The directory «Plots»

Potocki Roman Ignacy Franciszek
(1750—1809)

Count Roman Ignacy Franciszek Potocki (generally known as Ignacy Potocki) was a Polish nobleman, owner of Klementowice and Olesin (near Kurów), Marshal of the Permanent Council (Rada Nieustająca) in 1778-1782, Grand Clerk of Lithuania from 1773, Court Marshal of Lithuania from 1783, Grand Marshal of Lithuania from 16 April 1791 to 1794, and a politician and writer.

Potocki was an alumnus of the Collegium Nobilium in Warsaw, Poland, and later studied theology and law in Rome. As a member (1772-1791) of Poland's Commission of National Education (Komisja Edukacji Narodowej)– the world's first ministry of education – he presided over the Society for Elementary Textbooks (Towarzystwo do Ksiąg Elementarnych).

De facto head of the "Familia" and at first an opponent of King Stanisław II August, during the Four-Year Sejm (1788-1792) Potocki backed the King and was a leader of the Patriotic Party and the reform movement. An advocate of a pro-Prussian orientation, he helped conclude an alliance (March 29, 1790) with Prussia. He co-authored the Constitution of May 3, 1791.

Following the victory of the Targowica Confederation and the abrogation of the May 3rd Constitution, Potocki emigrated from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealh. He co-authored a work with Hugo Kołłątaj, On the Adoption and Fall of the Polish May 3 Constitution (O ustanowieniu i upadku Konstytucji Polskiej 3-go Maja, 1793).

Potocki participated in preparations for the Kościuszko Uprising of 1794, in which he served as a member of the Supreme National Council (Rada Najwyższa Narodowa). Upon suppression of the Uprising, he was imprisoned by the Tsarist Russian authorities.

Released in 1796, Potocki settled in Galicia (southern Poland) and devoted himself to historical studies.

Poland, 1991, Constitution of 3 May 1791