Oleksander Yakovych Shulhyn ( uk, Олександр Шульгин; russian: Александр Шульгин; french: Alexandre Choulguine) was a prominent political, public, scientific and cultural figure of Ukraine and the Ukrainian government in exile better known under his French transcription Alexandre Choulguine.
Shulhyn played a key role in establishing the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine ( uk, Міністерство закордонних справ України) is the ministry of the Ukrainian government that oversees the foreign relations of Ukraine. The head of the ministry is the ...
. He was a member of the
Shevchenko Scientific Society
The Shevchenko Scientific Society () is a Ukrainian scientific society devoted to the promotion of scholarly research and publication that was founded in 1873.
Unlike the government-funded National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the society ...
, a professor of the
Ukrainian Free University
The Ukrainian Free University ( ua, Український Вільний Університет, german: Ukrainische Freie Universität, la, Universitas Libera Ukrainensis) is a private graduate university located in Munich, Germany.
History
...
in
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
, a member of the Ukrainian delegation at the
Paris Peace Conference, 1919
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...
and a representative of Ukrainians in
International Refugee Organization
The International Refugee Organization (IRO) was an intergovernmental organization founded on 20 April 1946 to deal with the massive refugee problem created by World War II. A Preparatory Commission began operations fourteen months previously. ...
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 opposin ...
. During the
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 opposin ...
(1939–40 and 1945–46) Shulhyn acted as a head of Ukrainian government in exile.
Biography
Shulhyn was born in the village of Sofyne (Katsapshchyna), Khorol county in
Government of Poltava (today Andriivka rural council of
Khorol Raion
Khorol Raion ( uk, Хорольський район) was a raion (district) in Poltava Oblast in central Ukraine. The raion's administrative center was the town of Khorol. The raion was abolished and its territory was merged into Lubny Raion o ...
) in the family of a historian and pedagogue
Yakiv Shulhyn
Yakiv is a given name. Notable people with the name include:
*Yakiv Barabash (died 1658), Zaporozhian Cossack Otaman (1657–58) who opposed Hetman Ivan Vyhovsky
*Yakiv Hodorozha (born 1993), Ukrainian former competitive figure skater
*Yakiv Holo ...
whose heritage is traced to the Cossack officers (starshina). He is related to
Vasily Shulgin
Vasily Vitalyevich Shulgin (russian: Васи́лий Вита́льевич Шульги́н; 13 January 1878 – 15 February 1976) was a Russian conservative monarchist, politician and member of the White movement.
Young years
Shulgin was bo ...
. Brother of Oleksander, Volodymyr perished at the
Battle of Kruty
The Battle of Kruty ( uk, Бій під Крутами, ) took place on January 29 or 30, 1918 , near Kruty railway station (today the village of Pamiatne, Nizhyn Raion, Chernihiv Oblast), about northeast of Kyiv, Ukraine, which at the time ...
. Shulhyn initially enrolled at the mathematics-physics department of the
Saint Petersburg State University
Saint Petersburg State University (SPBU; russian: Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the G ...
in 1908. In 1910 he transferred to the department of history and philosophy from which Shulhyn graduated in 1915. Later until 1917, he worked at the department as a professor's assistant.
While in
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, Shulhyn joined the Petersburg community of
TUP, later switching to the Ukrainian Democratic-Radical Party (later Ukrainian Party of Socialist Federalists). In Petrograd he was a delegate of the Ukrainian National Council at the
Petrograd Soviet
The Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies (russian: Петроградский совет рабочих и солдатских депутатов, ''Petrogradskiy soviet rabochikh i soldatskikh deputatov'') was a city council of P ...
. During the
February Revolution
The February Revolution ( rus, Февра́льская револю́ция, r=Fevral'skaya revolyutsiya, p=fʲɪvˈralʲskəjə rʲɪvɐˈlʲutsɨjə), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and somet ...
Shulhyn arrived to
Kiev
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 ...
joining the
Central Council of Ukraine
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 later its executive committee. From July 1917 through January 30, 1918 he served as a secretary of Inter-ethnic (later Foreign) Affairs. During the time participated in the writing of the Statute of the Higher Administration of Ukraine, and organization of the Congress of peoples of Russia that took place in September 1917 in Kiev.
From July 1918, Shulhyn played a less active role in the government serving for several diplomatic missions of Ukraine in Europe when he was appointed the
Ambassador of Ukraine to Bulgaria by the government of the
Hetman of Ukraine
Hetman of Ukraine ( uk, Гетьман України) is a former historic government office and political institution of Ukraine that is equivalent to a head of state or a monarch.
Brief history
As a head of state the position was establi ...
. In 1919 Shulhyn became a member of the Ukrainian delegation to the Paris Peace Conference, and on November 15, 1920, he headed the Ukrainian delegation at the General Assembly of
League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
in
Geneva
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
.
General information on the General Assembly
/ref> From 1921 Shulhyn headed the Extraordinary diplomatic mission of Ukraine in Paris.
From 1923 to 1927 Shulhyn lived in Paris and was a professor of the Ukrainian Free University
The Ukrainian Free University ( ua, Український Вільний Університет, german: Ukrainische Freie Universität, la, Universitas Libera Ukrainensis) is a private graduate university located in Munich, Germany.
History
...
and the Ukrainian Higher Pedagogical University of Drahomanov, both in Prague, where he taught history and philosophy. In Prague he revived the Radical-Democratic Party, becoming the head of its Prague committee. In 1926 Shulhyn was appointed the minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine in exile, once again leading the Ukrainian foreign policy until 1936. In 1933–38 he headed one of the League of Nations' international unions. Also, from 1929 to 1939 Shulhyn chaired the Main Emigration Council, served as a chief editor of the Paris bi-monthly magazine ''La Revue de Prométhée'' (1938–1940) and the Paris weekly magazine ''Tryzub'' (1940). During the German occupation of France
The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...
Shulhyn was jailed in 1940–41.
After World War II in 1946 Shulhyn created the Ukrainian Academic Society in Paris, serving as its chairman until 1960. Also from 1952 to 1960, he was initiator and vice-president of the International Free Academy in Paris, which united the exiled scientists. In 1948–52 Shulhyn represented Ukrainians
Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian. The majority ...
in the International Refugee Organization
The International Refugee Organization (IRO) was an intergovernmental organization founded on 20 April 1946 to deal with the massive refugee problem created by World War II. A Preparatory Commission began operations fourteen months previously. ...
, later until 1960 cooperated with the French organization for protection of refugees and stateless at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France
The Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs () is the ministry of the Government of France that handles France's foreign relations. Since 1855, its headquarters have been located at 37 Quai d'Orsay, close to the National Assembly. The term Qu ...
.
References
External links
*
Biography at the Ukrainian Center
Biography of Shulhyn
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shulhyn, Oleksander
1889 births
1960 deaths
People from Poltava Oblast
People from Poltava Governorate
Ukrainian refugees
Members of the Shevchenko Scientific Society
Ukrainian politicians before 1991
Foreign ministers of Ukraine
Prime ministers of the Ukrainian People's Republic
Ambassadors of Ukraine to Bulgaria
Ukrainian Democratic Party (1904) politicians
20th-century Ukrainian politicians
Members of the Ukrainian government in exile