The Polish Peasant Party (Polish: Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe) is a political party in Poland. The party's name traces its tradition to an agrarian political party in Austro-Hungarian controlled Galicia, which has sent MPs to the parliament in Vienna.
After Poland regained independence, the party merged with agrarian groups from territories previously occupied by Imperial Russia and formed the first PSL led by Wincenty Witos, which was one of the most important political parties in the Second Polish Republic, until it was removed by the Sanacja. During World War II, PSL took part in forming the Polish government in exile and organising. After the war the leader of PSL, Stanislaw Mikolajczyk, returned to Soviet occupied Poland, hoping to recreate the party structures and create anti-communist opposition. To prevent that from happening the communists formed a puppet PSL-Piast and, after forging an important referendum, forced the real PSL to unite with it, forming Zjednoczone Stronnictowo Ludowe , a satellite of the communist party.
In 1989 this party took part in forming the first postwar noncommunist government in Poland along with Solidarity and in 1990 it changed its name to PSL. Later however it has repeatedly entered coalition with the postcommunist Sojusz Lewicy Demokratycznej.