Semyon (Syamyon) Sharetsky - Speaker of the 13th Supreme Soviet
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Semyon (Syamyon) Sharetsky - Speaker of the 13th Supreme Soviet |
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Born: September 23, 1936. Previous Positions: President, Agrarian Party of Belarus, March - January, 1996; Co-President, Agrarian Party of Belarus, July 1994 - March 1995; Advisor to Chairman, Council of Ministers, Republic of Belarus, 1993 - 94; Professor, Chair of Political Economy, Belarus State University, 1989 -93; Chairman of Collective Farm "Red Banner", 1984 -89; Chairman of Economics and Organisation of Agricultural Production, Higher Party School, 1977 - 84. Education: PhD in Agricultural Economics, Goretskaya Agricultural Academy - Memberships: Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Republic of Belarus; Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Russia; Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Ukraine: International Academy of New Technologies and Information "
Mr. Sharetsky fled to Lithuania in July, 1999, for fear of arrest and has been staying in Vilnius ever since. "
Semyon Sharetsky: " . . . 'Like all dictators, the Belarusian one started with oppressing people close to him such as Vinnikova [former National Bank head] and Leonov. Everybody knows that Leonov has the right to be called Lukashenko's godfather. Such treatment of the teacher tells us a lot about the disciple,' commented Semyon Sharetsky, chairman of the 13th Supreme Soviet (Belarusian parliament which had already been disbanded by that time; comment made at time of Leonov's trial). " Source: BelaPAN, No. 12; Tuesday, January 4, 1999; 7:20 p.m.
Although not up to date, there is a photograph and a very brief biographical summary at the following page of the Belarus.net Web site: Semyon (Syamyon) Sharetsky
Currently (the year 2000), Mr. Sharetsky travels extensively throughout Europe and North America, meeting with government representatives as the speaker of the 13th Supreme Soviet (parliament) and democratic organizations in Belarus.
"Anatoly Lebedko, a prominent Belarusian opposition leader, has called on the Belarusian government to provide security guarantees for the return of Semyon Sharetsky, chairman of the 13th Supreme Soviet, to Belarus."
"Mr. Sharetsky fled to Lithuania last summer, fearing for his safety after the end of Aleksandr Lukashenko's 5-year presidential term on 20 July [1999]."
"The Supreme Soviet had said that Mr. Sharetsky should be regarded as the de jure head of state after the expiration of President Lukashenko's 5-year term, which Mr. Lukashenko extended by 2 years through a controversial 1996 referendum. Having refused to recognize the results of that referendum Belarus' major opposition political parties still regard the 13th Supreme Soviet as the only legitimate parliament in the country."
" 'It is immoral that the man who is recognized as the legitimate head of parliament cannot come up for his mother's funeral [Sharetsky's mother died last fall],' says Mr. Lebedko's letter to Mr. Lukashenko and Prime Minister Sergei Ling. 'The climate of fear, arbitrariness and lawlessness in the country paralyzes its development and cripples people's mentality.' "