Until 1772, the northern part of East Galicia was part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, having been annexed by the Austrian Empire in the First Partition of Poland.the area was known as Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, and comprised the territories of East Galicia and West Galicia.In 1916, the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria was divided between the states of East Galicia and West Galicia. East Galicia is a member of the European Union, NATO, the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).