After the World War I
At the end of the World War I authorities of Germany and Austro - Hungary expressed their consent to organize Polish executive authority in the form of Council of Ministers and relative departments. By a decree of 3 January 1918 among others Ministry of Interior was founded. Initially the issues of public security were only a small fraction of the Ministry of Interior scope of competence. Public security was dealt by the police department in the administration section. The main tasks being realized by the Ministry of Interior included:

• General state management,
• Local government supervision,
• Supervision over press and any associations,
• Police issues.

Apart from the order issues the Interior department was dealing with criminal and political crime. Minister of Interior was responsible for security and public peace in the whole country.
Legal and political formation of II Republic of Poland influenced also structural changes in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The Ministry of Interior scope of competence was systematically increasing by incorporation of some ministries or taking over some domains of public administration from them.

Inter-War period (1919 - 1939)
In II Republic of Poland the Ministry of Interior was deemed to be the most important department because its activity was decisive in crucial problems concerning the functioning of state. Minister of Interior exercised administration on all Interior which were not reserved for other government ministers and was a chief of security service. The most important minister’s task was supervision over activity of security bodies subordinated to him, which included central and territorial bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, State Police, partially special police – administration police and military formations securing borders.
Organization and scope of activity of the Ministry of Interior were specified in the organizational statute on the basis of which the following departments were founded:

• organizational,
• political,
• local government,
• administration,
• health care.

However the Ministry structure lacked an adequate internal section that would concentrate all security issues and could undertake on its own particular executive activities. To this end, on 20 May 1919, Ministry of Interior issued a circular on the basis of which a department dealing exclusively with security issues was created. A change of the ministry structure introduced its division into four departments: general, administrational, public security and work as well as local government.
The Ministry of Interior structure was later many times subject to change. As a consequence four additional offices were created- military, personal, organizational and inspectional. At that time changes in the Ministry of Interior structure were characterized by latitude and did not have their justification in practice. Therefore by a regulation of 28 October 1920 Council of Ministers set general rules for organization of ministries performance. On its basis new organizational statute of the Ministry of Interior was passed on 13 January 1921. According to it, departments governed by directors became the principal internal units of the ministry.

In the same year there was a change in the organizational statute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Sections were subject to modification. There was a borders protection section created in the public security and press department dealing with issues of foreigners, passports, repatriation and deportation of persons. Associations section was liquidated.

Subsequent important organizational changes took place in 1925. Supervision over the General Headquarters of State Police, Corps for Frontier Area Protection and Central Statistical Office and Political Department was assigned to Minister of Internal Affairs. The latter department was created by combining the public and press departments. Political Department was responsible for principal tasks of the security area. It was divided into three sections: socio - political, nationalities and security, which in turn were divided into eight departments: general, security, information, subversive organizations, prevention, nationalistic Polish organizations, Ukrainian illegal movement, of professional movement and department VIII – of Bereza Kartuska (since 1934). Political Department of the Ministry of Interior represented at central level political bodies and especially political police.

Ensuring security and public peace in the area was the responsibility of – as a government representative - voivode and foreman, who was directly subordinated to voivode and was a superior of the poviat commander of state policy.
After the World War II
After the war, government in Poland was taken by communist authorities which brought about a change of political regime and constituted communist political and administration structures. Ensuring security was being dealt by the Public Security Department which was constituted by a decree of 21 July 1944 about creating the Polish Committee of National Liberation (PKWN) and its 13 departments.

Together with restructuring of PKWN into the Interim Government of the Republic of Poland, on 31 December 1944 the department’s name changed into Ministry of Public Security.

On 7 December 1954 State Council issued a decree liquidating the Ministry of Public Security, and there were two separate institutions created on its place: Ministry of Interior and Committee on Public Security Affairs at Council of Ministers. As a result of the reorganization security regime became similar to the soviet model. Ministry of Interior was constituted as an office superior in relation to Civil Police, Prison Service, Corps for Internal Security, Corps for Frontier Area Protection and Fire Brigade.
Under the act of 13 November 1956 the Ministry of Interior took over also the whole range of the Committee on Public Security Affairs responsibilities.

After 1990
Return to the tradition from before the Word War II took place just in 1990. After the collapse of communism there were changes in authority system in Poland. The superior state administration body realizing the state policy in the field of state security protection and public security and order became Minister of Interior whose Office was constituted on 6 April 1990. The Minister’s scope of activity included among others:

• state security protection:

  • protection of state principal political and economic interests,
  • preventing and revealing crimes of espionage and terrorism and prosecution of their perpetrators,
  • supervision over the State Protection Office,

• citizens security protection and public security and order protection:

  • ensuring protection against illegal attempts on human life and health, material and cultural goods of the society,
  • preservation of public order,
  • crime and criminogenic phenomena prevention,
  • supervision over the Police,
• state’s borders protection,
• supervision over Border Guard,
• fire protection,
• supervision over Border Guard,
• Interior administration,
• coordination of order protection activities in case of environmental disasters and other similar events endangering common security,
• supporting scientific and social activities, undertook in favour of counteraction against crime and criminogenic phenomena,
• general coordination of activities within state and professional confidence protection.

Moreover, Nadwiślańskie Military Units and Military Unit No. 1004 – Government Protection Office were subordinated to the Minister of Internal Affairs. Advisory and consultation in issues belonging to the Minister’s scope of competence were performed by the Political Advisory Committee, set up on 9 July 1990.

In 1996 in the framework of government’s administrational – economic centre reform, administration department was attached to the structure of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. As a consequence of organizational changes, supervision over the State Protection Office was delegated to the Chairman of the Council of Ministers. Under the Chairman of the Council of Ministers’ regulation of 24 December 1996 Ministry of Interior and Administration was created.

Up to date the persons beneath had relations with the Interior department:

• Krzysztof Kozłowski - 06.07.1990 – 12.01.1991
• Henryk Majewski - 12.01.1991- 21.12.1991
• Antoni Macierewicz - 23.12.1991 – 05.06.1992
• Andrzej Milczanowski - 05.06.1992 – 10.07.1992 Secretary of State, Head of Ministry of Internal Affairs,
  11.07.1992 – 22.12.1995 Minister of Internal Affairs
• Jerzy Konieczny - 29.12.1995 – 07.02.1996
• Zbigniew Siemiątkowski - 07.02.1996 – 01.01.1997
• Leszek Miller - 01.01.1997 – 14.11.1997
• Janusz Tomaszewski - 14.11.1997 – 03.09.1999
• Janusz Pałubicki - 03.09.1999 – 07.10.1999 Deputy Minister of Interior and Administration
• Marek Biernacki - 07.10.1999 - 19.10.2001
• Krzysztof Janik - 19.10.2001 - 21.01.2004
• Józef Oleksy - 21.01.2004 - 21.04.2004
• Jerzy Szmajdziński - 21.04.2004 - 02.05.2004 supervising the activity of Ministry of Interior and Administration
• Ryszard Kalisz - 02.05.2004 - 31.10.2005
• Ludwik Dorn - 31.10.2005 - 07.02.2007
• Janusz Kaczmarek since 08.02.2007