Paul Ilyinsky, who as mayor of Palm Beach, Fla., in the 1990s laid claim to being the only member of the Romanov family to hold an elected office, has died at his home in Palm Beach. He was 76.
The cause of his death Feb. 10 has not been determined, his son Michael said.
Mr. Ilyinsky was a second cousin to Czar Nicholas II and a great-great-grandson of Alexander II. He was mayor of Palm Beach for seven years and city councilman for 11 years.
His first race for mayor, in 1987, gained national attention because he was running against Yvelyne de Marcellus Marix, who said he was a descendant of Charlemagne. Mr. Ilyinsky lost. He won election in 1993 and served until 2000.
Mr. Ilyinsky was born in London in 1928, son of Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich, a cousin of Nicholas II who was exiled after participating in the killing of Rasputin.
When World War II broke out, he left Europe to live in the United States with his American mother.
