Tadeusz Hołówko

Tadeusz Hołówko (September 17, 1889 – August 29, 1931), codename Kirgiz, was an interwar Polish politician, diplomat and author of many articles and books.

He was most notable for his moderate stance on the "Ukrainian problem" faced by the Polish government, which due to its nationalist policies in Poland's largely Ukrainian- and Belarusian-populated eastern territories, faced increasing tensions there. Despite, or perhaps because of, being a relative moderate in policies toward the Ukrainian population, and a supporter of peaceful cooperation, he was assassinated in 1931 by two members of the radical Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists.

Born on September 17, 1889, in Semipalatinsk, Russian Empire (now Semey, Kazakhstan), Hołówko became a close collaborator of Józef Piłsudski, first in the Polish Socialist Party (PPS), later in the Polish Military Organization (POW) and finally in the pro-Sanation Nonpartisan Bloc for Cooperation with the Government (BBWR) party and the Polish government (the Ministry of Foreign Affairs). In 1918 he became a vice-minister in the first government of the Second Polish Republic led by Prime Minister Ignacy Daszyński.

One of the organizers of the POW and the BBWR, he was the BBWR's vice president and chief ideologist. From 1930 he was a deputy to the Polish parliament (Sejm); he advocated increasing the presidential and executive powers and decreasing the powers of the Sejm. He is credited by many English and Polish authors for advocating and improving relations with Poland's ethnic minorities, chiefly the Ukrainians and Belarusians. However, certain Ukrainian authors consider otherwise pointing out his opposition to granting the autonomy to Ukrainian regions and even to creation of the Ukrainian university in Galicia and to his efforts aimed at convincing the Ukrainian leaders to recall their complaints about pacification submitted to the League of Nations. Modern research however notes he was supportive of giving wide autonomy to the minorities and supported their cultural development, for example, by advocating for using Belarusian language in schools.

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