TORONTO – Prominent Ukrainian political activist Omelan Kowal died on January 19 in Lviv.
The Ukrainian World Congress noted: “The passing of Omelan Kowal is a painful loss not only for his family, but for several generations of Ukrainians who remember Omelan Kowal as an undefeatable warrior in the struggle for an independent Ukrainian state, and since 1991 – for its consolidation, and also for his tireless efforts in building a strong Ukrainian community worldwide.”
Since 1938, Mr. Kowal was a member of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), one of the organizers of the Proclamation of the June 30, 1941, Act of the Restoration of the Ukrainian State in the oblast of Ivano-Frankivsk, and a prisoner of Nazi concentration camps.
The name of Mr. Kowal is closely connected with the UWC, beginning with the first congress of what was then known as the World Congress of Free Ukrainians in 1967 in New York, during which he was elected to the world body’s Presidium as deputy treasurer. From that time forward, Mr. Kowal was repeatedly elected to the Presidium and the Secretariat; in 1971-1972 he held the position of treasurer. Mr. Kowal actively participated in many UWC congresses, including most recently in 2013, and UWC annual general meetings.
Mr. Kowal also initiated and contributed to the development of the Coordinating Branch of Ukrainian Central Community Organizations (now called the European Congress of Ukrainians) as a member of the Presidium from 1950, and its president during the years 1990-1995.
He dedicated several decades of his life to the development of the Ukrainian Youth Association: originally as one of its founders and leaders in Belgium, and later in 1958-1978 as president of the Ukrainian Youth Association World Executive.
In Belgium, Mr. Kowal also dedicated significant time to the development of the Ukrainian Аid Committee in which he held the posts of president and secretary general, and managed the organization’s publications. Among his notable accomplishments are the acquirement of the Educational-Recreational Ukrainian Youth Center in Ardennes and a Center for the Ukrainian Aid Committee in Brussels.
With the re-establishment of the independence of Ukraine, Mr. Kowal integrated himself into the community and political life of the country, particularly with the establishment of the Congress of Ukrainian Nationalists and popularization of the educational concept authored by Prof. Hryhoriy Waschenko. He obtained Ukrainian citizenship and returned to live in Ukraine.
For his service to the Ukrainian people and Ukraine, Mr. Kowal received numerous awards, including the Order of Merit, III degree; the Order of Freedom, an honorary medal depicting St. George from the City of Lviv; the Order of St. Volodymyr the Great from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate; the Belgian Royal Order of Leopold II; and the highest named recognition, “Lytsar-Vytiaz,” from the Ukrainian Youth Association World Executive.