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The Senate (Senat) is the upper house of the Polish
parliament. It consists of 100 senators elected in universal ballot.
The Senate can be traced back to a council of royal advisors. In the First Republic, the Senate was the upper chamber of the Diet, and
consisted of members of the royal cabinet and the royal court, voivods, prefects and
castellans (all appointed by the king), as well as Catholic bishops.
In the Second Republic, senators
were elected in universal ballot. After a referendum organized in 1946 by the Communist
regime, the Senate was abolished. It was only re-established after the fall of Communism in 1989.
The term of office is as long as that of the Diet, i.e. four years. The Senate may reject or amend the bills passed by the
Diet but the Senate's decisions may be still turned down by an absolute majority vote in the Diet. A joint session of the Senate
and the Diet is known as National
Assembly.
Traditionally, the Senate takes particular care of the so-called Polonia,
or Polish communities outside Poland.
See also: Sejm (Diet), Politics of Poland
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