Treasurer

Treasurer (підскарбій; pidskarbii). A senior court functionary in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Polish Kingdom (15th–18th centuries), who managed the state treasury. The officeholder was also known as the great, crown, or land treasurer, and from 1590 there was also a court treasurer to oversee the personal finances of the king. Until the 18th century the treasurer was not remunerated, a state of affairs which led to persistent corruption. In Lithuania the income of the grand duke was managed by court treasurers until 1569, when the treasurer's position was transferred to the Polish Senate. The Hetman state had a general treasurer, who was a member of the chief of staff (mid-17th to late 18th centuries).

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 5 (1993).]