Ivan V. Drašković

Ivan V was the last ban from the Drašković family. He was the son of Ivan IV and Mária Magdolna Nádasdy.

After the death of his first wife Katrina Csaky, Ivan married Maria Katharina Brandis and thus discontinued the tradition of the marriage of the Drašković family members with the Hungarian noblewomen.

For many years, he held the position of a ban regent due to the long time absence of Ban Ivan Pálffy.

Iva is one of the authors of the Croatian Pragmatic Sanction of 1712, which secured the right to inherit the throne to the female line of the Habsburg family.

Lieutenant field marshall and commander of the national army

In 1716, under the command of Prince Eugene of Savoy, Nikola participated as Lieutenant Field Marshalland Commander of the national army in the war for the liberation of Croatian lands from the Turkish occupation. The ensuing battle was not a complete success due to the discord between the commanding officers, but Ivan V and his troops managed to liberate Dubica and Kostajnica.

Ivan participated in the drafting of the proposal for border demarcation process with Ottoman Empire at the conclusion of the Požarevac Peace Treaty in 1718, where he represented Croatian interests.

Finally, he became Ban of Croatia in 1732. His inaugural ceremony was held in Varaždin, and since the people of Varaždin considered him a fellow citizen, the ceremony was made as bright and beautiful as possible. Sadly, he became suddenly ill and died the following year.