Aurel Onciul (29 February 1864 – 30 September 1921) was a

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

pro-Austrian political leader in the

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...

Bukovina Bukovina or ; ; ; ; , ; see also other languages. is a historical region at the crossroads of Central and Eastern Europe. It is located on the northern slopes of the central Eastern Carpathians and the adjoining plains, today divided betwe ...

, prior to its union with the

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania () was a constitutional monarchy that existed from with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King of Romania, King Carol I of Romania, Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian royal family), until 1947 wit ...

. He was born in Vicovu de Sus, now in

Suceava County Suceava County () is a county (') of Romania. Most of its territory lies in the southern part of the Historical regions of Romania, historical region of Bukovina, while the remainder forms part of Western Moldavia proper. The county seat and the ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, and graduated with a law degree from the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

. At the end of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he advocated a division of the province of Bukovina along ethnic lines, into a

n-controlled southern Bukovina, and a Ukrainian-controlled northern Bukovina. The borders envisioned by Onciul and his Ukrainian counterparts correspond roughly to the present Romanian–Ukrainian borders in

. He collaborated with

Iancu Flondor Iancu Flondor (3 August 1865 – 19 October 1924) was a Romanian politician who advocated Bukovina's Union of Bukovina with Romania, union with the Kingdom of Romania. He was born in the town of Storozhynets () in Northern Bukovina (now in Ukrai ...

, a

boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Bulgaria, Kievan Rus' (and later Russia), Moldavia and Wallachia (and later Romania), Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. C ...

Storozhynets Storozhynets (, ; ; see below for other names) is a small city located in Chernivtsi Raion, Chernivtsi Oblast of western Ukraine, north of the border with Romania. It hosts the administration of Storozhynets urban hromada, one of the hromadas ...

(the other famous politician in

), and tried to appeal to a

social-democratic Social democracy is a social, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achieving social equality. In modern practice, socia ...

oriented segment of rural population,

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

, and

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

s, as leader of the Democratic Peasants' Party. Accused of machiavellianism, Onciul failed to attract the support of

intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and Human self-reflection, reflection about the nature of reality, especially the nature of society and proposed solutions for its normative problems. Coming from the wor ...

s, who were more concerned with the

national National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

question at the time, after the failure of the ''

Ausgleich The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 (, ) established the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary, which was a military and diplomatic alliance of two sovereign states. The Compromise only partially re-established the former pre-1848 sovereign ...

'' in 1909. Furthermore, in the Romanian parts of Bukovina, he failed to win popular support as he often sided with Ruthenian demands over lands in northern Bukovina. As the Austrian governor surrendered power to Onciul in 1918, he and the Ukrainians proceeded to divide the former province between themselves much as Onciul had previously envisioned.Sîiulescu (2007), p.143

Paul Robert Magocsi Paul Robert Magocsi (; born January 26, 1945) is an American professor of history, political science, and Chair of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Toronto. He has been with the university since 1980 and became a Fellow of the Royal Societ ...

, ''A History of Ukraine: The Land and Its Peoples'',

University of Toronto Press The University of Toronto Press is a Canadian university press. Although it was founded in 1901, the press did not actually publish any books until 1911. The press originally printed only examination books and the university calendar. Its first s ...

, Toronto, 2010, p.553. His rival

, leader of the ''National Party'', denounced Onciul's intentions and proceeded to demand the intervention of

, putting an end to the agreement by Onciul and the Ukrainians regarding Bukovina. With Romanian troops securing the region, Flondor called on a

General Congress of Bukovina The General Congress of Bukovina () was a self-proclaimed representative body created in the aftermath of the Romanian military intervention in Bukovina, which proclaimed the union of the region with the Kingdom of Romania in 1918. On 28 Novemb ...

, where members of various ethnicities, except Ruthenian, decided on an unconditional union with the

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Onciul, Aurel 1864 births 1921 deaths People from Suceava County People from the Duchy of Bukovina Ethnic Romanian politicians in Bukovina Members of the Diet of Bukovina University of Vienna alumni Politicians from Austria-Hungary