Sejmik

A sejmik (Polish pronunciation: [ˈsɛjmʲik], diminutive of sejm, occasionally translated as a dietine; Lithuanian:seimelis) was the name of various local parliaments throughout the history of Poland. The first sejmiks were regional assemblies in the Kingdom of Poland, though they gained significantly more influence in the later era of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Sejmiks arose around the late 14th and early 15th centuries and existed until the end of the Commonwealth in 1795, following the partitions of the Commonwealth. In a limited form, some sejmiks existed in partitioned Poland, and later, in the Second Polish Republic. In modern Poland, since 1999, the term has been revived with the voivodeship sejmik (sejmik województwa), referring to the elected council of each of the 16 voivodeships.