Palatine of Hungary
| Palatine of the Kingdom of Hungary |
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| Residence | Buda Castle (1784–1848) |
| Appointer |
King of Hungary Diet of Hungary |
| Formation | early 11th century |
| First holder | Samuel Aba |
| Final holder | Archduke Stephen |
| Abolished | 1848 (de facto) 1918 (de jure) |
| Succession | Prime Minister of Hungary (since 1867) |
The Palatine of Hungary (German: Landespalatin, Hungarian: nádor, Latin: palatinus regni Hungarie, and Slovak: nádvorný špán) was the highest-ranking official in the Kingdom of Hungary from the beginning of the 11th century to 1848. Initially, Palatines were representatives of the monarchs, later (from 1723) the vice-regent (viceroy). In the early centuries of the kingdom, they were appointed by the king, and later (from 1608) were elected by the Diet of the Kingdom of Hungary.
The earliest recorded Medieval Latin form of the title was comes palatii ("count of the palace"); it was preserved in the deed of foundation of the Tihany Abbey, issued in 1055. A new variant (comes palatinus) came into use in the second half of the 11th century; it was first recorded around 1067. The shortened palatinus form became the official version in the 1230s. A new official title – palatinus regni Hungarie ("Palatine of the Kingdom of Hungary") – was adopted in the 1340s, which shows that the palatines who were still royal officials were also regarded as representatives of the Estates of the realm from that time on.
The original Hungarian version of the title was nádorispán; it was first recorded around 1405. The etymology of the word is uncertain. Most scholars agree that its root is the Slavic word for court (dvorjь), but no documents evidence that the assumed *nadъ-dvorjь-županъ ("head of the royal court") form actually existed. In the Czech, Croatian and Serbian languages, similar expressions (náderšpan and nadršpan) existed, but only as loanwords from Hungarian, in reference to the palatines of Hungary.
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