Jazep Jakaŭlevič Varonka ( be, Язэп Якаўлевіч Варонка, russian: Ио́сиф Я́ковлевич Воро́нко; 4 April 1891 – 4 June 1952) was the first Chairman of the People's Secretariat (i.e.

head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, ...

) of the Belarusian Democratic Republic from 21 February to May 1918.

Biography

Varonka was born in

Sokółka County __NOTOC__ Sokółka County ( pl, powiat sokólski) 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 th ...

Grodno Governorate The Grodno Governorate, (russian: Гро́дненская губе́рнiя, translit=Grodnenskaya guberniya, pl, Gubernia grodzieńska, be, Гродзенская губерня, translit=Hrodzenskaya gubernya, lt, Gardino gubernija, u ...

on 4 April 1891. From 1909 to 1914, Varonka studied at the Saint Petersburg State University and published various Belarusian and Russian newspapers. In 1917, he joined the

Belarusian Socialist Assembly The Belarusian Socialist Assembly, BSA ( be, Беларуская сацыялістычная грамада, translit=Bielaruskaja sacyjalistyčnaja hramada, BSH) was a revolutionary party in the Belarusian territory of the Russian Empire. It wa ...

and co-initiated the

First All-Belarusian Congress The First All-Belarusian Congress ( be, Першы Ўсебеларускі кангрэс or Першая Ўсебеларуская канферэнцыя) was a congress of Belarusian political organisations and groups held in Minsk in Decembe ...

. From 21 February to May 1918 he was the first Chairman of the People's Secretariat (i.e. Prime Minister) of the Belarusian Democratic Republic. He was succeeded by Jan Sierada. 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 ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

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 ( lt, karas su bolševikais) 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 la ...

evacuated to Kaunas. When the

Lithuanian Ministry for Belarusian Affairs The Ministry for Belarusian Affairs ( lt, Lietuvos gudų reikalų ministerija) was a short-lived interwar Lithuanian ministry. It was established in December 1918 to gain support of Belarusians in international negotiations over the borders of t ...

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. After the elections to the

Constituent Assembly of Lithuania The Constituent Assembly of Lithuania ( lt, Steigiamasis 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 w ...

in May 1920, Varonka was replaced by more pro-Lithuanian

Dominik Semashko Dominik Semashko ( be, Дамінік Сямашка; 16 August 1878 – 27 November 1932) was a Belarusian activist. In 1890s, he joined the Polish Socialist Party and other socialist groups advocating workers' rights. The police forced him to ...

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 (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, 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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he became one of the founders of the Belarusian-American Association. He died in Chicago on 4 June 1952 and was buried at Elmwood Cemetery (River Grove, Illinois).Знойдзеная магіла кіраўніка ўрада Беларускай Народнай Рэспублікі Язэпа Варонкі
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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 Belarusian journalists Lithuanian emigrants to the United States Saint Petersburg State University alumni 20th-century journalists