Jan Suchorzewski

Jan Suchorzewski (1740 or 1754 – 1804 or 1809) was a Polish noble of the Zaremba coat of arms, soldier and politician. He held the title of the wojski of Wschowa. He was a deputy from Gniezno to the Sejm (parliament) of 1786 and deputy from Kalisz to the Great Sejm of 1788-1792. He would be best remembered for his dramatic, theatrical gestures from that period. Kazimierz Bartoszewicz compared Suchorzewski's look and attitude to that of Zagłoba from Henryk Sienkiewicz's famous trilogy, if more misguided. He became an opponent of the reforms, and joined the Confederation of Targowica.

Jan was born in 1740 or 1754 as the son of Jakub Suchorzewski and Jadwiga Zajączek. Around 1770 he married Joanna Przyjemska; they had three children.

During the Great Sejm Suchorzewski was at first a supporter of the Patriotic Party; in particular he supported the enlargement of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth's army. In 1789 he published a brochure on the cities and law (Basics of urban laws - Zasady praw miejskich). However, he eventually switched sides and joined the Hetman Party opposed to the reforms. Around 18 January 1791 he criticized the recently premiered The Return of the Deputy (Powrót posła) comedy of Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz for its political content; his critique was not well received and he was ridiculed for it, losing prestige. Despite his opposition of many reforms, he nonetheless played a major, if perhaps not necessarily intentional, role in the passage of the Free Royal Cities Act in April 1791, as his rather unexpected involvement in the discussion boosted the supporters of the act and eased its passing. For that, the king rewarded him with the Order of Saint Stanislaus.

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