Leonardas Karvelis
Third President of the National Council
Sydney, 1954 – June 17, 1955
Leonardas Karvelis was born on 11 March 1907
in Šiauliai. During the First World War, he attended the Martynas Yčas
Lithuanian Gymnasium in Voronezh, a city on the Voronezh River in southwestern
Russia. By the end of 1917, Voronezh had become a cultural and educational
centre for Lithuanians living in Russia.
In 1925, Leonardas graduated from the Šiauliai State
Gymnasium and went on to study economics at Vytautas the Great University in
Kaunas for four years. After completing additional examinations, he qualified
as a lawyer.
From 1934 to 1940, he served as the legal affairs
representative for the Forestry Department of the Ministry of Agriculture.
Between 1941 and 1944, he worked as a legal advisor for the General Directorate
of Forestry in Kaunas.
After the Second World War, Leonardas settled in Freiburg,
Germany, where he joined the Lithuanian Lawyers’ Association. He also served as
head of affairs for the Lithuanian National Committee and as secretary of the
gubernatorial government under the French occupation authorities.
On 27 June 1949, Leonardas arrived in Australia aboard the Skaugum,
together with his wife Halina and their son Kęstutis. From his earliest days in
Australia, he became actively involved in Lithuanian community life.
Between 1951 and 1955, he served in several key roles:
Member of the Court of Honour of the Sydney District (1951–55), Vice-Chairman
of the Regional Board (1953–54), and Chairman of the Regional Board (1955).
Beginning in 1957, he was repeatedly elected Chairman of the National Control
Commission of the Australian Lithuanian Community.
Beyond these national roles, Leonardas was deeply involved
in a number of community organisations. He was a long-standing elder of the
Sydney branch of the Lithuanian Lawyers’ Association and a legal advisor to
various Lithuanian groups. He drafted constitutions for the Sydney sports club Kovas
and the Women’s Social Welfare Society, and also prepared the working rules for
the Cultural Council of the Australian Lithuanian Community.
Leonardas was well known among Sydney Lithuanians as a
charming gentleman, an eloquent speaker, and an engaging conversationalist —
particularly on political subjects. A proud and conscious Lithuanian, he was a
staunch anti-communist, a defender of conservative values, and a passionate
advocate for the restoration of Lithuania’s independence.
When some within the community questioned the relevance of
celebrating 16 February — Lithuanian Independence Day — given the realities of
the time, Leonardas firmly rejected such views. He reminded them:
“The Lithuanian nation declares to the whole world, to all
mankind, to its friends and enemies, that it will not agree to the enslavement
of Lithuania. The Act of the Sixteenth of February is a sacred and final
decision for a free and independent life, and the independence of the state is
essential for the development of national culture and the survival of the
nation.”
Leonardas Karvelis passed away suddenly at his home in
Bankstown on 28 March 1987. He is interred, together with his wife Halina, in
the Lithuanian section of Rookwood Cemetery.
References
Mūsų Pastogė No. 14 1987. 4. Page 13 obituary by J. Véteikis
National Archive of Australia
Find a grave
Arlosen Archive
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