Stepan Porfyrovych Vytvytskyi or Dr. Stepan Wytwycky ( uk, Степан Порфирович Витвицький) (13 March 1884 near Stanislawow — 9 October 1965 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

) was a

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * Som ...

politician, diplomat, and journalist. He was the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...

of the Ukrainian People's Republic in exile (1954-1965).

Biography

Stepan Vytvytskyi was born on 13 March 1884, in the village of Uhornyky, next to the city of Stanislawow,

Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria,, ; pl, Królestwo Galicji i Lodomerii, ; uk, Королівство Галичини та Володимирії, Korolivstvo Halychyny ta Volodymyrii; la, Rēgnum Galiciae et Lodomeriae also known as ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

(now

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...

). He studied at the law faculties of the

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukra ...

and

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Universities. During his years as a student, Vytvytskyi was the head of ''Academic Hromada'' in

and the organization ''Sich'' in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. In 1910, he began his practice as a lawyer in

Drohobych Drohobych ( uk, Дрого́бич, ; pl, Drohobycz; yi, דראָהאָביטש;) is a city of regional significance in Lviv Oblast, Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Drohobych Raion and hosts the administration of Drohobych urban h ...

. In 1914, he entered the Legion of Ukrainian Sich Riflemen military organization. From 1915-1918, he was a member of the editorial board of the newspaper ''Dila'', and an editor on the ''Svoboda'' newspaper, both being based in Lviv. While being a member of the Ukrainian National-Democratical Party (''UNDP'') in October 1918, he was elected as a secretary of the ''Ukrainian National Rada'' of the

West Ukrainian People's Republic The West Ukrainian People's Republic (WUPR) or West Ukrainian National Republic (WUNR), known for part of its existence as the Western Oblast of the Ukrainian People's Republic, was a short-lived polity that controlled most of Eastern Galic ...

(''ZUNR''). He was a member of the

Ukrainian People's Republic The Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR), or Ukrainian National Republic (UNR), was a country in Eastern Europe that existed between 1917 and 1920. It was declared following the February Revolution in Russia by the First Universal. In March 1 ...

(''UPR'')

Tsentralna Rada The Central Council of Ukraine ( uk, Українська Центральна Рада, ) (also called the Tsentralna Rada or the Central Rada) was the All-Ukrainian council (soviet) that united deputies of soldiers, workers, and peasants deputie ...

and the governmental secretary of foreign affairs of the UPR. As a secretary of the Ukrainian National Rada, he was a member of the delegation of the ZUNR at the ''Worker's Congress of Ukraine'' in

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

, and a delegation member of the act of merging the ZUNR and UPR on January 22, 1919. Since October 1919, he was the

speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

of the diplomatic missions of the Directory of Ukraine in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is official ...

. For some time, Vytvytskyi headed the secretary of foreign affairs in the government of ZUNR in exile in Vienna. In 1921−1923, he headed the ZUNR mission in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

and

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, persuading the governments of these countries (''

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

'') to recognize the occupation of the eastern territory of

Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

, and help with the re-establishment of its independence. In 1924, he continued his lawyer practice in Drohobych. From 1935−1939, he was elected to the

Polish Sejm The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of th ...

from the Drohobycz district. With the occupation of Galicia by

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

in 1939, he left Drohobych and emigrated to the west. In 1945, he was elected as the co-speaker of the ''Central Ukrainian Emigration Commission'' in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. After the death of

Andriy Livytskyi Andriy Mykolaiovych Livytskyi ( uk, Андрій Миколайович Лівицький; April 9, 1879, in Lyplyavo, the Russian Empire (now Cherkasy Oblast, Ukraine) – January 17, 1954) was a Ukrainian politician, diplomat, statesman, and la ...

in 1954, Stepan Vytvytskyi was elected as the president of the Ukrainian People's Republic in exile. He died in

on October 9, 1965, and was buried at the cemetery of Bound Brook,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...

External links

ukrainianpresident.org.ua
- Biography of Stepan Vytvytskyi
Svoboda

The Ukrainian Weekly ''The Ukrainian Weekly'' is the oldest English-language newspaper of the Ukrainian diaspora in the United States, and North America. Founded by the Ukrainian National Association, and published continuously since October 6, 1933, archived copi ...

. December 2, 1961. {{DEFAULTSORT:Vytvytskyi, Stepan 1884 births 1965 deaths Politicians from Ivano-Frankivsk People from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria Ukrainian Austro-Hungarians Ukrainian National Democratic Alliance politicians West Ukrainian People's Republic people Presidents of the Ukrainian People's Republic Foreign ministers of Ukraine Members of the Sejm of the Second Polish Republic (1935–1938) Members of the Sejm of the Second Polish Republic (1938–1939) Diplomats from Ivano-Frankivsk Austro-Hungarian emigrants to the United States Writers from Ivano-Frankivsk