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Gen. Waldemar Skrzypczak, Polish Army ex-chief, former deputy defence minister, dies at 69

Ostatnia aktualizacja: 21.07.2025 22:00
Retired Polish General Waldemar Skrzypczak, former commander of the country’s land forces and a former deputy defence minister, has died at the age of 69, authorities said on Monday.
Waldemar Skrzypczak
Waldemar Skrzypczak Foto: PAP/Rafał Guz

Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz confirmed the death on social media, calling it "a great loss for his loved ones and for our military family.”

“Professionalism, dedication to the homeland, and patriotism—these are the words that come to mind when remembering General Skrzypczak,” Kosiniak-Kamysz wrote on X.

“Thank you for the thousands of soldiers you trained and led both at home and on missions abroad," he added.

Born in 1956, in the northwestern city of Szczecin, Skrzypczak was a graduate of Poland’s Armoured Forces Officer School in Poznań and the General Staff Academy in Warsaw.

He also completed a postgraduate strategic resources management programme in Monterey, California.

Skrzypczak was a key military figure during the Iraq War. He served as commander of the Multinational Division Central-South in Iraq in 2005, and went on to head the Polish Army from 2006 to 2009.

During his tenure, he increased Poland’s military presence in Afghanistan and vocally advocated for better equipment for troops—eventually resigning in 2009, citing excessive bureaucracy within the defence ministry.

From 2011 to 2013, he served as a defence adviser and later as a deputy defence minister.

Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak, who worked closely with Skrzypczak during his own previous role as defence minister, also paid tribute.

“He was a patriot and a born commander,” Siemoniak wrote on X. “He loved the military, and the soldiers loved him. Honour his memory!"

(gs)

Source: IAR, PAP