural speech the Speaker of the Sejm referred to the rich traditions of the Marshal's Guard, dating back to the First Republic of Poland and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. - The Marshal Guard is the youngest uniformed formation in Poland, but the bravest army in spirit. Traditions of the Marshal's Guard date back to the First Republic of Poland and the times of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, when the soldiers subordinated to the Marshal ensured order and security to the king and parliamentarians around the place where the Sejm was sitting. The soldiers of the Marshal Guard were appointed from among the Hungarian military flags and wore the uniforms of the then Hungarian infantry - said Marek Kuchciński.
The Prime Minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, also addressed his words in the form of a letter to the participants of the ceremony. Referring to several centuries of tradition, the Prime Minister drew attention to the evolution of the role and tasks of the Marshal Guard. "Today, by virtue of an act of the Sejm, it is a uniformed and armed formation whose task is to protect the Sejm and the Senate," the Prime Minister wrote.
An important part of the assembly was the appointment to the rank of inspector of the Acting Chief of the Marshal Guard Wojciech Lesnik. The Act of Appointment was handed by the Speaker of the Sejm. Afterwards, the decision of the President Andrzej Duda to appoint to the first officer rank was read out. Acts of appointment for 10 officers were handed by the Speaker of the Sejm. Agnieszka Kaczmarska, the Head of the Chancellery of the Sejm, handed over the appointment acts for the first officer rank to over a dozen officers.
The appeal was preceded by the ceremonial signing of a letter of intent between the Marshal Guard, represented by Inspector Wojciech Lesnik, and the Hungarian Parliamentary Guard, represented by General László Tóth, concerning mutual cooperation. In the morning a solemn Holy Mass for the intention of the Marshal Guard officers was celebrated at St. Alexander Church at Plac Trzech Krzyży.
The ceremony was complemented by a drill show performed by the Representative Battalion of the Polish Armed Forces accompanied by the Representative Orchestra of the Polish Armed Forces. The ceremony was also attended by families and loved ones of the Marshal's Guard officers.
Today's ceremony was associated with the entry into force in 2018 of the provisions of the law, establishing the Marshal Guard as a uniformed service. Among the new tasks of the Guard were: conducting pyrotechnical and radiological reconnaissance of persons, vehicles, areas and facilities of the Sejm and the Senate. The guards are subordinate to the Speaker of the Sejm and at the same time they are an organizational unit of the Chancellery of the Sejm. The law establishes a holiday for the Marshal Guard on May 20.
CIS
fot. Lukasz Blasikiewicz
