Jazep Jakaŭlevič Varonka (4 April 1891 – 4 June 1952) was the first Chairman of the People's Secretariat (i.e.

head of government In the Executive (government), executive branch, the head of government is the highest or the second-highest official of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presid ...

) of the

Belarusian Democratic Republic The Belarusian People's Republic (BNR; , ), also known as the Belarusian Democratic Republic, was a state proclaimed by the Council of the Belarusian Democratic Republic in its Second Constituent Charter on 9 March 1918 during World War I. The ...

from 21 February to May 1918.

Biography

Varonka was born in

Sokółka County __NOTOC__ Sokółka County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Podlaskie Voivodeship, north-eastern Poland, on the border with Belarus. It was created on 1 January 1999 as a result of the Polish local govern ...

Grodno Governorate Grodno Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Northwestern Krai of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Grodno. It encompassed in area and consisted of a population of 1,603,409 inhabitants by 1897. Gro ...

on 4 April 1891. From 1909 to 1914, Varonka studied at the

Saint Petersburg State University Saint Petersburg State University (SPBGU; ) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the Great, the university from the be ...

and published various Belarusian and Russian newspapers. In 1917, he joined the

Belarusian Socialist Assembly The Belarusian Socialist Assembly, BSA (, BSH) was a revolutionary party in the Belarusian territory of the Russian Empire. It was established in 1902 as the Belarusian Revolutionary Party, renamed in 1903.''Belarus: A Denationalized Nation'', by ...

and co-initiated the

First All-Belarusian Congress The First All-Belarusian Congress () was a congress of Belarusian political organisations and groups held in Minsk in December 1917. The congress gathered 1872 delegates from all regions of Belarus and was violently dispersed by the Bolshevik mil ...

. From 21 February to May 1918 he was the first Chairman of the People's Secretariat (i.e. Prime Minister) of the

. He was succeeded by

Jan Sierada Ivan Mikitavič Sierada ( – after 19 November 1943), better known by the pseudonyms of Jan or Janka was a Belarusian statesman, pedagogist and writer who served as the first president of the Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic. Biogr ...

. From 19 April, he was also Minister of Foreign Affairs. When Soviet Russia began its westward offensive of 1918–19 and captured Minsk, the government of the Belarusian Democratic Republic went into exile. Varonka moved to

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

, where he established contacts with the Lithuanian government, which at the outbreak of the

Lithuanian–Soviet War The Lithuanian–Soviet War or Lithuanian–Bolshevik War () was fought between newly independent Lithuania and the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic in the aftermath of World War I. It was part of the larger Soviet westward offensiv ...

evacuated to

Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

. When the Lithuanian Ministry for Belarusian Affairs was established on 9 December 1918, Varonka was appointed as the first minister. On 4 April 1919, Varonka and two other Belarusians were co-opted to the

Council of Lithuania In the history of Lithuania, the Council of Lithuania (; ; ), after July 11, 1918, the State Council of Lithuania () was convened at the Vilnius Conference that took place between 18 and 23 September 1917. The twenty men who composed the c ...

. After the elections to the

Constituent Assembly of Lithuania The Constituent Assembly of Lithuania or Constituent Seimas () was the first parliament of the independent state of Lithuania to be elected in a direct, democratic, general, secret election. The Assembly assumed its duties on 15 May 1920 and was ...

in May 1920, Varonka was replaced by more pro-Lithuanian Dominik Semashko as the minister. Varonka edited numerous Belarusian and Russian language newspapers, wrote many political and historical essays, actively participated in Belarusian cultural life. In 1923, he emigrated to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, United States and began publishing the first Belarusian newspaper in the United States, ''Beloruskaia Tribuna'' (1926). Varonka started a weekly radio program in Chicago in Belarusian and Russian in the late twenties. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he became one of the founders of the

Belarusian-American Association Belarusan-American Association (, ''Bielaruska-Amierykanskaje Zadzinočan'nje'', BAZA) is a non-profit organization of Belarusians in the United States. In the United States, the Belarusan-American Association is a member organization of the Cen ...

. He died in Chicago on 4 June 1952 and was buried at

Elmwood Cemetery (River Grove, Illinois) Elmwood Cemetery and Mausoleum is located at 2905 Thatcher Avenue, in River Grove, Illinois, United States. It features a cenotaph of comedian John Belushi, although his body is buried somewhere else. However, his mother, Agnes Belushi, is buried ...

.Знойдзеная магіла кіраўніка ўрада Беларускай Народнай Рэспублікі Язэпа Варонкі
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Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Varonka, Jazep 1891 births 1952 deaths People from Sokółka County People from Sokolsky Uyezd Prime ministers of Belarus Government ministers of Lithuania Members of the Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic Members of the Council of Lithuania Saint Petersburg State University alumni 20th-century Belarusian journalists