Mirosław Różański, a Polish senator and a former top army commander, has died aged 63 after a serious illness. Różański commanded Poland's General Command of the Armed Forces from 2015 to 2017 and was one of the country's most prominent military figures before entering politics. He had spoken publicly in recent months of his blood cancer diagnosis. Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said Różański had devoted his professional life to Poland's security. "General, thank you for your service, conversations and our shared concern for Poland," Kosiniak-Kamysz wrote on X. Senate Speaker Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska described Różański as "a brave and honest man who served Poland" and offered condolences to his family. From Iraq to politics Różański entered parliament in 2023 as a senator for the centrist Third Way alliance and chaired the Senate's national defense committee. He later left the Third Way parliamentary group and helped form the New Poland-Centre Senate group. His political career followed more than three decades in the Polish armed forces. He commanded mechanized and armored units and served in Iraq, where Polish forces were part of the US-led coalition, before taking senior posts at the Defense Ministry. Former parliamentary speaker Szymon Hołownia, who worked with Różański from his first political campaign, said the general had been a commander "under whom soldiers wanted to serve, knowing that he would always be fair to them". "A few months ago our political paths diverged, but that is irrelevant compared with much more important things," Hołownia wrote. Blood cancer Różański had spoken publicly in recent months about his battle with myeloma, a blood cancer. In a June interview, he said the diagnosis had changed his perception of his own mortality. "I thought I was practically immortal. Illnesses did not affect me, I never paid attention to them. When the diagnosis came, it shook my world," he said. He also argued that public figures should speak openly about illness while remaining active in professional life.
