Polish United Workers Party

The Polish United Workers' Party (PUWP; in Polish, Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza, PZPR), was the governing political party in communist-ruled Poland from its creation (through a fusion of the communist Polish Workers' Party[?] and the left wing of the Polish Socialist Party[?]) in December 1948 until the regime's electoral defeat in 1989.

In January 1990 the party reconstituted itself as the Social Democracy of the Republic of Poland[?] (Socjaldemokracja Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, SdRP), since April 1999 the principal constituent of the Alliance of the Democratic Left[?] (Sojusz Lewicy Demokratycznej, SLD).

The PUWP's principal leaders were:

• Bolesław Bierut (1948 - 1956)
• Edward Ochab (03. 1956 - 10. 1956)
• Władysław Gomułka (1956 - 1970)
• Edward Gierek (1970 - 1980)
• Stanisław Kania (1980 - 1981)
• Wojciech Jaruzelski (1981 - 1989)
• Mieczysław Rakowski (1989 - 1990)

For SLD website (in Polish), see http://www.sld.org.pl