LASKI, Jan. – Archbishop, Primate of Poland and statesman, b. at Lask in 1456, d. at Kalisz on 19 May 1531. He served as ambassador in 1494 to Rome, in 1496 in the Low Countries, and again in Rome in 1500.
The accession of King Alexander I Jagiellon (1501–1506) marked Laski’s decisive rise in politics: secretary of the crown in 1501, he became chancellor from 1503 to 1510.
In 1505 he promoted the first official compilation of Polish laws, yet failed to strengthen the crown against the magnates; however, he succeeded in firmly establishing the predominance of the middle nobility (Constitution *Nihil novi* of 1505). Appointed Archbishop of Gniezno in 1510 and Primate of Poland, he took an active part in the Fifth Lateran Council; he obtained from Leo X the bull of 9 August 1515 regulating Church discipline in Poland and the title of *Legatus natus*, and continued to advocate vigorously for a general council for the reform of the Church.
A staunch opponent of Protestantism and a distinguished patron, Laski retained considerable political influence even after leaving the chancellorship; he opposed the policy of rapprochement with the Habsburgs and shortly before his death incurred the censure of the Holy See.