Chevalier Leon de Biliński (15 June 1846 in Zalischyky, Galicia, 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 inv ...

– 14 June 1923 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 ...

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

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

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

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

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

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 ...

(1912-1915), Governor of the

Austro-Hungarian Bank The Austro-Hungarian Bank (german: Oesterreichisch-ungarische Bank, hu, Osztrák–Magyar Bank, cs, Rakousko-uherská banka, pl, Bank Austriacko-Węgierski, hr, Austro-Ugarska banka) was the central bank of the Habsburg Monarchy in the 19th a ...

(1900-1909), Governor of

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

(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 strongly supported women's intellectual and economic emancipation and their free access to

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after comple ...

. 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 The University of Lviv ( uk, Львівський університет, Lvivskyi universytet; pl, Uniwersytet Lwowski; german: Universität Lemberg, briefly known as the ''Theresianum'' in the early 19th century), presently the Ivan Franko Na ...

. 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 People from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria Polish Austro-Hungarians 19th-century Polish nobility Finance Ministers of Austria Finance ministers of Austria-Hungary Finance Ministers 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 {{Poland-noble-stub