Stanisław Kania (born March 8 1927) was a Polish communist political leader.

Kania was born in Wrocanca, near Krosno, Poland. He joined the anti-Nazi resistance at the age of 17 in 1944 and then joined the Polish Communist Party in 1945 when the Nazis were driven out and the Communists began to take control of the country. He was involved in communist youth activities and attended the Party school, graduating in 1952.

Kania rose through the ranks of the party, becoming a full member of the politburo in 1975. On September 6 1980 he was elected general secretary of the party by the central community, amidst much social and economic unrest. He admitted that the party had made many economic mistakes, and advocated working with Catholic and trade unionist opposition groups. He met with Solidarity Union leader Lech Walesa, and other critics of the party. Though Kania agreed with his predecessors that the Communist Party must maintain control of Poland, and he visited the Soviet Union, he never assured the Soviets that Poland would not have Poland pursue actions independent of the Soviet Union, so it is believed by many that the Soviet Union put pressure on the Polish government of Kania, causing it to fall. On October 18 1981, martial law was declared, and Kania lost his post as general secretary, being replaced by a government under the leadership of more conservative party leaders who supported the former policy of trying to eliminate the opposition.

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