Diet, provincial

Home About IEU

User Info Index Search Contact Address

Search ADV Text Title

Diet, provincial

<<< print >>>

Diet, provincial (kraiovyi soim). Unicameral legislative body

of an autonomous crown land in Austria-Hungary.
Provincial diets were established in Lviv, Galicia and
Chernivtsi, Bukovyna in 1861. Their legislative power was
restricted to certain specified areas such as the provincial
administration, budget, cultural affairs, public and vocational
education, local economic affairs, social security, and health.
The laws passed by the diets had to be approved by the
emperor. The powers that were not mentioned in the
provincial constitutions were reserved for the central parliament in Vienna.

Members of the Galician and Bukovynian diets were elected for six years according to the
curial electoral system. In Galicia the curiae of the large landowners, of the chambers of
commerce and manufacture, and of the cities chose their representatives by direct vote, while
the curia of rural communities elected merely electors, who then decided which candidates
would sit in the diet. Ukrainians voted only in the rural curia, but even here the indirect
voting system and election abuses by the Poles deprived the Ukrainian population of its fair
representation in the Galician Diet. The first Galician Diet (1861–7) had the largest number of
Ukrainian deputies (49 or about one-third of the diet), but the number soon fell drastically to
about 10 members and rose only in the last diet (1913–14) to 30 members. Although the rural
curia had the largest number of representatives in the diet, it did not have an absolute
majority. Counting the representatives of all four curiae, the Poles were always assured of a
majority in the Galician Diet. They were led by deputies of the landowning nobility, who
were hostile to Ukrainian interests. Besides elected members, the provincial diets also had
non-elective, ex officio members, such as archbishops, bishops, and university rectors. The
marshal and vice-marshal of the diet were appointed by the crown. The vice-marshal of the
Galician Diet was usually a Ukrainian—most often the metropolitan of Lviv. The official
language of the Galician Diet was Polish, but Ukrainian members had the right to make oral
and written representations in Ukrainian. In Bukovyna the official language was German.

The executive (kraiovyi vydil) of the provincial diet consisted of the marshal and six diet

http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CD%5CI%5CDietprovincial.htm[2/18/2018 11:50:51 AM]

Diet, provincial

members (including one Ukrainian), who were elected to serve for six years by the diet. The
executive implemented the decisions of the diet, drafted legislative proposals, oversaw the
activities of the lower agencies of self-government, and ruled on issues that fell within the
jurisdiction of community and county councils. The provincial budget was approved
annually by the diet.

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 1 (1984).]

List of related links from Encyclopedia of Ukraine pointing to Diet, provincial entry:

1 Autonomy
2 Bukovynian Diet
3 Co-operative movement
4 Crown land
5 Galician Diet

6 History of Ukraine
7 Ivanytsky, Teodor
8 Levytsky, Kost
9 Provincial diets
10 Russophiles

11 Sapieha
12 Secondary education
13 Ustyianovych, Mykola

A referral to this page is found in 13 entries.

Click Home to get to the IEU Home page; to contact the IEU editors click Contact.

To learn more about IEU click About IEU and to view the list of donors and to become an IEU
supporter click Donors.
 

 
Home | Contact | About IEU | Donors

©2001 All Rights Reserved. Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies.
 

http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CD%5CI%5CDietprovincial.htm[2/18/2018 11:50:51 AM]