Hungarian Court Chancellery
The Hungarian Court Chancellery was an important institution in the Kingdom of Hungary's self-government under the Habsburg monarchy.
History
After the defeat at the Battle of Mohács in 1526, the Kingdom of Hungary became an internal state of the Habsburg Empire. In the period between the 16th and 19th centuries, the Hungarian Court Chancellery, established by the Habsburg monarch, played an important role in Hungarian self-government, which was headquartered in Vienna. The affairs of the Austrian hereditary provinces and Bohemia were handled by two similar offices, the Austrian and Bohemian Court Chancelleries. From 1694, it became a sister institution of the Transylvanian Court Chancellery.The primary task of the Court Chancellery was the exercise of the sovereign's rights, the granting of estates and various secular and ecclesiastical offices, the administration of ennoblements and other promotions, appointments, and contact with the various Hungarian government bodies. The direct connection with Hungary gave the Chancellery the opportunity to act as an intermediary between the monarch and the Hungarian estates. Thus, the chancellery and the chancellor became an indispensable factor in Hungarian estate politics.