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By Kent Larsen
U.S. Consul General Killed in Ukrainian Auto Accident
KYIV, UKRAINE -- Gregory Paul Hulka, the U.S. Consul General in the Ukraine,
was killed November 9th along with his 10-year-old daughter in an auto
accident while traveling to a wedding in central Ukraine. Hulka, 44, was a
returned LDS missionary and career diplomat who had been posted to Kyiv in
early September.
Details of the accident are scattered. According to Ukranian state-run UT-1
TV, the consul's car tried to pass a truck in poor visibility conditions and
crashed into an oncoming minibus. Hulka was traveling with his daughter in a
cousin's car because the family's car had a mechanical problem. They were
traveling to a weddding in Kormilche, the same village where Hulka's
grandfather was born.
Hulka was a native of Garden Grove, California who had spent 15 years in the
U.S. Foreign Service in increasingly responsible positions. His experience
included service in Russia, Honduras, Guatemala and China. Born October 31,
1957 in Inglewood, California, Hulka served an LDS mission in the Uruguay
Montevideo Mission and received a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science
from BYU in 1982. He married Jane Marie Riches in the Los Angeles Temple in
1987.
In addition to his Spanish language ability, gained on his mission, Hulka
studied and became fluent in Ukrainian, because of his heritage, as well as
Russian, Mandarin and Cantonese. He then went into the U.S. Foreign Service,
serving in Guatemala City, Guatemala; Shanghai, China; St. Petersburg,
Russia; Guangzhou, China; Tegulcigalpa, Honduras; Moscow, Russia; and to
Kyiv, Ukraine in September, as Consul General, one of the highest positions
in an embassy below the ambassador.
Along the way, Hulka served in LDS Church positions in his various postings,
including as Counselor in the Russia St. Petersburg Mission Presidency and
as a branch president in Moscow, Russia and in Guangzhou, China. He was also
active on the Internet, providing a 1998 report of President Gordon B.
Hinckley's visit to Tegucigalpa.
Source:
Consul General Gregory Hulka and daughter killed in Ukraine
San Diego CA Union-Tribune (AP) 17Nov01 P2
Gregory Paul &Abigail Pi'ikea Hulka
Salt Lake Tribune 17Nov01 P2
President Hinckley's visit to Tegucigalpa
LDSWorld 22Nov98 N1
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