Mikołaj Sienicki of Bończa (c. 1521-1582) was a member of the landed gentry of the Kingdom of Poland. He held the office of chamberlain of the land of Chełm and was a notable politician of his period. Considered one of the best Polish political orators, he also held the title of marshal of the Sejm nine times. A Protestant, near the end of his life he became a member of the Polish Brethren and one of the major initiators of, and contributors to the Warsaw Confederation, which introduced new laws of religious tolerance in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, on a scale unimaginable in contemporary Europe. Early career Mikołaj Sienicki was born around 1521, to Stanisław Sienicki and Barbara née Boryszewska. In 1535 he started studies at the Jagiellonian University, one of the oldest universities in Europe. Soon afterwards he took active interest in politics, joining his father in the sessions of the local parliament (sejmik) of his home region (Chełm land or ziemia chełmska). He was chosen several times as a royal legate to those diets, and gained much respect and popularity among his peers. The Sejm career After the death of his father he was already an established politician. In 1550 he was elected by the sejmik of Chełm to be a region's deputy for the national Sejm. On this very Sejm Sienicki gained fame with his famous critique of the senators, whom he accused of not providing any assistance to the king, and for his critique of the king himself (Zygmunt II August at that time was in a dispute with much of the nobility over his marriages). This would not be the last of his speeches in the Sejm; over the next few years he would gain fame as the Polish Demosthenes . From 1553 on he was an active member of the executionist movement, a political party of the middle nobility, opposing the magnates and attempting to reform the country. He would be a vocal member of the group demanding the return of the Crown Lands held illegally by the magnates, the enforcement of the incompatibilitas rule, and reform of the starost office in order to strengthen the law enforcement in Poland. He was also an expert on parliamentary law, and is often considered to have introduced or popularized many legal terms in Poland . He was a supporter of the closer Polish–Lithuanian union, and a strong