Background
Shymko was born in Cosel, a Polish community that was at the time administered by Germany. He is the grandnephew of the renowned Ukrainian poet and social activist, Ivan Franko, relating to daughter of Franko, Hanna Klyuchko, who has moved to Canada. Shymko's family moved to Belgium, where he received his early education in a private school operated by the Catholic Redemptorist Fathers. He moved to Canada as a teenager and was educated at the University of Toronto graduating with an Honour BA in Modern History and Modern Languages. He headed the Modern Languages Department at Victoria Park S.S. before entering political life. He is the author of "For This Was I Born", a book that addressed the violation of human rights in the former Soviet Union.
Appointed by the then Premier of Ontario, Bill Davis, Shymko established and became Chairman of the Ontario Advisory Council on Multiculturalism and Citizenship, coordinating policy in consultation with over 35 ethno-cultural groups in Ontario.
As Secretary-General of the Ukrainian World Congress from 1973 to 1978 and President of the Ukrainian World Congress (1988 to 1993), he played an instrumental role in persuading Canada to become the first Western nation to recognize Ukraine's independence in 1991.
Read more about this topic: Yuri Shymko
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