Donatas Malinauskas (; 1877 in

Krāslava Krāslava (; ltg, Kruoslova, german: Kreslau, be, Краслаўка, pl, Krasław, russian: Краслава, Креславль) is a town and the administrative centre of Krāslava Municipality, in the Latgale region of Latvia. The town lies ...

, Latvia – November 30, 1942 in Altai Krai,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

) was a Lithuanian politician and diplomat, and one of twenty signatories to the

Act of Independence of Lithuania The Act of Independence of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Nepriklausomybės Aktas) or the Act of February 16, also the Lithuanian Resolution on Independence ( lt, Lietuvos Nepriklausomybės Nutarimas), The signed document is actually titled simply '' ...

. Malinauskas was born to a Lithuanian family of nobility and educated in

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 ...

. Later he moved to study at the Agricultural Academy in Tabor, Bohemia, where he supported Czech nationalist movements among the student body. After graduation, he returned to the family estate near

Trakai Trakai (; see names section for alternative and historic names) is a historic town and lake resort in Lithuania. It lies west of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Because of its proximity to Vilnius, Trakai is a popular tourist destination. ...

and became involved with various political and charitable causes. He was part of a group known as the Twelve Apostles of Vilnius. Their objectives included a campaign to allow the use of the

Lithuanian language Lithuanian ( ) is an Eastern Baltic language belonging to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European language family. It is the official language of Lithuania and one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.8 mill ...

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

services in Lithuania, which at the time required the use of either

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

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, and the establishment of the Lithuanian Central Relief Committee. His work at this Committee led to his election to the Council of Lithuania and the signing of the Act of Independence in 1918. During the Interwar period Malinauskas served as a diplomatic envoy to

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

and

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

. He conducted a search for the remains of

Vytautas the Great Vytautas (c. 135027 October 1430), also known as Vytautas the Great ( Lithuanian: ', be, Вітаўт, ''Vitaŭt'', pl, Witold Kiejstutowicz, ''Witold Aleksander'' or ''Witold Wielki'' Ruthenian: ''Vitovt'', Latin: ''Alexander Vitoldus'', O ...

, going so far as to have a silver coffin constructed in Czechoslovakia to contain these, if and when they were found. The search focused on

Vilnius Cathedral The Cathedral Basilica of St Stanislaus and St Ladislaus of Vilnius ( lt, Vilniaus Šv. Stanislovo ir Šv. Vladislovo arkikatedra bazilika; pl, Bazylika archikatedralna św. Stanisława Biskupa i św. Władysława, historical: ''Kościół Kated ...

, which most historic sources pointed to as the most probable location. Malinauskas was deported to Russia on June 14, 1941. His remains were returned to Lithuania in 1993.

Footnotes

References

*"Malinauskas, Donatas". Encyclopedia Lituanica III: 459-460. (1970-1978). Ed. Simas Sužiedėlis. Boston, Massachusetts: Juozas Kapočius. LCC 74-114275. {{DEFAULTSORT:Malinauskas, Donatas 1877 births 1942 deaths People from Krāslava People from Dvinsky Uyezd Lithuanian diplomats Lithuanian book smugglers Members of the Council of Lithuania Lithuanian independence activists