Leon Biliński (15 June 1846 in Zalischyky – 15 June 1923 in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

) was a Polish-Austrian statesman of the Biliński family. He had several important political functions in the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

and independent

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 ...

: He was President of Austrian State Railways (''Kaiserlich-königliche österreichische Staatsbahnen'') (1893–1895), Minister of Finance of

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 ...

(1895–97, 1909–11) and Minister of Finance of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

(1912–1915), Governor of the Austro-Hungarian Bank (1900–1909), Governor of

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

(1912−1915), Minister of Finance of the Republic of Poland (1919), president of the Supreme National Committee (1914−1917) and Governor of Galicia (1895−1897). Biliński was one of the first governors to strongly support women's intellectual and economic emancipation and their free access to

higher education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

. In 1876 he became a member of the Polish Academy of Learning. His academic and feminist efforts later bore fruit — in 1897, the first female students graduated from Lwów University. He was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta in 1923.

External links

Biliński on Austrian Commanders

References

1846 births 1923 deaths People from Zalishchyky Polish Austro-Hungarians 19th-century Polish nobility Ministers of finance of Austria Finance ministers of Austria-Hungary Ministers of finance of Poland Members of the Austrian House of Deputies (1879–1885) Members of the Austrian House of Deputies (1885–1891) Members of the Austrian House of Deputies (1891–1897) Members of the Austrian House of Deputies (1897–1900) Members of the Austrian House of Deputies (1901–1907) Members of the Austrian House of Deputies (1907–1911) Members of the Austrian House of Deputies (1911–1918) Members of the House of Lords (Austria) Members of the Diet of Galicia and Lodomeria Academic staff of the University of Lviv Commanders of the Order of Franz Joseph Polish people from the Austrian Empire {{Poland-noble-stub