Voldemaras Čarneckis
Voldemaras Vytautas Čarneckis | |
|---|---|
Čarneckis in 1922 | |
| Minister of Communications | |
| In office 12 April 1919 – 19 June 1920 | |
| Prime Minister | Mykolas Sleževičius Ernestas Galvanauskas |
| Preceded by | Jonas Šimoliūnas |
| Succeeded by | Ernestas Galvanauskas |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 18 June 1924 – 25 September 1925 | |
| Prime Minister | Antanas Tumėnas Vytautas Petrulis |
| Preceded by | Ernestas Galvanauskas |
| Succeeded by | Mečislovas Reinys |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 9 January 1893 Pajiesys, Congress Poland |
| Died | 4 November 1942 (aged 49) |
| Cause of death | Execution by the NKVD |
| Party | Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party |
| Alma mater | Electrotechnical Institute of Emperor Alexander III |
| Occupation | Politician, diplomat |
Voldemaras Vytautas Čarneckis (9 January 1893 – 4 November 1942) was a Lithuanian politician and diplomat. He served as the acting minister of finance (December 1918 – March 1919), minister of communications (April 1919 – June 1920), and minister of foreign affairs (June 1924 – September 1925).
Čarneckis joined the Lithuanian cultural life as a student at the Electrotechnical Institute of Emperor Alexander III. In 1916, he was drafted to an engineering unit of the Imperial Russian Army. In December 1917, he became the commander of the Separate Lithuanian Battalion in Rivne which had about 500 men by February 1918. Čarneckis returned to Lithuania and was coopted by the Council of Lithuania in November 1918. As the minister of communications, he worked on taking control over the mail, telegram, telephone, roads, and railroads from the retreating German army. Čarneckis was elected to the Constituent Assembly of Lithuania in April 1920 and was a member of the Lithuanian delegation negotiating the Suwałki Agreement in October 1920. He resigned from the Constituent Assembly in November 1921 to pursue diplomatic career.
Čarneckis was the first Lithuanian representative to the United States (1921–1923) and briefly represented Lithuania in the United Kingdom. He became the minister of foreign affairs in June 1924. He worked on the ratification of the Klaipėda Convention, increasing cooperation among the Baltic states, responding to the Concordat of 1925 which resulted in the termination of diplomatic relations with the Holy See, and conducting negotiations with Poland which proved to be highly unpopular and forced the resignation of the cabinet in September 1925. He was then posted as the Lithuanian envoy to Italy until 1939.
Čarneckis returned to Lithuania in 1940 to work for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was arrested during the June 1941 deportation and imprisoned at Sevurallag. NKVD accused 15 Lithuanians, including Čarneckis, of organizing an armed mutiny inside the Gulag. Čarneckis was sentenced to death and executed in November 1942.