Volodymyr Horbovy was a Ukrainian politician during World War II. As a member of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists

Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists

The Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists is a Ukrainian political organization which as a movement originally was created in 1929 in Western Ukraine . The OUN accepted violence as an acceptable tool in the fight against foreign and domestic enemies particularly Poland and Russia...

 (OUN), he was one of the main drivers of the Declaration of Ukrainian Independence in 1941.

Youth

Volodymyr Horbovy was born on January 30, 1898, in the city of Dolyna

Dolyna

Dolyna is a city located in the Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast in southwestern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Dolyna Raion .The current estimated population is around 20,900.-History:...

 (then Austria–Hungary, currently the Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast

Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast

Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast is an oblast in western Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Ivano-Frankivsk. As is the case with most other oblasts of Ukraine this region has the same name as its administrative center – which was renamed by the Soviets after the Ukrainian writer, nationalist...

).

During World War I, he served in the Austro-Hungarian army on the Italian front

Italian Campaign (World War I)

The Italian campaign refers to a series of battles fought between the armies of Austria-Hungary and Italy, along with their allies, in northern Italy between 1915 and 1918. Italy hoped that by joining the countries of the Triple Entente against the Central Powers it would gain Cisalpine Tyrol , the...

, where he lost an eye.

In 1918, he joined the Ukrainian Halych Army, and participated in the Winter Campaigns

First Winter Campaign

The First Winter Campaign was a campaign between the army of the Ukrainian People's Republic and bolshevik forces in Ukraine during the Ukrainian-Soviet War...

.

During the inter-war period, he studied law in Prague.

Political Activity

In 1920, Horbovy joined the Ukrainian Military Organization

Ukrainian Military Organization

The Ukrainian Military Organization was a Ukrainian resistance and sabotage movement active in Poland's Eastern Lesser Poland during the years between the world wars...

 (UVO). He became the liaison

Liaison officer

A liaison officer or LNO is a person that liaises between two organizations to communicate and coordinate their activities. Generally, they are used to achieve the best utilization of resources or employment of services of one organization by another. In the military, liaison officers may...

 between the regional and national commands in 1922. In 1929, he joined OUN.

In 1934, he was imprisoned by Polish authorities.

On June 22, 1941, the Ukrainian National Committee (Ukrayinsky Natsionalny' Komitet; UNK) was created in Kraków, with Volodymyr Horbovy as a president. The UNK published an essay, "Memorial", which outlined the plans of the OUN to declare independence.