The history of modern Ukrainian diplomacy dates from the establishment of the Ukrainian People’s Republic (UPR). After the Fourth Universal declared national independence of the Ukrainian People’s Republic on 22 January 1918, executive institutions of the Ukrainian Central Rada were transformed into a full-fledged government, which kept the name ‘General Secretariat’ initially. General Secretariat of International Affairs, a foreign policy agency, came into its own among them.

The decision to organize General Secretariat of Inter-ethnic Affairs as a component of the General Secretariat, the executive authority of Ukrainian government, was made on 22 December 1917. In historical retrospective, the General Secretariat of International Affairs, as such, is now considered a predecessor of the first Ukrainian foreign policy agency of the 20th century – the modern Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

On 22 December 1917, Volodymyr Vynnychenko, Head of the General Secretariat of the Ukrainian People’s Republic, which was proclaimed by the Third Universal of the Ukrainian Central Rada on 7 November 1917, and Oleksandr Shulgyn, Secretary-General for Inter-ethnic Affairs, signed the “Draft Law on the Establishment of the General Secretariat of International Affairs”. The draft was approved on the same day by the Government of the Ukrainian People’s Republic. The document also set duties of the General Secretariat of International Affairs, namely: conduct of international affairs of the state, protection of interests of Ukrainian citizens outside the UPR, and, provisionally, general settlement of interethnic tensions within the Ukrainian People’s Republic.

First foreign ministers

On the eve of the 90th anniversary of diplomatic service of Ukraine, we should recall the names of founders of Ukrainian diplomacy, thereby stressing that our national foreign policy had its predecessors and a history of development before the restoration of state independence of Ukraine in 1991. Thus, Oleksandr Shulgyn, a well-educated Ukrainian patriot, was the first leader of the General Secretariat of International Affairs. In 1930, he said “Ukraine, when it becomes free, should join the European Union, as far as it will exist”.

From 30 January 1918, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was headed by Chairman of the Council of People’s Ministers Vsevolod Golubovych, and from 3 March till 28 May 1918 – by Mykola Lyubynsky. At that time, Ukrainian diplomacy actually started from scratch. Nevertheless, within a short period of time, it managed to lay foundations of foreign policy and launch active efforts to establish Ukrainian embassies abroad, as well as to receive foreign embassies in Ukraine. Ukraine was becoming an independent international player.

Under the rule of hetman Skoropadsky, Mykola Vasylenko, Dmytro Doroshenko and Georgy Afanasiev served as foreign ministers from 3 May 1918 till 14 December 1918.

The Directory of the UPR on 26 December 1918 appointed Volodymyr Chehivsky, the Chairman of the Council of People’s Ministers, as the foreign minister. On 19 February 1919, this post was taken by Kostyantyn Matsievych. In the new government formed on 9 April 1919, the post of foreign minister remained vacant; later, Volodymyr Temnytsky was appointed foreign minister. From 27 August 1919, the ministry was headed by Andriy Livytsky, who was replaced by Andriy Nikovsky on 26 April 1920. That was the last government of the UPR that operated on Ukrainian land. From that point on, it became an emigrant government. The State Center of the UPR in exile maintained the idea of Ukrainian independence for 70 years, paying most attention to international affairs.

First international contacts

On the eve of the 90th anniversary of diplomatic service of Ukraine, one should recall the first steps of Ukrainian diplomacy in early 20th century and the countries with which Ukraine had diplomatic contacts at that time.

The emergence of the UPR in international politics took place when the Brest Peace Treaty was drafted and signed in 1918. Ukrainian diplomacy concluded the Treaty on quite favorable conditions. After the UPR was recognized by most signatories of the Brest Peace Treaty, the Central Rada sent first Ukrainian ambassadors to Germany, Austro-Hungary, Turkey and Romania in 1918.

During the Hetmanate, new embassies were established in Donska oblast, Poland, Finland, Switzerland, Romania, Kuban and Sweden. Kyiv received ambassadors from Azerbaijan, Georgia, Finland, Kuban and Romania.

Under the Directory rule, Ukraine had 11 full-fledged embassies abroad. There were 1st class embassies in Germany, Austria, Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria, and 2nd class embassies in Romania, Czechoslovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Finland and Georgia. There were also missions in the United Kingdom, the USA, Italy, Greece, Belgium, Denmark and Vatican. A network of consulates worked in Georgia, Romania, Germany, Switzerland and Sweden. Over thirty consulates and consular agencies worked in Russia.

First foreign diplomats arrived to Kyiv in December 1917 (the United Kingdom, France, Romania). After the Brest Peace Treaty was signed in 1918, Kyiv received ambassadors from several other countries (Germany, Austro-Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey, Finland, Poland, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania). Consuls of Germany, Austro-Hungary, Turkey, Finland, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Spain, Georgia, Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, Italy, Persia and Byelorussia operated in Kyiv and other cities of Ukraine.

Before unification with the UPR, the government of the West Ukrainian People’s Republic included a foreign minister and had diplomatic representatives in other countries. On 11 December 1918, Vasyl Paneyko was appointed the first State Secretary for Foreign Affairs. He formally occupied that post till 9 June 1919. In the absence of Mr. Paneyko, who left for Paris Peace Conference in early December 1918, his duties were performed by Prime-minister Sydir Golubovych, Longyn Tsegelsky, Mykhaylo Lozynsky, Stepan Vytvytsky. Stepan Vytvytsky was the last foreign minister of the West Ukrainian People’s Republic when its government was operating on Ukrainian land. No foreign ambassadors were accredited to the government of the West Ukrainian People’s Republic, though the republic sent its diplomatic representatives to Austria, Brazil, Vatican, Italy, Canada, Germany, the USA, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia.

Some experts, in particular historian Oleksandr Pavlyuk, think that the foreign policy was conducted in such a manner that the wish to balance among Russia and Germany, Russia and the Entente, and the attempts to establish a ‘multi-vector’ foreign policy turned out to be wrong, if not fatal, leading to the impossibility of obtaining reliable allies and friends, and complicating the development of optimal foreign policy strategy. Nevertheless, despite objective difficulties related to the hostile environment, lack of skilled personnel and experience of work, blunders and mistakes, controversies between the Ukrainian People’s Republic and the West Ukrainian People’s Republic, and political leanings, diplomacy as a component of governmental activity of the UPR within short time and under difficult circumstances managed to do a lot. The main result of its activity was telling to the world that an independent Ukrainian state exists.

Celebration of the 90th anniversary of modern diplomatic service of Ukraine

Modern diplomatic history and traditions of Ukraine owe to the decision to establish the General Secretariat of International Affairs on 22 December 1917. That day was chosen as the starting point of the modern history of development of the Ukrainian diplomatic service and established on 21 November 2005 by a Presidential Decree on the Day of Members of Diplomatic Service. The Decree marks the important role of Ukrainian diplomats in maintenance of peaceful and mutually beneficial cooperation of Ukraine with international community, ensuring national interests and security of Ukraine and protection of rights and interests of Ukrainian nationals abroad.

Though this year the Ukrainian diplomatic service will celebrate officially its professional holiday for the third time only, that day and Ukraine’s diplomatic history in general have quite a profound history of development and establishment. It’s a pity that in modern Ukraine only narrow circle of people, such as members of diplomatic corps, students, professors and experts, know about the professional holiday of diplomats.

On the eve of the 90th anniversary of modern diplomatic service of Ukraine, it is evident that the day must be turned from a narrow agency context into an event of nation-wide significance.