Bohdan Dmytrovych Hawrylyshyn (, 19 October 1926 – 24 October 2016) was a Canadian, Swiss and Ukrainian economist, thinker, benefactor and advisor to governments and large companies worldwide. He was a full member of the

Club of Rome The Club of Rome is a nonprofit, informal organization of intellectuals and business leaders whose goal is a critical discussion of pressing list of global issues, global issues. The Club of Rome was founded in 1968 at Accademia dei Lincei in R ...

,Full members — the Club of Rome
a long-time director of Switzerland's International Management Institute (now

International Institute for Management Development International Institute for Management Development (IMD) is an independent academic institute with campuses in Lausanne, Switzerland and Singapore. IMD is known for its executive education and its proximity to business. In 2024, it named David B ...

),Club of Rome Member Speaks at Lviv Business School
– Ukrainian Catholic Education Foundation a founder of the European Management Forum in Davos (now

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

), a fellow and member of the Board of the

World Academy of Art and Science The World Academy of Art and Science (WAAS), founded in 1960, is an international non-governmental scientific organization and global network of more than 800 scientists, artists, and scholars in more than 90 countries. It serves as a forum for s ...

. Hawrylyshyn also was a consultant of

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

Unilever Unilever PLC () is a British multinational consumer packaged goods company headquartered in London, England. It was founded on 2 September 1929 following the merger of Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie with British soap maker Lever B ...

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...

and advisor to several countries. After Ukraine declared independence in 1991, he was an advisor to several

Ukrainian prime minister The prime minister of Ukraine (, , ) is the head of government of Ukraine. The prime minister presides over the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which is the highest body of the executive branch of the Ukrainian government. Following the 1991 D ...

s, and to most chairmen of the Ukrainian

Verkhovna Rada The Verkhovna Rada ( ; VR), officially the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, is the unicameralism, unicameral parliament of Ukraine. It consists of 450 Deputy (legislator), deputies presided over by a speaker. The Verkhovna Rada meets in the Verkhovn ...

. Hawrylyshyn was awarded five honorary doctorates, a gold medal from the President of the Italian Republic, and two medals from presidents of Ukraine. From 1988 he worked mainly in Ukraine, and created the International Management Institute which he chaired. He also chaired the International Centre for Political Studies, initiated the creation of a number of student organizations, acted as an advisor to the first

President of Ukraine The president of Ukraine (, ) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, conducts negotiations and concludes international treaties. ...

Leonid Kravchuk Leonid Makarovych Kravchuk (, ; 10 January 1934 – 10 May 2022) was a Ukrainian politician and the first president of Ukraine, serving from 5 December 1991 until 19 July 1994. In 1992, he signed the Lisbon Protocol, undertaking to give up Ukrai ...

, (and also advised) four successive chairmen of Parliament and three prime ministers. At the end of his life, Hawrylyshyn focused on youth organizations through the Bohdan Hawrylyshyn Charitable Foundation. Hawrylyshyn was also an active member of the

Lisovi Chorty ''Kurin are fraternities within the Ukrainian Plast Scouting organization. Lisovi Chorty Lisovi Chorty () - 3rd ''Kurin’'' (fraternity) for ''Starshi Plastuny'' (Rover Scouts) and Senior Scouts in Plast - National Scouting Organization of U ...

fraternity within the

Plast The Plast National Scout Organization of Ukraine (), commonly called Ukrainian Plast or simply , is the largest Scouting organization in Ukraine. History First Era: 1911–1920 Plast was founded in Lviv (Lwów, Lemberg), Austro-Hungarian Ga ...

Ukrainian

Scouting Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

Organization. From 2006 to 2008, Hawrylyshyn was the Headman of Plast. In 1980 his report to the

was published: * Bohdan Hawrylyshyn, (1980) ''Road Maps to the Future — Towards more effective societies'', Elmsford, New York: Pergamon Press.Road Maps to the Future — the Club of Rome
* Bohdan Hawrylyshyn, (2016) ''Identity in a Globalized World'', Old Lion Publishing House.

Biography

Bohdan Hawrylysyn was born in

Koropets Koropets (; ) is a Populated places in Ukraine#Rural settlements, rural settlement in Chortkiv Raion, Ternopil Oblast, western Ukraine. Koropets was first founded in 1421, and it acquired the status of an urban-type settlement in 1984. Koropets ho ...

village,

Ternopil Oblast Ternopil Oblast (), also referred to as Ternopilshchyna () or Ternopillia (), is an Oblasts of Ukraine, oblast (province) of Ukraine. Its Capital (political), administrative center is Ternopil, through which flows the Seret (river), Seret, a tribu ...

where he spent most of his childhood on his father's farm. During World War II, he was captured by the Nazis in 1944 and displaced to Germany. After the war, he spent almost two years in a displaced person's camp, and afterwards moved to Canada as a lumberjack. While working at various jobs, Hawrylyshyn was admitted to the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

. His admission received media coverage and public disruption, as he was the first refugee to get admitted to a university in Canada. In 1952 he graduated with a BA and an MA in 1954 in engineering at the

. From 1954 to 1960 Hawrylysyn worked as an engineer, researcher and manager at various enterprises in Canada. Hawrylysyn died on 24 October 2016 at the age of 90 in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

, Ukraine.Renowned Ukrainian economist and philanthropist Bohdan Hawrylyshyn dies aged 90

Ukraine Today Ukraine News Today was a Ukraine-based private English language satellite television channel and webcasting service. The channel, which was owned by the Ukrainian 1+1 group and headquartered in Kyiv, presented round-the-clock news bulletins aim ...

(24 October 2016)

Professional career

In 1960, Hawrylyshyn started his career in the educational sphere. For eight years he had been supervising training programs at IMI Geneva (now

), teaching economics, global business environment, international operations management and public administration. In 1968, Hawrylyshyn became the Director of the institute and remained its head for eighteen years. During his tenure at the Institute, Hawrylyshyn brought up a great number of top professionals for hundreds of companies all over the world. At the same time, Hawrylyshyn carried out research work and fruitful public activities. In 1972 he was elected to the

, in 1973 – to the International Management Academy, in 1975 – the

. In 1976, Hawrylyshyn was awarded Doctorate of Economics of

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public university, public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by French theologian John Calvin as a Theology, theological seminary. It rema ...

, Honorary Doctorate of Law of

University of York The University of York (abbreviated as or ''York'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public Collegiate university, collegiate research university in York, England. Established in 1963, the university has expanded to more than thir ...

(Canada) in 1984 and University of Alberta (Canada) in 1986. Later, Doctor Hawrylyshyn received an award of the Engineering Hall of Distinction of

(Canada). Hawrylyshyn was a high-profile expert on issues of public administration and international business and cross-cultural relations, and was a contributor, moderator and chairperson at international conferences and seminars in over 70 countries. Published papers of the scientist include more than 100 articles in management, managerial education, economic and political environment. He was the author of two books; one of thes
“Road Maps to the Future - Towards More Effective Societies”
won international recognition and has been published in nine languages.

Contribution to the development of Ukraine

From 1988, Hawrylyshyn committed his activity to Ukraine. He initiated the establishment of the International Management Institute (MIM-Kyiv) by the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and IMI-Geneva; it was the first institution in the former USSR which provided MBA program training. In 1989, with Dr. Hawrylyshyn's active participation and organizational assistance, an international charity "Vidrodzhennya" fund was set up in Kyiv; the institution is financed by

George Soros George Soros (born György Schwartz; August 12, 1930) is an American investor and philanthropist. , he has a net worth of US$7.2 billion, Note that this site is updated daily. having donated more than $32 billion to the Open Society Foundat ...

. From the beginning of the fund activity to 1998, Hawrylyshyn was the head of the Supervisory Board of this public organization, the purpose of which is to develop the foundation of civil society in cultural, educational, scientific and social spheres. In 1991, Dr. Hawrylyshyn created and became the head of the Council of Advisors to the Presidium of the Ukrainian Parliament that worked for seven years, was a member of the American-Ukrainian advisory board, an advisor to the first president of Ukraine, four chairmen of the

and three prime-ministers. Until his death, he was a board member of the

, the head of the National Organization of Scouts of Ukraine, a member of the executive committee of the Swiss International Policy Forum, the head of Supervisory Board of MIM-Kyiv. He also facilitated the establishment of the International Centre for Policy Studies and remained the head of its Supervisory Board up to 2006. In Ukraine, the fruitful activities of Dr. Hawrylyshyn are highly appreciated by a broad community of education, science and state officials. He was elected a foreign member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and was awarded an Order of Merit. He is a merited scientist of Ukraine, was an advisor to the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, and held honorary doctorates from Ternopil Economic Academy, Stefanyk University in

Ivano-Frankivsk Ivano-Frankivsk (, ), formerly Stanyslaviv, Stanislav and Stanisławów, is a city in western Ukraine. It serves as the administrative centre of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast as well as Ivano-Frankivsk Raion within the oblast. Ivano-Frankivsk also host ...

and Fedkovych University in

Chernivtsi Chernivtsi (, ; , ;, , see also #Names, other names) is a city in southwestern Ukraine on the upper course of the Prut River. Formerly the capital of the historic region of Bukovina, which is now divided between Romania and Ukraine, Chernivt ...

Charitable work

In 2010, Dr. Hawrylyshyn founded Bogdan Hawrylyshyn Charitable Foundation, the main purpose of which is to encourage and promote new generations of professional, patriotic Ukrainians who care about common values and goods, who are proactive in the social and political life of the country and who can cooperate with each other. Dr. Hawrylyshyn believed that these young Ukrainians would form a critical mass of people capable of transforming Ukraine. The endowment of the Foundation consists of private funds and Hawrylyshyn himself. The key program of the Foundation is called Young Generation Will Change Ukraine and is created in the form of an international study-trip. According to it the selected groups of young people choose one of the effective European countries, i.e.

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, Germany,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, study their experience, make a short study trip to the country in question, then select "components" for political, economic, social "architecture" for the future Ukraine and use that knowledge in their political or civil careers for transformation of Ukraine. The results of the studies will be presented in mass media and at different events and also will be submitted to the legislative process including drafting and amending national laws. The groups usually focus their research work on different issues, including the parliamentary system, social policy of the country, environmental policy, gender policy, mass media, and the role young people play in the government of the country and in the public sector.

Distinctions

* Antonovych prize (1991) * Gold Medal of the President of the Italian Republic (1975) * Engineering Hall of Fame, University of Toronto, Canada (1988) * Medal of Merit of the President of Ukraine (1996) * Medal by the President of Ukraine "Yaroslav the Wise", 1st Category (2005) * Medal of Saint Nicholas by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Kyiv Patriarchy (2016) * Medal of Liberty by the President of Ukraine (2016)

Honorary Degrees of Doctor of Laws

* York University, Toronto, Canada (1984) * University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada (1986) * Ternopil Academy of National Economy, Ukraine (1995) * University of V. Stefanyk, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine (1998) * University of Y. Fedkovych, Chernivtsi, Ukraine (2000) *

Borys Grinchenko Kyiv University Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University () is a higher education institution. The university was established by Kyiv municipal council through reorganization of Kyiv regional Teachers Training Institute named after Borys Hrinchenko. The ...

(2012) * Diplomatic Academy of Ukraine (2014)