Władysław Raczkiewicz was born in
Kutaisi, the second-largest city in
Georgia, at that time part of the
Russian Empire to Polish parents Józef Raczkiewicz, a court judge, and Ludwika Łukaszewicz. He studied in
Saint Petersburg where he joined the Polish Youth Organization. After graduating from the
Faculty of Law at the
University of Dorpat he was employed as a lawyer in
Minsk. Upon the outbreak of
World War I he served in the
Russian Imperial Army, but after the
Russian Revolution he joined the vanguard for Polish independence. He was active in the
Union of Military Poles in Russia. Serving as the head of the , he helped create the
Polish I Corps in Russia. Later he served under future Marshal and chief-of-state
Józef Piłsudski, who created
the Polish Legions that ultimately aided Poland in re-establishing its independence. As a volunteer, he fought in the
Polish–Soviet War between 1919 and 1920. At first, he supported the
Endecja faction, later joined the Piłsudski-led
Sanation camp. Raczkiewicz served as the Voivode of the
Nowogródek Voivodeship from 1921 to 1924; government delegate to
Wilno Land (1924–1925) and later as the
voivodeship's voivode (1926–1931). After the
1930 Polish parliamentary election, he was appointed the
Senate Marshal (1930–1935) and Voivode of
Kraków Voivodeship in 1935, and
Pomeranian Voivodeship from 1936 to 1939. ==World War II==