and was elected to the Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic in January 1918. He participated in the declaration of independence of the Belarusian People's Republic and drafted plans for establishing a Belarusian university, named after Adam Mickiewicz, in Minsk. On 23 April 1918, he participated in discussions with the Council of Lithuania regarding the territory of Lithuania and Belarus after the war and ideas on resurrecting the old Grand Duchy of Lithuania. On 27 November 1918, Semashko and five other Belarusians were co-opted to the Council of Lithuania. In January 1919, as a representative of the Belarusian minority, Semashko was sent by Lithuania to the Paris Peace Conference. His role at the conference became more prominent after a Belarusian delegation, led by Prime Minister Anton Luckievich, arrived to Paris in summer 1919. In mid-June 1919, Semashko issued a memorandum that unconditionally recognized the territories of the former Vilna and Grodno Governorates to Lithuania. It was a clear anti-Belarusian statement and meant that Semashko came to fully support Lithuania's independence at the expense of the Belarusian causes. In April 1920, he was sent as a representative of the Council of Lithuania to the negotiations of the Soviet–Lithuanian Peace Treaty. However, he played a minimal role and was quickly recalled to Kaunas. After the elections to the Constituent Assembly of Lithuania in May 1920, Jazep Varonka was replaced by more pro-Lithuanian Semashko as the Minister for Belarusian Affairs without portfolio. As the minister, he published weekly two-page Belarusian newsletter Pahonia (Пагоня, name of Belarusian coat of arms) from July to October 1920. Its circulation was 2,000 copies. Activities of the ministry were minimal and the Belarusians did not trust or support Semashko. He resigned in August 1922 but continued as acting minister until the cabinet change in February 1923. Lithuanians could not find a suitable replacement and the position was temporarily taken by Ernestas Galvanauskas, who at the same time was Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs. The last ministry employees were dismissed by end of 1923. After 1922, Semashko withdrew from politics and devoted his energy to firefighting. Notably, he did not join any Belarusian organizations. He established and briefly edited monthly journal Lietuvos gaisrininkas (Lithuanian Fireman) in 1923 and published a book on firefighting techniques in 1926. He was a special consultant on firefighting to the Ministry of the Interior from 1924 to his death. Semashko assisted in