
Sten Sture the Elder (1440-14 December 1503) was Regent of Sweden from 1470 to 1497 (succeeding Charles VIII and preceding John II) and from 1501 to 1503 (succeeding John and preceding Svante Nilsson).
Biography[]
Sten Gustavsson Sture was born in Stockholm, Sweden in 1440, the nephew of King Charles VIII of Sweden and the cousin of Nils Bosson Sture. He became a knight in 1462 and a privy councillor in 1466, and he served under King Charles during his wars for independence from Denmark. His uncle made Sten the heir to his domains before his death in 1470, and he also inherited crown lands such as Stockholm and its castle. Following Charles' death, Sture became "Regent" of Sweden, becoming King in all but name. In 1471, he defeated King Christian I of Denmark's reconquest attempt at the Battle of Brunkeberg, becoming a national hero. He championed the peasantry, the merchant class, and the lower nobility, while the high nobles and clergy supported the Kalmar Union. In 1477, Sture co-founded Uppsala University, Sweden's first university, and, from 1495 to 1497, his general Knut Posse repelled a Russian invasion of Finland ordered by Ivan the Great, a Danish ally. In 1497, however, King John of Denmark defeated the Swedes at the Battle of Rotebro and restored Danish rule over Sweden. The Privy Council deposed Sture as regent after he alienated the majority of the Swedish nobility, including Svante Nilsson, but his influencce remained significant during John of Denmark's reign. In 1501, he took advantage of another Swedish rebellion to become regent, and the garrison of Stockholm surrendered in 1502. In October 1503, the Hanseatic League mediated a peace between the Danes and Swedes, and Sture remained regent until he he died while on his way back to Sweden in December.