Mykolas Krupavičius (1 October 1885,

Balbieriškis Balbieriškis is a small town in Kaunas County in central Lithuania. It is situated on the left bank of the Neman River. As of 2011, it had a population of 966. The town was established by German lumberman Hanus, who received a plot of land in th ...

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

– 4 December 1970,

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, U.S.) was a Lithuanian priest and politician. He is best known for his involvement with the land reform in the interwar Lithuania. In 1900 Krupavičius enrolled into the Veiveriai Teachers' Seminary. He showed interest in politics from early days: during the

Russian Revolution of 1905 The Russian Revolution of 1905, also known as the First Russian Revolution, was a revolution in the Russian Empire which began on 22 January 1905 and led to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy under the Russian Constitution of 1906, t ...

he was arrested twice. After graduation in 1905, he worked as a teacher in the

Łomża Governorate Łomża Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of Congress Poland of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Łomża. History In 1867 territories of the Augustów Governorate and the Płock Governorate were divided ...

and in

Papilė Papilė () is a town in Šiauliai County, Lithuania, near the river Venta. History The settlement was first mentioned in 1339, after the area was raided by the Livonian Order. Two hill-forts have been preserved since this time. After the Ch ...

. In 1908 Krupavičius began his theological studies at the Sejny Priest Seminary and continued them at the

Saint Petersburg Roman Catholic Theological Academy The Imperial Roman Catholic Theological Academy () was an institution of higher education preparing Roman Catholic theologians in the Russian Empire. The academy granted master's and doctorate degrees in theology and was designed to prepare clergy ...

. He was ordained into the priesthood in June 1914. After graduation in 1917, he worked as a chaplain at a Lithuanian school in Voronezh. At the same time he got involved with the

Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party The Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party (, LKDP) was a Christian-democratic political party in Lithuania. History Russian Empire and Republic of Lithuania A Christian Democratic movement was established in Lithuania in 1890 by a group of Ro ...

and was sentenced to death by the Bolshevik revolutionary court. Krupavičius escaped the arrest and returned to Lithuania in May 1918. He joined activities of the

Council of Lithuania In the history of Lithuania, the Council of Lithuania (; ; ), after July 11, 1918, the State Council of Lithuania () was convened at the Vilnius Conference that took place between 18 and 23 September 1917. The twenty men who composed the c ...

struggling to establish independent Lithuania. From the very beginning, he was heavily involved with the land reform. Krupavičius was elected to all

Seimas The Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania (), or simply the Seimas ( ; ), is the unicameralism, unicameral legislative body of the Lithuania, Republic of Lithuania. The Seimas constitutes the legislative branch of Government of Lithuania, govern ...

(parliament) and served as Minister of Agriculture from 1923 to 1926 in four different cabinets. After the

1926 Lithuanian coup d'état The 1926 Lithuanian coup d'état ( Lithuanian: ) was a military coup d'état in Lithuania that replaced the democratically elected government with a authoritarian regime led by Antanas Smetona. The coup took place on 17 December 1926 and wa ...

, the

Lithuanian Nationalists Union The Lithuanian Nationalist Union ( or LTS), also known as the Nationalists (), was the ruling political party in Lithuania during the authoritarian regime of President Antanas Smetona from 1926 to 1940. The party was established in 1924 but was n ...

usurped the political power and Krupavičius studied sociology, economics, and law at the Lille University and

University of Toulouse The University of Toulouse (, ) is a community of universities and establishments ( ComUE) based in Toulouse, France. Originally it was established in 1229, making it one of the earliest universities to emerge in Europe. Suppressed during the ...

for two years. Upon return in 1930 he resumed his duties as a priest and served Catholic congregations in

Garliava Garliava (), is a city in Kaunas District Municipality, Lithuania. Garliava is located south from the Centras (Kaunas), center of Kaunas and has a territory of 3,65 km2. Name Garliava is the Lithuanian language, Lithuanian name of the cit ...

, Veiveriai, and Kalvarija. During the

occupation of Lithuania by Nazi Germany The military occupation of Lithuania by Nazi Germany lasted from the German invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, to the end of the Battle of Memel on January 28, 1945. At first the Germans were welcomed as liberators from the repres ...

, Krupavičius together with

Kazys Grinius Kazys Grinius (, 17 December 1866 – 4 June 1950) was the third President of Lithuania, holding the office from 7 June 1926 to 17 December 1926. Previously, he had served as the fifth Prime Minister of Lithuania, from 19 June 1920 until his r ...

and

Jonas Pranas Aleksa Jonas Pranas Aleksa (5 December 1879 – 22 April 1955) was a Lithuanian politician, agronomist, sociologist, and economist. He was the Minister of Agriculture in the cabinets of four Prime Ministers: Kazys Grinius, Ernestas Galvanauskas, August ...

sent a letter to the German authorities protesting their attempts to colonize Lithuania. Krupavičius was arrested and deported to Germany, where he was held under house arrest in a

Carmelite The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...

monastery in

Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...

and then imprisoned in Bayreuth before being liberated by American troops in 1945. In 1945 he was elected as chairman of the

Supreme Committee for the Liberation of Lithuania The Supreme Committee for the Liberation of Lithuania or VLIK () was an organization seeking independence of Lithuania. It was established on November 25, 1943, during the Nazi occupation. After World War II it moved abroad and continued its operat ...

and served in such capacity for a decade. After the resignation he moved to the United States and largely retired from public life. Krupavičius published some 20 books on various topics in Lithuanian politics. Krupavičius died in Chicago at age 85.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krupavicius, Mykolas 1885 births 1970 deaths People from Prienai District Municipality Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party politicians Ministers of agriculture of Lithuania Members of the Seimas Lithuanian refugees in the United States 20th-century Lithuanian Roman Catholic priests Lithuanian independence activists