National School of Public Administration (Poland)

The National School of Public Administration (Polish: Krajowa Szkoła Administracji Publicznej, abbreviated as KSAP) was established in 1990 by the Tadeusz Mazowiecki government. An inspiration for its founders was the French École nationale d’administration. The aim of the school is to train civil servants for the public administration of the Republic of Poland. The school is located in Warsaw. Training at the school lasts from 18 to 20 months. The programme is focused on the following learning paths: law and administration; economics and public finance; the European Union and foreign policy; management and soft skills development. Students do two internships in Poland and one abroad (usually in the European Union country).

History
The National School of Public Administration was established on 30 May 1990 by a resolution of the Polish Council of Ministers. As in the École nationale d’administration, every students’ year chooses their respective name and is called a "promotion". In September 2017, the twenty-ninth promotion began its training at the school. Since 2014 there have been 30–40 students finishing their education at the school each year. Most graduates work in Polish ministries.

A founder and long-time director of the school was lawyer Prof. Maria Gintowt-Jankowicz. From 2012 to 2016, Jan Pastwa, a former Ambassador of Poland to the Czech Republic and KSAP graduate, was KSAP director. Current Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland Jacek Czaputowicz was director of the school from 2008 to 2012.

The school was the first establishment of its kind in a former Communist country. KSAP cooperates with public administration schools in other countries, providing partners in Ukraine, Afghanistan, or Myanmar ) with training and workshops.

Alumni
There have been over 1100 graduates of KSAP so far. The best-known alumnus of the School is Elżbieta Bieńkowska, the European Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, who formerly served as Minister for Infrastructure and Development of Poland, as well as Deputy Prime Minister in the Donald Tusk cabinet.

Other alumni are Mariusz Błaszczak, a current Minister of Defence, Władysław Stasiak, a former Minister of Interior and Administration in Jarosław Kaczyński Cabinet, Robert Kupiecki, a former Deputy Minister of National Defence and former Polish ambassador in the United States, Waldemar Dubaniowski, a former member of the National Broadcasting Council, a former secretary of state and a Polish ambassador in Thailand.

There exists an alumni association: the Association of KSAP Graduates (Stowarzyszenie Absolwentów KSAP).