11 Facts About Aleksander Wielopolski

Margrave Aleksander Ignacy Jan-Kanty Wielopolski was a Polish aristocrat, owner of large estates, and the 13th lord of the manor of Pinczow.

In 1861, Aleksander Wielopolski was appointed president of the commissions of public worship and justice and subsequently president of the council of state.

Aleksander Wielopolski was conservative, pro-Russian, a proponent of regaining Poland's pre-1830 autonomy, and a champion of the emancipation of Jews.

Aleksander Wielopolski undertook educational reforms, increasing the number of Polish-language schools and establishing in Warsaw the "Main School".

Aleksander Wielopolski enacted reforms of the banking system, and a form of conservative land reform.

Aleksander Wielopolski felt that the Russian Empire's difficult internal and international situation would force the Tsarist administration to make certain concessions to the Polish nobility.

Aleksander Wielopolski knew that the Poles' fervent desire for independence was coming to a head, something he wanted to avoid at all costs.

Aleksander Wielopolski initially carried out arrests and closed civic organizations in Warsaw.

That decision is what provoked the January Uprising of 1863, that is, the very outcome Aleksander Wielopolski wished to avoid.

Aleksander Wielopolski died 14 years later, on 30 December 1877 in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, German Empire.

Aleksander Wielopolski's body was brought to his native Poland.