Tomasz Sapieha was a Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...

 noble

Szlachta

The szlachta was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333-1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of...

 and politician. Voivode of Wenden (1641–1643), Voivode of Nowogródek (1643–1646).

Son of Mikołaj Sapieha, brother of Kazimierz Mikołaj Sapieha.

From 1617 he studied in a Jesuit college in Lublin; from 1619 to 1621 at the Academy of Cracow. From 1621 to 1625 he studied abroad, in Padua

Padua

Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...

, Bologne and Leuven

Leuven

Leuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium...

.

After returning to his homeland, he stayed at the court of the Polish king, Zygmunt III Waza. In 1632 he lost his hand in a duel with Jerzy Zenonowicz. He nonetheless took part in the Smolensk War

Smolensk War

The Smolensk War was a conflict fought between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Russia.Hostilities began in October 1632 when Tsar forces tried to recapture the city of Smolensk, a former Russian possession. Small military engagements produced mixed results for both sides, but the surrender...

, sponsoring a hussaria chorągiew

Choragiew

Chorągiew was the basic administrative unit of the Polish cavalry from the 14th century. An alternative name until the 17th century was Rota.The name may derive from Slavic word Khorugv ....

.

In 1640 he was elected the president of the Lithuanian Tribunal

Lithuanian Tribunal

The Lithuanian Tribunal was the highest appeal court for the nobility of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It was established by Stefan Batory, Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland, in 1581 as the counterpart to the Crown Tribunal of the Crown of the Polish Kingdom, established in 1578...

. In 1641 he became the Voivode of Wenden

Wenden Voivodeship

Wenden Voivodeship was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Duchy of Livonia, part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, since it was formed in 1598 till the Swedish conquest of Livonia in the 1620s...

, and in 1643, Voivode of Nowogródek. In 1643 he was also one of the negotiators, chosen by Sejm

Sejm

The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....

, for the Polish-Muscovite negotiations.

He died in Vilnius

Vilnius

Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...

between 2 and 8 of April 1646.