Orenchuk, Vasyl

Orenchuk, Vasyl [Оренчук, Василь; Orenčuk, Vasyl'], b 13 January 1890 in Stoianiv, Radekhiv county, Galicia, d 9 March 1958 in Munich. Businessman, journalist, and political leader. After completing his law studies at Lviv University and Vienna University (LL D, 1913) he was drafted into the Austrian army and captured in action by the Russians. In 1917 he escaped from internment and took part in the political events in Kyiv during Ukraine’s struggle for independence (1917–20). He served as assistant director of the general department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and then as Ukrainian National Republic consul in Germany (1919–22). In the interwar period he set up a successful import-export firm in Munich and devoted his free time to journalism.

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 3 (1993).]