Founder of the Hramada who, as prime minister of the Belarusian People’s Republic, sought its recognition at the Paris Peace Conference
Born into an impoverished noble family in Šiauliai in 1884, he founded the Belarusian Revolutionary Hramada (later the Belarusian Socialist Hramada) with his brother Ivan and others in 1903. In Vilnius he brought out the first Belarusian newspapers, Nasha Niva among them, and under German occupation in 1915 he led the clandestine Belarusian People’s Committee. As president of the Belarusian Council of Vilnius he took part in the declaration of independence in 1918, and in October he became prime minister and then foreign minister. In 1919 he led the delegation to the Paris Peace Conference and negotiated a union with Poland, but with no result he resigned in February 1920. He devoted himself to publishing and education in Western Belarus until the Soviet authorities arrested him in 1939, and he died in 1942 while being transferred to a prison camp.
Also known as: Anton Luckievich · Anton Łuckievič · Anton Lutskevich · Antoni Łuckiewicz · Antonas Luckevičius
Activities and affiliations
Career Timeline
- 1903Co-founder of the Belarusian Revolutionary Hramada
- 1915Head of the clandestine Belarusian People’s Committee in Vilnius
- 1918President of the Belarusian Council of Vilnius
- 1918–1920Prime minister and foreign minister of the Belarusian People’s Republic
- 1921President of the Belarusian National Committee in Vilnius
- 1921–1939Director of the Belarusian Museum in Vilnius