- Lew Sapieha
Lew Sapieha (1557-1633) (Belarusian: "Леў Сапега"; Lithuanian: "Leonas Sapiega"). He became Great Secretary of the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1580, Great Clerk of the Grand Duchy in 1581, Court Chancellor of the GDL in 1585, Grand Chancellor of the GDL from 1589 until 1623,Voivode of Vilnius in 1621,Great Lithuanian Hetman in 1623 andstarost ofSlonim , Brest andMogilev .Lew is considered as a great political figure of the
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth . A rich and powerfulmagnate , he was known for his wisdom as a statesman, lawyer and military commander, he was one of the greatest leaders of theGrand Duchy of Lithuania at the times of the Duchy's highest cultural flourishing.He was educated in Lipsk and worked in the royal chancellery of King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania
Stefan Batory under direction ofJan Zamoyski .He supported a political union with
Muscovy in 1584-1600 and led thediplomatic mission toMoscow in 1600 that proposed the union totzar Boris Godunov , who declined the proposal.He also participated in wars with Muscovy under rule of
Stefan Batory and King of Poland and Grand Duke of LithuaniaSigismund III Vasa .He became an adviser of
Sigismund III Vasa and supported his plans to take over the Muscovite throne.As Chancellor he was the main editor and publisher of the last version of the Statute of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, considered to be the first
Constitution inEurope . He laid grounds for the establishment of the Law Faculty in theUniversity of Vilnius , which was created in 1641.He was co-initiator and a participant in the military expedition to
Moscow in 1618 by King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Vladislaus IV .As
Sejm Marshal he led the ordinarySejm inWarsaw fromOctober 4 toNovember 25 ,1582 . He was a benefactor of many catholic churches in the Grand Duchy. He established the long-term power and wealth of the Sapieha family [Genealogics descent|id=00367729]Sapieha died on 1633 and was interred in the cellars of the Church of St. Michael the Archangel in Vilnius, which he himself has commissioned. His tomb remains there to the present day.
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