Svante Nilsson ( 1460 – 2 January 1512) was a Swedish nobleman and regent of

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

from 1504 to 1512. He was the father of

Sten Sture the Younger Sten Sture the Younger () (1493 – 3 February 1520), was a Swedish nobleman who served as the regent of Sweden, during the era of the Kalmar Union. Biography Sture was born in 1493, as the son of Svante Nilsson (regent of Sweden) and Iliana G ...

(1493–1520), who later served as regent of Sweden during the era of the

Kalmar Union The Kalmar Union was a personal union in Scandinavia, agreed at Kalmar in Sweden as designed by Queen Margaret I of Denmark, Margaret of Denmark. From 1397 to 1523, it joined under a single monarch the three kingdoms of Denmark, Sweden (then in ...

Biography

Svante was born at Penningby Castle (''Penningby slott''), at

Norrtälje Norrtälje is a locality and the seat of Norrtälje Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 17,275 inhabitants in 2010. It is one of the largest towns in Roslagen. History Norrtälje’s early history dates back to the Iron Age. Around 2 ...

Uppland Uppland is a historical province or ' on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. The name literally ...

, the son of Nils Bosson Sture ( – 1494). Nils belonged to the

Natt och Dag Natt is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Calvin Natt (born 1957), American basketball player in the National Basketball Association * Chris Natt (born 1952), Australian politician and Australian rules footballer * Kenny Natt ...

dynasty, but took the surname Sture from his maternal grandfather

Sven Sture Sven Sture (1426) was a nobleman from Halland (then part of Denmark), who served as a commander of Queen Margaret I of Denmark, Margaret of Denmark in Gotland against Mecklenburg. He later switched sides in 1397, allying himself with the Mecklenbu ...

. Svante himself never used the surname Sture, but his son

Sten The STEN (or Sten gun) is a British submachine gun chambered in 9×19mm which was used extensively by British and Commonwealth forces throughout World War II and during the Korean War. The Sten paired a simple design with a low production co ...

later adopted it in order to associate himself with the memory of

Sten Sture the Elder Sten Sture the Elder (; 1440 – 14 December 1503) was a Swedish statesman and regent of Sweden from 1470 to 1497 and again from 1501 to 1503. As the leader of the victorious Swedish separatist forces against the royal unionist forces led by De ...

(who, confusingly, was unrelated to Sven Sture but was nevertheless a distant cousin of Svante's through the Natt och Dag line). Svante's mother was Birgitta Tordsdotter Bonde (1439–1494), a member of the Bonde family and cousin of King Karl VIII. Svante became a member of the

Privy Council of Sweden The Council of the Realm, or simply The Council ( or : sometimes in ), was a cabinet of medieval origin, consisting of magnates () which advised, and at times co-ruled with, the King of Sweden. The 1634 Instrument of Government, Sweden's fir ...

no later than 1482, but acted in opposition to his distant kinsman

, going as far as supporting King John of Denmark. Unwillingly he then switched sides and supported Sten Sture in overthrowing the king. When Sten Sture died in 1503, Svante became head of state in January 1504. His resignation was demanded by the

in the summer of 1511, on the grounds that he had neglected the defense on the occasion of Danish ravages. In practice he remained in power until his death at

Arboga Arboga () is a urban areas of Sweden, locality and the seat of Arboga Municipality in Västmanland County, Sweden with 10,989 inhabitants in 2020. Overview The city of Arboga is known to have existed as a town since the 13th century but the are ...

on 2 January 1512. Svante Nilsson was buried in

Västerås Cathedral Västerås Cathedral (Swedish: ''Västerås domkyrka'') is the seat of the Diocese of Västerås in the Province of Västmanland, Sweden. The church building is a five-aisled hall church, with copper-covered roof and a single west tower with si ...

. His first marriage in 1486 was with Iliana Gisladotter Gädda. Through this marriage he was the father of future statesman and regent of Sweden,

(1493–1520). He married a second time in 1504 with

Mette Dyre Mette Iversdotter Dyre ( or ''Märta Ivarsdotter''; 1465 before 1533) was a Danish noble, nominal sheriff and chancellor. She was married three times to powerful men: two royal councillors and finally Svante, Regent of Sweden. As such, she was ...

( – before 1533).

References

Other sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nilsson, Svante 1460s births 1512 deaths 16th-century regents People from Norrtälje Municipality Regents of Sweden 15th-century Swedish nobility 16th-century Swedish politicians