Sture, Sten, << STOOR uh, STAYN >> the Younger (1492?-1520) was a Swedish nobleman who ruled Sweden as regent (temporary ruler) from 1512 to 1520. He fought against King Christian II of Denmark and Norway, when Christian tried to claim the Swedish throne. Although Sten was deeply ambitious, he never took the title of king for himself.
Sten was born about 1492. Members of his family had ruled Sweden as regents during most of the period since 1470. Sten’s father, Svante Nilsson, ruled from 1503 to 1512. Sten adopted the name Sture because of the popularity of a distant kinsman named Sten Sture (later known as Sten Sture the Elder), who was regent from 1470 to 1497 and again from 1501 to 1503. The two Stens and Svante Nilsson all resisted attempts by the kings of Denmark to claim the Swedish throne. The Danish claim was based on an agreement of 1397 known as the Union of Kalmar, which declared that Denmark, Norway, and Sweden would share the same monarch. The regents also struggled to control the power of rival noble families, some of whom also favored union and formed alliances with the Danish kings.
Sten Sture the Younger became regent in 1512, several months after his father died. At first, he used negotiation to stall attempts by Christian II to be recognized as king of Sweden. Christian began raids on Sweden in 1517. In January 1520, Sten was wounded in battle and died soon afterward on February 3. With Sten gone, Swedish nobles finally proclaimed Christian king in late 1520. Swedish rebels ousted the king in 1521.
