Departures of note

Aliaksandr Milinkevich was born in 1947 in Grodno, Belarus. He earned a PhD in physics and became an associate professor at the Grodno Pedagogical Institute, publishing dozens of works on quantum electronics, laser technology, and Belarusian culture. In the early 1990s he entered public service, serving as deputy chair of the Grodno city executive committee from 1990 to 1996.

Transitioning to politics, Milinkevich headed the campaign headquarters of presidential candidate Semyon Domash in 2001 and later became the unified opposition candidate for the 2006 Belarusian presidential election, challenging President Alexander Lukashenko. Although he received only a small share of the official vote, his campaign was noted for its pro‑European stance and he was awarded the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 2005.

After the 2020 crackdown on protests, Milinkevich left Belarus, lived in exile in Warsaw, and advised opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. He also founded the Free Belarusian University and led the civic movement "For Freedom" for a decade. He died in 2026 at the age of 79 after a prolonged illness following surgery for a carotid artery clot.