From the earliest periods of the Croatian state, some provinces were ruled by bans as a ruler's representative (viceroy) and supreme military commander.

The institution of ban persisted until the first half of the 20th century, when it was officially superseded in function by that of a parliamentary prime minister.

South Slavic ban (Croatian pronunciation: [bâːn], with a long [a]), is directly attested in 10th-century Constantine Porphyrogenitus' book De Administrando Imperio as βο(ε)άνος, in a chapter dedicated to Croats and the organization of their state, describing how their ban "has under his rule Krbava, Lika and Gacka.

"[1] References from the earliest periods are scarce, but history recalls that the first known Croatian ban is Pribina from the 10th century.

In the early Middle Ages, the ban was the royal district governor of Lika, Gacka and Krbava.

Bans were appointed by the Hungarian king as his representatives in Kingdom of Croatia, heads of the parliament (sabor) and also as supreme commander of Croatian Army.

In the 13th and 14th centuries, the more extensive title of Duke of Slavonia (meaning all lands of the Kingdom of Croatia and Dalmatia and Slavonian domain[11]) was also granted, mainly to relatives of Hungarian monarchs or other major noblemen.

Following a brief period of self-rule at the end of World War I, Croatia was incorporated into the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in 1918, under the Karađorđević dynasty.

In 1939, the Banovina of Croatia was created with Cvetković-Maček agreement as a unit of limited autonomy within Kingdom of Yugoslavia.