Werboczy, Istvan (c.1485–1541)

Hungarian lawyer and politician. In the parliament (Diet) from 1505, he became chief justice in 1516 and, as a strong supporter of King John Zapolya, was made chancellor when the latter was installed by the Ottomans as puppet ruler of Hungary in 1526. Once Hungary became a full Turkish province in 1541, he was appointed as head of the judiciary for the Hungarian population. He is remembered for his Tripartitum (1514), a systematic treatment of customary law that helped underpin the Hungarian social system for three centuries.