Front of National Unity

Front of National Unity or National Unity Front (Polish: Front Jedności Narodu, FJN) was a popular front supervising elections in the Polish People's Republic which also acted as a coalition for the dominant communist Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) and its allies.[1] It was founded in 1952 as National Front (Front Narodowy) and renamed to Front of National Unity in 1956.[1] It was the heir of the Democratic Bloc (Blok Demokratyczny) which ran in the elections of 1947 before the merger between communists and socialists.

FNU election poster from mid 1970s.
This is an article about a Polish political organization. For article about a Bolivian political party, see National Unity Front.

The Front was created by and was subordinate to the PZPR.[2] Its membership included all three legal Polish political parties (the PZPR, Democratic Party, and United People's Party) and many organizations (such as trade unions).[2] During elections it had a near monopoly (varied depending on particular time) on registering candidates who had the right to participate in the elections.[1][2] As was the case with other popular fronts in the Soviet bloc, the member parties of the Front were largely subservient to the PZPR; they had to accept the PZPR's "leading role" as a condition of their existence.

In 1983 it was disbanded,[1] to be replaced by the Patriotic Movement for National Rebirth (Patriotyczny Ruch Odrodzenia Narodowego, PRON).

Leaders: Aleksander Zawadzki (1956-1964), Edward Ochab (1965-1968), Janusz Groszkowski (1971-1976), Henryk Jabłoński (1976-1983)[1]

Electoral history

Sejm elections
Election Votes % Seats +/– Position Government
1952 15,459,849 99.8%
425 / 425
 425 1st Sole legal coalition
1957 16,563,314 98.4%
459 / 459
 34 1st Sole legal coalition
1961 17,342,570 98.3%
460 / 460
 1 1st Sole legal coalition
1965 18,742,152 98.8%
460 / 460
 1st Sole legal coalition
1969 20,473,114 99.2%
460 / 460
 1st Sole legal coalition
1972 21,746,242 99.5%
460 / 460
 1st Sole legal coalition
1976 23,502,983 99.4%
460 / 460
 1st Sole legal coalition
1980 24,683,056 99.5%
460 / 460
 1st Sole legal coalition

References
  1. (in Polish) Front Jedności Narodu in WIEM Encyklopedia
  2. (in Polish) Front Jedności Narodu Archived 2011-06-07 at the Wayback Machine in Encyklopedia PWN
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