KrakowInformer.com

Krakow Local Government

Krakow is the capital of the Wojewodztwo Malopolskie (Province of Lesser Poland), one of the 16 provinces Poland was divided into in 1999. The provinces are divided into “powiaty” (counties, singular: “powiat”) and “gminy” (commons, singular “gmina”), but when it comes to bigger cities, like Krakow, the common and county governments are blended into one, and the city's government (also the county government) is composed of a mayor (or president, the Polish “prezydent”) and a city council (“rada miasta”). Krakow is sub-divided into 18 districts, each having their own government with rather limited prerogatives.

Krakow's Mayor

The mayor of Krakow is – as the rest of the Polish mayors – elected in a popular ballot for a 4-year-term. This type of election was introduced in 2002. The first election was won by Jacek Majchrowski, a lawyer and professor of the Jagiellonian University. Although Majchrowski was running for his second term as a formally independent candidate, he has been generally associated with the Polish left wing.

Krakow City Council

The Krakow City Council is a 43-person body elected in a popular ballot for a 4-year term. The 2006 election to the Krakow government was won by the centrist Platforma Obywatelska (Civic Platform) with 22 seats in the Krakow City Council, and the right wing Prawo i Sprawiedliwość (Law and Justice) took a close second place with 19 seats. The remaining 2 seats were taken by independent candidates.

Contact the Krakow Government

The Krakow City Council and the President have their offices on Plac Wszystkich Swietych 3-4 (with 31-004 Krakow being the zip code for postal contact). The City Council's phone number is +48-12-6161404, while the Krakow president's office can be reached either at +48-12-6161398 or via e-mail at jacek.majchrowski@um.krakow.pl.