View source for Jurgis Šaulys

{{Short description|Lithuanian economist, diplomat and politician}}
[[Image:Jurgis Saulys.jpg|thumb|200px|Jurgis Šaulys]]
'''Jurgis Šaulys''' ({{IPA-lt|ˈjʊrɡʲɪs ʃauˈlʲîːs|Lithuanian pronunciation:|Jurgis Saulys.ogg}}; 5 May 1879&ndash;18 October 1948) was a [[Lithuania]]n [[economist]], diplomat, and politician, and [[Signatories of the Act of Independence of Lithuania|one of the twenty signatories]] to the 1918 [[Act of Independence of Lithuania]].

Šaulys attended secondary school in [[Palanga]] and attended the [[Kaunas]] Theological Seminary. He was dismissed from the seminary for participating in the [[Knygnešiai]] movement, which disseminated materials published in the [[Lithuanian language]], a practice outlawed at the time. After moving to [[Vilnius]] in 1900, he continued his political activities; he became one of the ''[[12 Apostles (Lithuania)|12 Apostles]]'' of the independence movement, and was one of the founders of the [[Lithuanian Democratic Party]]. He left for [[Switzerland]] to study economics at the [[University of Bern]], receiving his doctorate in 1912, but still contributed to these activities while abroad.

Returning to Vilnius in 1912, he edited the ''[[Lietuvos Žinios]]'' (Lithuanian News). After [[World War I]] broke out he served various charitable organizations. He was a member of the [[Vilnius Conference]] and was elected Secretary-General of the ensuing [[Council of Lithuania]], signing the Act of Independence in 1918.

Šaulys went into the diplomatic service immediately afterwards, serving as an envoy to [[Germany]], [[Switzerland]], the [[Holy See|Vatican]], and [[Poland]]. In the wake of the German invasion of Poland in 1939, he moved to [[Lugano]] in Switzerland with his wife, the Italian opera singer [[Mafalda Salvatini]], acting as the Lithuanian ambassador in Berne until the legation was closed in 1946. He died in Lugano two years later.

A dedicated [[bibliophile]], he donated much of his collection to the [[Vytautas Magnus University]]; the remainder of his collection is held at the [[University of Pennsylvania]].

==References==

*"Šaulys, Jurgis". Encyclopedia Lituanica V: 78-79. (1970-1978). Ed. Simas Sužiedėlis. Boston, Massachusetts: Juozas Kapočius. LCCN 74-114275.

{{Signers of Act of Independence of Lithuania}}

{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saulys, Jurgis}}
[[Category:1879 births]]
[[Category:1948 deaths]]
[[Category:Lithuanian diplomats]]
[[Category:Baltic diplomatic missions]]
[[Category:Lithuanian book smugglers]]
[[Category:Lithuanian book and manuscript collectors]]
[[Category:Members of the Council of Lithuania]]
[[Category:University of Bern alumni]]
[[Category:Lithuanian independence activists]]
[[Category:People from Lugano]]
[[Category:Lithuanian expatriates in Switzerland]]
[[Category:Politicians from Palanga]]
{{Lithuania-politician-stub}}