Jakub Wygodzki

Jakub Wygodzki was a Polish–Lithuanian Jewish politician, Zionist activist and a medical doctor. He was one of the most prominent Jewish activists in Vilnius. Educated as a doctor in Russia and Western Europe, he established his gynecology and pediatric practice in 1884. In 1905, he was one of the founding members of the Constitutional Democratic Party (Kadets) in Vilnius Region. In 1918, he was co-opted to the Council of Lithuania and briefly served as the first Lithuanian Minister for Jewish Affairs. After Vilnius was captured by Poland, Wygodzki was elected to the Polish parliament (Sejm) in 1922 and 1928. He died in the Lukiškės Prison during the first months of the German occupation of Lithuania during World War II.