STURE, STEN, the Elder. - Swedish statesman, b. c. 1442, d. 14 Dec. 1503 at Jönköping. Related, through his mother, to King Karl Knutsson, he was designated by the latter on his deathbed as his executor and administrator of his castles and fiefs (Stockholm, Åbo, Örebro).
This further strengthened his already strong political position and enabled him, in 1470, a few weeks after the King’s death, to be appointed regent (Riksförståndare). This evolution in Swedish domestic politics was not welcomed by Christian I of Denmark, who sought to compel the Swedes by force of arms to recognize the Union of Kalmar. However, the King’s army was disastrously defeated by Sten’s forces on 10 Oct. 1471 at the Battle of Brunkeberg. But Christian, having gone to Rome a few years later, did not abandon his claims to Sweden and succeeded in persuading Pope Sixtus IV to intervene on behalf of Queen Dorothea, widow of Christopher of Bavaria, former ruler of the Nordic kingdoms, whose dowry Sten had confiscated.
The death of Christian, which occurred in 1481, silenced the matter, and Sten was able to consolidate his power at the expense of the nobility. The latter, greatly displeased by the heavy fiscal burdens Sten had imposed upon them, in 1497 turned for help to King John of Denmark, who entered Sweden with an army, defeated Sten, and had himself crowned king. In 1500, however, Sten, taking advantage of a serious defeat suffered by John in Germany, managed to regain the regency.