Jakub Kumoch, ambassador to China, and Paweł Soloch, ambassador to Romania, have resigned from their posts over the crisis surrounding the Constitutional Tribunal (TK). Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said on Saturday, 31 October, that they had been pressured into doing so by staff at the Chancellery of the President.
Kumoch announced his decision on X on Friday, 30 October, in the evening. He wrote that, „in light of events in the country,” he had concluded that continuing as ambassador was no longer possible, and that he had submitted his resignation and requested his dismissal.
On Saturday morning he added that he had finished his work in China, thanked his team, and wrote that the embassy was operating without changes and that upcoming visits were being prepared.
Soloch: „an attempt to take over the TK”
Paweł Soloch, former head of the National Security Bureau (BBN), announced his resignation on Saturday. As PAP reported in its story for „Rzeczpospolita”, he wrote on X that, „in connection with the fact of an attempt to unlawfully take over the TK,” he saw no possibility of continuing in his role. He informed Sikorski and President Karol Nawrocki of his decision. He has been ambassador in Bucharest since 2023, and earlier, in 2015–2022, headed the National Security Bureau.
Marcin Przydacz, head of the International Policy Bureau at the Chancellery of the President, wrote that this was another ambassador resigning „in protest against the lawlessness of D. Tusk.”
Sikorski: calls from the Palace
According to a report in „Rzeczpospolita”, the foreign minister called the conduct of both diplomats unprofessional. He said that people close to the president had called both the ambassadors who resigned and individuals considering applying in the competition for ambassadorial posts.
Sikorski also said that similar pressure had occurred earlier, in connection with the planned conference of the foreign service, at which candidates for further posts are to be selected. According to him, some people are being persuaded to withdraw their candidacies. He called this a scandal. He stressed that the head of the foreign ministry is responsible for the foreign service, answers to the Sejm, and in certain situations also to the prosecutor’s office. He named officers and judges as other areas he said the Palace was encroaching on.
As of publication, the Chancellery of the President had not publicly responded to the allegation about calls to diplomats. Przydacz commented only on Soloch’s resignation.
Background: the TK crisis and the ambassador dispute
The crisis at the Tribunal has been ongoing since Friday evening. At that time, the activities of TK President Bogdan Święczkowski and Vice-President Bartłomiej Sochański were suspended, and Prosecutor General Waldemar Żurek moved to lift their immunities. Nawrocki cut short a visit to Senegal and returned to the country.
The dispute over filling diplomatic posts has been going on for a long time. At the end of October we wrote about how the president referred Sikorski to Tusk over the ambassadors: Nawrocki said he would not renegotiate with the foreign minister again, but was ready to talk with the prime minister.
What it means
Poland currently has no ambassadors in Beijing and Bucharest. The embassies are operating, but under the leadership of officials standing in for the heads of mission. Appointing successors requires the president’s consent, and his relations with the foreign ministry are in dispute. Neither the foreign ministry nor the Chancellery of the President has given a timeline for naming successors.
