It was founded on 2 May 1848 in Lemberg (today Lviv), Austrian Empire as the result of the 1848 Spring of Nations and in response to the earlier created by the local Polish community Central National Council which claim itself as the representative body of the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria.

Supreme Ruthenian Council consisted of 30 members who were representatives of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and intelligentsia.

Head of the council was elected bishop of Premissel Hryhoriy Yakhymovych, later canon Mykhailo Kuzemsky [cs; pl; ru; uk].

Yakhymovych's assistants were Mykhailo Kuzemsky and Ivan Borysykevych [pl; ru; uk].

On 18 May 1848 the council decided the problem with national symbols declaring that "the flag of local Ruthenian land consists of the lion, and the colors of Ruthenia are yellow and blue" (Ruthenian: знамя земли рускои тутейшои єсть левъ, а цвѣты руски жовтый и синый).