Hetman Hetman was the highest military office , and head of state , in Ukraine ' s Cossack Hetmanate . The title ( гетьман ) was used by Ukraine ' s Cossacks from the 16th century , and by the Czechs ( hejtman ) in Bohemia from the Hussite Wars ( 15th century ) on . " Hejtman " is today the term for the elected governor of a Czech region " ( kraj ) " . " Hetman " was also the title of the second - highest military commander ( after the monarch ) in 15th - to 18th - century Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania , which together , from 1569 to 1795 , comprised the Polish - Lithuanian Commonwealth , or " Rzeczpospolita " . " Hetman " is also the Polish name for the chess queen . Etymology . One theory derives the word from the Old High German " Hauptmann " , with " Haupt " meaning " head " and " Mann " — " man " . " Hauptmann " was a common military title during medieval times , literally meaning " captain " but functionally corresponding rather to today ' s " general " . Moreover , it has been suggested that the Czech language may have served as an intermediary . Hetman of Poland and Lithuania . The first Polish title of Grand Crown Hetman dates from 1505 . The title of Hetman was given to the leader of the Polish Army and until 1581 the Hetman position existed only during specific campaigns and wars . After that , it became a permanent title , as were all the titles in the Kingdom of Poland and the Polish - Lithuanian Commonwealth . At any given time the Commonwealth had four Hetmans – a Great and Field ( deputy ) Hetman for each of both Poland and Lithuania . From 1585 the title couldn ' t be taken away without a proven charge of treachery , thus most Hetmans served for life , as illustrated by the case of Jan Karol Chodkiewicz literally commanding the army from his deathbed ( 1621 ) . Hetmans were not paid for their job by the Royal Treasury . Hetmans were the main commanders of the military forces , second only to the monarch in the army ' s chain of command . The fact that they could not be removed by the monarch made them very independent , and thus often able to pursue independent policies . This system worked well when a Hetman had great ability and the monarch was weak , but sometimes produced disastrous results in the opposite case , as illustrated by the actions of Mikołaj Potocki in 1648 . The contrast with states bordering the Commonwealth , where sovereigns could be dismiss their army - commanders at any time , was immense . In 1648 the Zaporizhian Host ( the Polish - Lithuanian Commonwealth subject ) elected a Hetman of their own ( Bohdan Khmelnytsky ) igniting the Ukrainian struggle for independence . The military reform of 1776 limited the powers of the Hetmans . The Hetman office was abolished after the third partition of Poland in 1795 . Hetmans of Ukraine . At the end of the sixteenth century , the commanders of the Zaporizhian Cossacks were called Koshovyi Otaman or Hetmans ( for example : Christof Kosynsky - first zaporizhian hetman ) . In 1572 , the hetman was a commander of the Registered Cossack Army ( ) of the Rzeczpospolita too . From 1648 , the start of Bohdan Khmelnytsky ' s uprising , a hetman was the head of the whole Ukrainian State - Hetmanshchyna . Although they were elected , Ukrainian Hetmans had very broad powers and acted as heads of the Cossack state , their supreme military commanders , and top legislators ( by issuing administrative decrees ) . After the split of Ukraine along the Dnieper River by the 1667 Polish - Russia n Treaty of Andrusovo , Ukrainian Cossacks ( and Cossack Hetmans ) became known as Left - bank Cossacks ( of the Cossack Hetmanate ) and Right - bank Cossacks . In the Russian Empire , the office of Cossack Hetman was abolished by Catherine II of Russia in 1764 . The last Hetman of the Zaporozhian Army ( the formal title of the Hetman of Ukraine ) was Kyrylo Rozumovsky who reigned from 1751 until 1764 . The title was revived in Ukraine during the revolution of 1917 to 1920 . In early 1918 , a conservative German - supported coup overthrew the radical socialist Ukrainian Central Rada and its Ukrainian People ' s Republic , establishing a " Hetmanate " or monarchy headed by Pavlo Skoropadsky who claimed the title " Hetman of Ukraine " . This regime lasted until late 1918 when it was overthrown by a new " Directory " of the re - established Ukrainian People ' s Republic .