The multi-ethnic nature of the Kingdom resulted in the diet having multiple different names. In German, the lingua franca of Cisleithania (north-western part of the monarchy), it was called Landtag von Galizien und Lodomerien, meaning 'Diet of Galicia and Lodomeria'.[3] In Polish, it was called either Sejm krajowy, meaning 'Sejm of the Land', or sejm lwowski, meaning 'Lwów Sejm'.[4][5][6] In Ukrainian, it was called Га́лицький крайови́й сейм, transcribed Hálytsʹkyy krayovýy seym, meaning 'Sejm of Galicia'.
Landtag is a German word that means 'regional assembly', or 'diet'. In Polish and Ukrainian, the word used was Sejm (the latter also used version Sojm).
History
Medal of 1782 commemorating the constitution of the parliament in Galicia and Lodomeria by Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor. It shows an allegorical depiction of imperial law (left) being handed over to the allegorical figure of Galicia with her shield showing the coat of arms of the landsThe former seat of the diet from 1861 to 1880, today the Maria Zankovetska TheatreThe seat of the Diet of Galicia from 1881 to 1918, currently owned by Lviv UniversityDuke Alfred Józef Potocki, Marshal of the Galician Sejm in 1875
The Diet was initially dominated by Polish nobles, but in time, it saw the emergence of a strong peasant faction.[11][12] Another notable change over time included the emergence of a Ruthenian (modern Ukrainian) bloc, changing the balance of power within the body.[11][12] Overall, the Diet preserved the Polish parliamentary tradition during a time in which it waned in the Prussian Partition and the Russian Partition, and saw the emergence of the major political parties and groupings that were to dominate the political life of the Second Polish Republic after World War I.[4][11][12] The leader of the Polish peasant movement in the Second Polish Republic, Wincenty Witos, gained his experience in the Diet, elected for the first time in 1908.[13] Similarly, the National Democrats, and the Polish socialists, had their political blocs in the diet around that time.[13]
Composition and organization
As established by the February Patent of 1861, the Diet was unicameral, and was made up of 150 deputies.[10][14] All but nine were elected by four different "Curiae", or assemblies of the social classes.[10][15] An electoral system based on curiae was also used in the Imperial Council of Cisleithania, until 1907.
The Curia of the Landowners consisted of fifty-two electors chosen from amongst those people who owned land that had previously been owned by the feudal nobility, and paid at least 100 florins a year in tax.[10] These electors had the right to elect forty-four deputies to the Diet.
The Curia of the Chambers of Commerce consisted of thirty-nine electors from the chambers of commerce in Lemberg, Kraków, and Brody.[10] These electors had the right to elect three deputies, one from each city's chamber of commerce.
The Curia of the Cities consisted of 2264 electors from important cities.[10] The position of "elector" was granted based on status: those within the two-thirds highest tax bracket were eligible, and others became eligible on the basis of their education, or because they held an important office. Electors usually were members of the clergy, office workers, doctors, teachers at the high schools, and directors of primary schools. These electors had the right to elect twenty-three (increased to 26 in 1863; 31 in 1900) deputies to the Diet.
The Curia of Other Municipalities consisted of 8764 electors from amongst small-scale rural landowners.[10][16] There were two stages of voting for this curia. In the first stage, the suffrage was determined in the same manner as with the Curia of the Cities: those in the two-thirds highest tax bracket, with a high level of education, or an important office, were eligible. These voters elected the electors, who then elected seventy-four deputies to the Diet, each holding a constituency equivalent to a rural district.
This system of limited suffrage caused the predominantly Polish landowning class to dominate the Diet.[18] Whilst they only made up about 0.4% of the population, they held 28.2% of the seats in the Diet. Small-scale rural landowners, on the other hand, made up about 95% of the population, but held only 52.3% of the seats in Diet. This system also skewed representation for different ethnicities in the Diet. Whilst Ruthenians made up about 40% of the population of Galicia, they only held 15% of the seats in the Diet, as they lived primarily in rural communities.[18] Reform of the suffrage system in late 1913 added a fifth curia for the upper peasantry, which had the right to elect twenty deputies.[10] Due to the outbreak of the First World War, no further elections to the Diet took place, and hence the fifth curia existed only on paper.
Elections were not held on a regular schedule; they occurred usually every five to six years, upon Emperor's decree.[11] Thus the deputies' term of office lasted about six years.[19] The Diet had ten elections: 1861, 1867, 1870, 1877, 1883, 1889, 1889, 1895, 1901, 1908, and the final one, in 1913.[10]
At first, the deputies met in the Skarbek Theatre (today Maria Zankovetska National Academic Ukrainian Drama Theater). From 1881, the Diet met in a newly constructed building designed by architect Juliusz Hochberger and with a program of architectural sculpture by Teodor Rygier. The building is now owned by the University of Lviv.[10]
Competences
In the period of 1861 to 1873, the Diet elected 38 representatives from among its deputies to be sent to the Imperial Council of Cisleithania.[11]
The Diet had legislative powers. The legislative initiative was possessed by the Emperor, along with the Diet executive (six deputies and the Marshal), and all individual deputies.[17][19] It could debate and pass laws related to many issues in the field of education, culture, welfare, justice, public works, administration, religion and military.[17][19] It could also impose supplementary taxes, up to 10% of the direct tax.[19]
The position of 'Marshal' was equivalent to the position of 'Speaker' in Westminster-style parliaments. The Marshal was considered the presiding officer of the Diet.
Prince Leon Sapieha (April 11, 1861 – March 19, 1875)
^ abHelmut Rumpler; Peter Urbanitsch (2000). Die Habsburgermonarchie, 1848-1918 / Band VII, Verfassung und Parlamentarismus (in German). Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akad. der Wissenschaften. pp. 2131–2170. ISBN3700128711.
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