Stephen VII Báthory was a Hungarian nobleman and commander. His most prestigious position was Palatine of Hungary.

Stephen belonged to the Ecsed

Ecsed

Ecsed is a small village in Hungary. There is an old town of Ecsed in the eastern part of Hungary that has been renamed Nagyecsed, meaning "grand" or "great Ecsed"....

 branch of the Báthory

Báthory

The Báthory were a Hungarian noble family of the Gutkeled clan. The family rose to significant influence in Central Europe during the late Middle Ages, holding high military, administrative and ecclesiastical positions in the Kingdom of Hungary...

 family. His father was Andrew Báthory and his uncle was Stephen Báthory

Stephen V Báthory

Stephen Báthory of Ecsed was a Hungarian commander, 'dapiferorum regalium magister' , judge of the Royal Court and voivod of Transylvania...

, Hungarian commander and later Voivod of Transylvania.

Stephen was Count of Temesvár and in 1514 fought against the rebellion of György Dózsa.

He was elected Palatine of Hungary in 1519 but the opposition of the nobility, which accused him of avarice and licentiousness, resulted in his being temporarily deposed in 1523 and 1525.

In 1526 fought in the disastrous battle of Mohacs

Battle of Mohács

The Battle of Mohács was fought on August 29, 1526 near Mohács, Hungary. In the battle, forces of the Kingdom of Hungary led by King Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia were defeated by forces of the Ottoman Empire led by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent....

 against the Turks, in which King Louis II

Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia

Louis II was King of Hungary, Bohemia and Croatia from 1516 to 1526.- Early life :Louis was the son of Ladislaus II Jagiellon and his third wife, Anne de Foix....

 fell. Stephen managed to escape and became one of the leaders of the pro-Austrian party that wanted to honour the alliance between now extinct royal family and the Habsburg

Habsburg

The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...

 dynasty. Together with King Louis' widow Queen Mary, he fled to Preßburg

Bratislava

Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...

, where he organized the election of Ferdinand of Austria

Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor

Ferdinand I was Holy Roman Emperor from 1558 and king of Bohemia and Hungary from 1526 until his death. Before his accession, he ruled the Austrian hereditary lands of the Habsburgs in the name of his elder brother, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.The key events during his reign were the contest...

 as King of Hungary.

His siding with the Habsburgs cost him all his possessions within Turkish-controlled Hungary, for which Ferdinand compensated him with the castle Theben.
Kon
Stephen was married to Sophia

Sophia of Masovia

Sophia of Masovia was a Princess of Masovia, daughter of Konrad III Rudy, Duke of Masovia and his Anna Radziwiłł. She was a member of the House of Piast....

 (died before 1543), daughter of the Piast Conrad Duke of Masovia

Konrad III Rudy

Konrad III Rudy was a Polish duke of Masovia.He reunited most of Masovia still not controlled by Kingdom of Poland, including Płock, Płońsk, Czersk, Wyszogród and Warsaw....

(died 1503). Their daughter Clara was engaged to be married to Duke Carl of Münsterberg but died before the marriage, in 1535.