Constantin Tomaszczuk
Constantin Tomaszczuk was a Romanian jurist, professor of law and legal philosophy, and politician in Austria-Hungary. He served as a deputy in the Diet of Bukovina and in the House of Deputies of the Imperial Council in Vienna from 1871 to 1889. He was the first rector of the University of Czernowitz.
Early life and career
Constantin Tomaszczuk was born in Czernowitz on 13 March 1840 into a Greek Orthodox family. His mother was Romanian, and his father was Ruthenian.Education
After primary school, he graduated from the Obergymnasium in Chernivtsi on 31 July 1857. That same year, he enrolled at the University of Lemberg, where he studied law, philosophy, and history. In 1861, he graduated from the Faculty of Law, and on 16 August 1864 he obtained his Doctor of Law degree.He worked for five years as a jurist in Sibiu.
Political career
Tomaszczuk served as a deputy in the Diet of Bukovina and in the Imperial Council (Reichsrat) in Vienna between 1871 and 1889.He was affiliated with the liberal and centralist group led by Eudoxiu Hurmuzachi, which advocated for a politically centralized state with cultural autonomy for crown lands inhabited by non-German ethnic groups. This contrasted with the federalist-autonomist faction led by Alexandru Petrino, which favored a decentralized and federal structure.
Tomaszczuk considered himself ethnically Romanian, politically Austrian, and partly of Ruthenian origin. He believed that Austrian political nationality should not be based on language or ethnicity, and he strongly opposed German ultranationalism and antisemitism. He was a member of the Society for Romanian Culture and Literature in Bukovina.
On 7 March 1872, during a debate in the Imperial Council, he advocated for the establishment of a university in Chernivtsi and for the development of secondary education for women in the Duchy of Bukovina. These initiatives were eventually realized, and in 1875, as a professor of commercial law and legal philosophy, he was appointed the first rector of the University of Chernivtsi.
In 1888 he joined the United German Left parliamentary group.
Academic career
Tomaszczuk was the first rector of the Franz Joseph University of Czernowitz. He taught civil law, commercial and negotiable instruments law, and philosophy of law.Illness and death
In 1888, Tomaszczuk was diagnosed with lung cancer. He was scheduled for surgery in Vienna at the end of 1889 but died just days before the operation. He was buried with honors at the Vienna Central Cemetery. In the Austrian Parliament, he was succeeded by Doxuță Hurmuzachi.Legacy
A statue of Constantin Tomaszczuk stands in Chernivtsi, and a memorial plaque in his honor is located on Pelikangasse in Vienna.In modern-day Ukraine, Tomaszczuk is regarded as "Ukrainian".