This article is a part of Poland Unpacked. Weekly intelligence for decision-makers
In only 41 cases are Polish diplomatic missions headed by full ambassadors; in as many as 54, they are led by chargés d’affaires ad interim. These are the tangible consequences of the dispute between President Karol Nawrocki and Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski over personnel and the direction of Poland’s foreign policy. Diplomats admit that the conflict is harming Poland’s international interests.
This is one of the few issues on which both the presidential palace and the Prime Minister’s Office speak with one voice: the ambassadorial dispute weakens Poland’s position on the international stage. Where they diverge is in assigning responsibility for it.
A new chapter in the ambassadorial dispute
“For three months, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ compromise proposal on ambassadors has been on the table,” said Marcin Bosacki, Deputy Foreign Minister, on Polsat News on the last day of 2025.
Earlier, Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski told Wyborcza daily that President Karol Nawrocki’s desk holds several dozen requests to recall diplomats who have left their posts, as well as around 40 proposals for ambassadorial appointments.
“Unfortunately, he hasn’t signed a single one – not even for candidates approved by PiS (Law and Justice – the party supporting Mr. Nawrocki’s presidential bid – ed.) members in the Foreign Affairs Committee,” Mr. Sikorski noted.
Paweł Szefernaker, Head of the President’s Cabinet, responded in another TV program on December 31:
“I have the sense that both the deputy ministers and the minister very often conduct all these exchanges… at the media level. That does not help resolve these matters or serve Poland’s foreign policy… These issues shouldn’t be handled through the media,” Mr. Szefernaker said.
He added that “once the dust settles – also from everything happening in the media around these matters – the President will certainly meet with Minister Sikorski.”
We’ve heard these tunes before
This announcement could have been taken at face value – if we hadn’t already heard it, yet again. August 2025, in an interview with Polsat News during his first week in office, President Karol Nawrocki said:
“I am fairly well informed about the international situation, and I think we will discuss issues such as Polish ambassadors with Minister Radosław Sikorski. This is the scope of responsibilities that interests me, because there are concrete presidential prerogatives involved.”
September 2025, Radosław Sikorski on Fakty po Faktach political conversation:
“We agreed on a procedure to reach a possible accord. Let’s hope that happens. The less these staffing matters appear in the media, the easier it will be for us to come to an agreement,” said Mr. Sikorski, the head of Polish diplomacy.
Three days later, at the end of September 2025, Karol Nawrocki on Radio Zet:
“In October, there will be a meeting where we will discuss our expectations regarding how to address the situation in Polish diplomacy. I believe this will take place in the first half of October, because this matter must be dealt with. I also remind you that this ambassadorial crisis, triggered by the government during President Andrzej Duda’s term, has been ongoing since March 2024… I found this situation as it is, and I will certainly defend the president’s prerogatives in appointing ambassadors,” President Nawrocki said.
The ambassadorial dispute deepens
According to the latest Ministry of Foreign Affairs data, Poland has 95 embassies. Two of them are in Beirut, where, in addition to the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in the Lebanese Republic, the embassy to the Syrian Arab Republic also maintains a temporary seat. Only 41 of these missions are headed by full ambassadors, while as many as 54 are led by chargés d’affaires ad interim.
Since President Karol Nawrocki took office in August 2025, the crisis between the presidency and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs over ambassadors has deepened. In June 2024 – according to Demagog, a fact-checking portal – 73 Polish diplomatic missions were headed by ambassadors. Eighteen months later, that number has fallen to just 41.
In addition, Ministry of Foreign Affairs data show that Poland has eight permanent missions to international organizations. Six of these are headed by ambassadors, while in two cases the post is held by a chargé d’affaires ad interim.
The ambassadorial dispute: A consequence of cohabitation
A chargé d’affaires ad interim is a temporary head of a diplomatic mission who assumes responsibilities in the absence of an ambassador. Why are so many of them currently leading Polish missions? The answer lies in domestic political conflict.
On one hand, under the constitution, the president appoints and recalls representatives of the Republic of Poland to other countries and international organizations. On the other hand, according to the Foreign Service Act, the president does so at the request of the foreign minister. Ambassadors, in turn, are professionally subordinate to the minister.
As early as 2010, Dr. Adrian Chojan, a political commentator, noted that “this situation inherently generates disputes between individual institutions regarding the creation, implementation, and evaluation of Polish foreign policy.”
The dispute between the presidential palace and the ministry over ambassadors is not new; it also arose during previous cohabiting governments with presidents from a different political camp. Yet never before has it reached such a scale.
“In the hierarchy of respected partners, we’ve dropped significantly”
Does the fact that many of our embassies are headed by chargés d’affaires ad interim rather than full ambassadors have a tangible impact on advancing Poland’s interests internationally?
“Does it matter? It depends. In a small country without a developed sense of self-respect and a taste for formalities – it matters little. In London or Washington – it matters a great deal,” said one diplomat who requested anonymity.
Experts point out that in the world of diplomacy, where appearances carry enormous weight, the reputational impact of Poland’s ambassadorial dispute is disastrous.
“In the hierarchy of respected partners, we’ve dropped significantly. To be taken seriously, you need to have order at home,” said one interviewee.
The only ones benefiting from our ambassadorial quarrels are our competitors.
“Nothing delights in these games more than seeing another country humiliated in the eyes of its partners,” said a Polish diplomat.
Key Takeaways
- “Does it matter? It depends. In a small country without a developed sense of self-respect and formalism - it matters little. In London or Washington—it matters greatly,” said one diplomat. In his view, Poland has fallen in the hierarchy of respected partners.
- President Karol Nawrocki and Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski agree that the ambassadorial dispute harms Poland’s interests. Yet the presidential palace and the ministry continue to blame each other for the current situation.
- Since President Nawrocki assumed office, the crisis between the presidency and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs over ambassadors has deepened. In June 2024, 73 ambassadors headed Polish diplomatic missions. Eighteen months later, that number has fallen to just 41. Today, 54 missions are led by chargés d’affaires ad interim.