President Duda renamed Grand Master of highest Polish orders

Upon becoming re-elected as Polish president, Andrzej Duda officially assumed the leadership of the orders of the White Eagle and of Polonia Restituta in a ceremony held at the Royal Castle in Warsaw on Thursday.

The event was attended by top state officials, including Speakers of the Sejm (lower house) and Senate (upper house) Elżbieta Witek and Tomasz Grodzki, respectively, as well as by representatives of the government.

Due to the act on orders and decorations, upon becoming elected the President of Poland, the office-holder is automatically awarded the Order of the White Eagle and becomes the Grand Master of the Order Chapter, and chairs the Chapter of the Order. He also becomes a 1st class Recipient of the Order of Polonia Restituta and chairs the Chapter as the Grand Master of the Order. Five years ago, Duda's investiture ceremony was combined with his decoration with both orders.

"I experience this celebration today, maybe even more than five years ago. Maybe because it was all so stunning, and today every word that is spoken reaches me with full awareness," Duda said at the Thursday ceremony.

He also noted that both of these orders are "symbols of a free Poland, these orders are symbols of a strong Poland." "The Order of the White Eagle has the specificity that when Poland was not free, it was not awarded. It returned with the reborn Polish state and independence," Duda said.

He added that the Order of the White Eagle is "the history of over 300 years of Poland, and next year we will celebrate the centenary of the establishment of the Order of Polonia Restituta, of a free, sovereign, independent Republic."

The Order of the White Eagle is Poland's highest distinction, established in 1705, and given for outstanding civilian and military service for the country. It has been bestowed on the most outstanding Poles and foreigners.

The Polonia Restituta order was established in 1921 and is bestowed in recognition of outstanding service for the state and society.