Chancellor of Poland ( pl, Kanclerz - , from la, cancellarius) was one of the highest
officials in the historic
Crown of the Kingdom of Poland
The Crown of the Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Korona Królestwa Polskiego; Latin: ''Corona Regni Poloniae''), known also as the Polish Crown, is the common name for the historic Late Middle Ages territorial possessions of the King of Poland, includ ...
. This office functioned from the early
Polish kingdom of the 12th century until the end of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...
in 1795. A respective office also existed in the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Li ...
since the 16th century. Today the office of the chancellor has been replaced by that of the
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
.
The Chancellors' powers rose together with the increasing importance of written documents. In the 14th century the office of Chancellor of
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
( pl, Kanclerz krakowski) evolved into the Chancellor of the Crown ( pl, Kanclerz koronny) and from that period the chancellor powers were greatly increased, as they became responsible for the
foreign policy
A State (polity), state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterall ...
of the entire Kingdom (later, the Commonwealth). The Chancellor was also supposed to ensure the legality of monarch's actions, especially whether or not they could be considered illegal in the context of
pacta conventa (an early set of documents containing important laws, in some aspects resembling today's
constitutions). Finally, the Chancellor was also responsible for his office, the
chancellery ( pl, kancelaria). A 16th-century Polish lawyer, Jakub Przybylski, described the Chancellor as the king's hand, eye and ear, translator of his thoughts and will.
From 15th century onward there were two separate Chancellor offices, neither of them subordinate to the other: Grand Chancellor ( pl, Kanclerz wielki) and Vice-Chancellor ( pl, Podkanclerzy). In the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, there were four Chancellors: Grand Chancellor of the Crown ( pl, Kanclerz wielki koronny), Grand Chancellor of Lithuania ( pl, Kanclerz wielki litewski), Vice-Chancellor of the Crown ( pl, Podkanclerzy koronny), and Vice-Chancellor of Lithuania ( pl, Podkanclerzy litewski).
History
During the
times of fragmentation of Poland, each Polish prince had his own chancellor, but with the
reunification of Poland, the office of Chancellor of Kraków (contemporary capital of the Kingdom of Poland) became dominant and other, local chancellors disappeared by the early 15th century. Also in the 15th century, the Chancellor's office was split into that of the Grand Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor. The Vice-Chancellor was, however, not a subordinate of the Chancellor and his independence was specifically confirmed by the laws passed during the reign of king
Alexander Jagiellon. The
Sejm
The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland.
The Sejm has been the highest governing body of t ...
of 1504 confirmed the Chancellor's office as well as its powers and responsibilities for the first time, specifically stating that one person cannot hold both Chancellors' offices, and established the Grand Lithuanian Chancellor's office. The Lithuanian Vice-Chancellor was created later, in the mid-16th century
After the
Union of Lublin
The Union of Lublin ( pl, Unia lubelska; lt, Liublino unija) was signed on 1 July 1569 in Lublin, Poland, and created a single state, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest countries in Europe at the time. It replaced the pe ...
in 1569 there were four Chancellors (one Grand Chancellor and one Vice-Chancellor for Crown, and another pair for Lithuania).
At first, the Chancellor's office was always given to an