Stanisław Żółkiewski was a Polish nobleman of the Lubicz coat of arms, a magnate, military commander, and Chancellor of the Polish Crown in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth who took part in many military campaigns in the Commonwealth and on its southern and eastern borders.

Chancellor of Poland was one of the highest officials in the historic Crown of the Kingdom of Poland. This office functioned from the early Polish kingdom of the 12th century until the end of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795. A respective office also existed in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since the 16th century. Today the office of the chancellor has been replaced by that of the Prime Minister.